The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 15, 2025

Flag Day, Harlem

1966

Beuford Smith

(American, 1941–2025)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 20.1 x 18.7 cm (7 15/16 x 7 3/8 in.); Paper: 20.1 x 18.7 cm (7 15/16 x 7 3/8 in.)
Jo Hershey Selden Fund 2021.145
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Images of Black people with American flags were taken by many mid-twentieth-century Black photographers

Description

Often, as in Beuford Smith’s Flag Day, the person is distanced from the flag, which represents a country that does not offer them protection equal to that of its other citizens. We do not know the source of the grimace on the woman’s face, but in the context of this composition, it suggests her disillusionment with the American dream.
  • 1966-2017
    Beuford Smith (the artist) [1941-]
    2017–21
    (Keith de Lellis Gallery, New York, NY)
    2021
    (Charles Isaacs Photographs, Inc., New York, NY)
    September 13, 2021
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Flag Day, Harlem|url=false|author=Beuford Smith|year=1966|access-date=15 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2021.145