The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 19, 2026

A vertically oriented black-and-white photograph depicts three smiling women with medium-dark skin tones standing in a paneled room. On the left, a woman wears a light-colored dress and wrap. In the center, a woman in a dark dress and white gloves holds two cups. On the right, a woman wears a floral-patterned dress, pearls, white gloves, and a tiara. All hold cups. A wooden bench is behind them.

Untitled (Three Women)

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 2023.193
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

In the 1950s and early 1960s, going to a night club or concert venue was an occasion for dressing up in formal attire.

Description

Jimmy Baynes photographed Black life, music, and culture in his hometown of Cleveland. His images present a purposefully positive view of Black life in the 1950s-1970s, such as these three women posing in their finery. One woman wears a tiara; she may have been a winner in a beauty contest, events also photographed by Baynes. Standing together, they recall historic depictions of the Three Graces, goddesses in Greek mythology that epitomized beauty.
  • ?–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 (Three Women)|url=false|author=Jimmy Baynes|year=1960s|access-date=19 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.193