The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 19, 2026

A horizontally oriented black-and-white photograph depicts six women with medium to medium-dark skin tones in formal dresses, white gloves, and heels. On the left, one woman sings into a microphone. To the right, the others stand in a line across a stage. Behind them, two men with medium skin tones stand with a saxophone and bass. A glass block wall and a large mask appear in the background.

Untitled (Fashion or Beauty Contest)

1960s

Jimmy Baynes

(American, 1922–2010)
America
gelatin silver print
Paper: 20.3 x 25.4 cm (8 x 10 in.)
Jo Hershey Selden Fund 2023.181
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Jimmy Baynes chronicled aspects of Black life in Cleveland from the 1950s through the 1980s.

Description

A postal clerk by day, Baynes was a photographer at night and on the weekends. He strove to create “pictures that tell the story”—the story of Black life, music, and culture in his hometown of Cleveland. His images present a purposefully positive view of Black life in the 1950s to the 1970s, such as these women in their finery and white gloves. They are probably contestants in a beauty contest or fashion show held at a nightclub.
  • ?–2023
    (The Keith de Lellis Gallery, New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 4, 2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Untitled (Fashion or Beauty Contest)|url=false|author=Jimmy Baynes|year=1960s|access-date=19 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.181