The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 16, 2025

Parade/Baby

1951

Ruth Orkin

(American, 1921–1985)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Gift of Mary Engel/Ruth Orkin Photo Archive 2023.65
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

In the 1940s “the doll tests,” now controversial psychological experiments, purported to study the impact of segregation on Black children and found that a majority of them preferred the white doll.

Description

While there were some Black baby dolls available for sale earlier, the first widely distributed, commercially manufactured Black baby doll was marketed in the 1950s. This enigmatic scene seems to have occurred in London. A crowd composed entirely of white people is being shown, or perhaps offered for sale, a Black baby doll, which seems by their expressions to appear a curious object to them.
  • ?-2022
    Orkin/Engle Film & Photo Archive, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 5, 2022-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Parade/Baby|url=false|author=Ruth Orkin|year=1951|access-date=16 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.65