The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 8, 2026

A horizontally oriented black-and-white photograph depicts a stage with people of light skin tones. On our left, a woman stands at a podium behind a table displaying trophies. Men in suits and garrison caps stand and sit nearby. A row of flags lines the background, while in the upper right, a large rocket-shaped banner reads "CONCENTRATE ON MEMBERSHIP IN '58." Empty chairs occupy the right side of the stage.

Untitled (AMVETS Annual Convention, St. Louis)

1958

Jimmy Baynes

(American, 1922–2010)
America
gelatin silver print
Paper: 20.3 x 25.4 cm (8 x 10 in.)
Jo Hershey Selden Fund 2023.192
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

AMVETS, founded in December 1944, is a membership organization for veterans and current members of the American armed forces who served during and since World War II.

Description

Jimmy Baynes was a postal clerk by day, a photographer at night and on the weekends. Most of his pictures address Black life, music, and culture in Cleveland but he photographed the 1958 AMVETs convention in St. Louis. The rocket-shaped sign shows off American military and scientific prowess. The first American satellite to reach orbit did so in early 1958.
  • ?–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 (AMVETS Annual Convention, St. Louis)|url=false|author=Jimmy Baynes|year=1958|access-date=08 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.192