Polaroid photograph of two works on canvas by Donna Summer
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1991
name: label: Photograph by
content: Donna Summer, American, 1948 - 2012
label: Manufactured by
content: Eastman Kodak Company, founded 1889
notes: label: Caption
content: Christie's auction site dated this photograph as ca. 1991. This may be confirmed by the eleven digit code on the back of the photograph. In this case, the code is 02111111089: 02 is the month, 1 is the manufacturing year, and 11111089 is the machine and shift information. Though it is unclear if the 1 refers to 1981 or 1991. However, it is most likely the 1990s. Following her marriage to Bruce Sudano in 1980, Summer began to paint prolifically on their 56-acre ranch in Thousand Oaks, Ventura County, California. Two articles noted that she had a garage studio and would often paint alongside her daughters. In the Donna Summer documentary titled, Love to Love you Donna Summer, at about the 1.30.00 mark, there is an audio clip by Summers explaining that her daughters inspired her to paint, which she also felt gave her full creative autonomy. Based on her younger daughters' ages, Brooklyn Sudano (b. 1981) and Amanda Sudano (b. 1982), the early 1990s seems likely. Her oldest daughter, Mimi Sommer (b. 1973), appears to have spent her early years with Summer's parents but later lived with her mother and stepfather Bruce Sudano in California. If the date attribution is correct, Summer's California studio is also most likely where this photograph was taken. Both polaroids in this lot, (2023.85.2.1 and 2023.85.2.2) appear to have been taken in the same location. That said, it is possible that this was taken at her Nashville, TN residence which was built in 1993.
label: Caption
content: The painting of the woman in the red dress (2023.85.2.1) is partially visible in the HBO documentary at the 1.23.25 mark. In the scene, two of her daughters are going through their mother's art studio, discussing her art. Presumably, this is her studio in Naples Florida, where Summers and Sudano lived until from 2007 until her death in 2012.
label: Caption
content: CF, 10/3/2023
label: Caption
content: Sources:
label: Caption
content: "TWO POLAROID PHOTOGRAPHS OF DONNA SUMMER'S WORKS ON CANVAS
label: Caption
content: DONNA SUMMER, CIRCA 1991," Christie's
label: Caption
content: https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/collection-donna-summer/two-polaroid-photographs-donna-summers-works-canvas-45/186939?ldp_breadcrumb=back. Accessed 10/2/2023.
label: Caption
content: "Film Identification and Manufacturing Information," Gawain Weaver Art Conservation
label: Caption
content: https://gawainweaver.com/images/uploads/file/Polaroid_ID.pdf. Accessed 10/2/2023.
label: Caption
content: "6 Ways of Looking at Donna Summer," The Cut
label: Caption
content: https://www.thecut.com/2023/06/donna-summer-exhibit-sale.html. Accessed 10/3/2023.
label: Caption
content: "Donna Summer’s Passionate Paintings Come Into Focus with a New Documentary and a Christie’s Sale," ARTnews
label: Caption
content: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/donna-summer-paintings-art-disco-christies-love-to-love-you-1234679595/. Accessed 10/3/2023.
label: Caption
content: Williams, Roger Ross and Brooklyn Sudano. Love to Love you Donna Summer. HBO, 2023, 1 HR 47min. https://www.hbo.com/movies/love-to-love-you-donna-summer. Accessed 10/3/2023.
label: Caption
content: "Florida Residence of the Late Pop Singer and Disco Diva, Donna Summer, Sells for US$2.85 million," Christies International Real Estate
label: Caption
content: https://www.christiesrealestate.com/article/florida-residence-of-the-late-pop-singer-and-disco-diva-donna-summer-sells-for-us-2-85-million. Accessed 10/3/2023.
label: Caption
content: "914 Overton Lea Rd. Nashville, Tennessee 37220," Fridrich & Clark Realty
label: Caption
content: https://fridrichandclark.com/listings/rt-1465460-914-overton-lea-rd-nashville-tennessee-37220/. Accessed 10/3/2023.
label: Description
content: A color Polaroid photograph taken by Donna Summer depicting two paintings by Donna Summer. The colorful abstract portrait paintings are shown sitting on a hardwood floor, leaning against a white wall. The taller portrait, on the left, is of a woman wearing a plum-colored dress set against a plain, blue-gray background. The woman has long, curly black hair and extends her proper right arm out to her side. In the top left corner of the portrait are a pair of dangling, bare legs. The second, smaller portrait depicts a woman in red with long black hair, standing in front of male figure. The woman is depicted from the bust-up, with the man partially visible over her shoulder. Both appear on the left side of the painting. The right side of the portrait has a light purple field at the bottom and blue-gray field at the top. Six red poppies are painted over the blue field. The back of the photograph is black with a white frame. The date and film code, [02111111089], is printed in the bottom left corner with [POLAROID ® 6] in the right corner.
place: label: Place captured
content: Thousand Oaks, Ventura County, California, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Composers (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Disco (Music)
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Singers (Musicians)
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2023.85.2.1
objectType: label: Type
content: dye diffusion transfer prints
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Estate of Donna Summer
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: dye on photographic paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (Sheet): 4 1/4 × 3 1/2 × 1/16 in. (10.8 × 8.9 × 0.2 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Image): 3 1/8 × 3 1/16 in. (7.9 × 7.8 cm)