Birthday portrait (Doris Price)
- Metadata
Title
Birthday portrait (Doris Price)
Series Title
Date Created
July 1953
Description
Black and white photo of Doris Price at her birthday party in Parchester. This photograph was taken by Ellis Bayles Myers. Myers was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana on December 5th, 1916. Growing up, Myers quit school after the fifth grade to help support his family and in 1943, was drafted into a segregated regiment of the Marine Corps. During his time overseas, Myers met a black photographer who inspired him to pursue photography. In 1946, Myers moved to Richmond, California, which offered more opportunities than the segregated south and allowed Myers to establish his photography business with the motto "In your home, at your convenience". The success of his business allowed Myers to move to Parchester Village, where he created a permanent darkroom in his garage. Although it was financially successful and personally satisfying, Myers ended his photography business around 1960 with the introduction of color photography. Myers documented African Americans enjoying a middle-class lifestyle through images of community social events, nightlife, family events, church events and formal portraits. Although African Americans in the postwar period (1946-1960) faced systemic inequalities and an inequal distribution of resources, the images from the Myers collection show that despite this, the postwar African American community in Richmond fully participated in the local economy, leisure events, social clubs, religious activities and politics.
Creators and Contributors
Creator:
Myers, Ellis
Subject Topic
Place(s)
Time Period
1940 to 1960
Media type
Format
Photograph
Extent
2
Pages
Dimensions
8
x
10
in
Generation
Original
Copyright Statement
Copyrighted. Rights are owned by Richmond Museum of History. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Copyright Holder. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Country of Creation
United States
Contributing Organization
Call Number
3316.01
2003.063.0005
2003.063.0005
Link to Internet Archive