Leslie Payne’s Aviator Goggles
date: label: Date
content: Mid-20th century
name: label: Artist
content: Leslie J. Payne
notes: label: Caption
content: These aviator goggles were once part of artist Leslie Payne’s “flights of imagination.” The self-taught artist wore goggles and handcrafted flight suits while piloting airplanes that he made across fields and along local roads. Originally, the two lenses linked across the nose, and a strap held them on the wearer’s head. The goggles were genuine, made by Willson Products of Reading, Pennsylvania, a company noted for its protective eyewear. Payne (1907-1980), who was African American, grew up during segregation in rural Virginia. He used ordinary, or “found,” objects to transform his environment and find freedom on his own terms.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anacostia Community Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Cite As
content: Leslie Payne Collection, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Leslie Payne, Jr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Anacostia Community Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 1992.0060.0178
objectType: label: Type
content: goggles
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: plastic, glass, textile, metal
label: Dimensions
content: 2 3/8 × 2 15/16 × 2 1/16 in. (6.1 × 7.5 × 5.3 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: 2 3/8 × 2 15/16 × 2 1/16 in. (6.1 × 7.5 × 5.3 cm)