The collection dates from 1900 to 1997 and mostly includes images taken in South Africa. The images document the peoples of South Africa, particularly the Loved, Ndebele, San, Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu peoples. Locations photographed include Basutoland (now Lesotho), Bechuanaland (now Botswana), Johannesburg, Natal, Pretoria, Soweto, Swaziland, Transkei, Transvaal, the Umzimkulu Valley and Zululand. Manuscript and office files include clippings, correspondence, exhibition announcements, invitations and reviews, notes, essays, receipts, and other materials that document Larrabee's career, family history, and personal life.
Scope and Contents:
The collection dates from 1900 to 1997 and mostly includes images taken in South Africa. The images document the peoples of South Africa, particularly the Lovedu, Ndebele, San, Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu peoples. Locations photographed include Basutoland (now Lesotho), Bechuanaland (now Botswana), Johannesburg, Natal, Pretoria, Soweto, Swaziland, Transkei, Transvaal, the Umzimkulu Valley and Zululand.
Notable people photographed include Noel Coward, Gwen Ffangcon Davies, Athol Fugard, Nadine Gordimer, Norman Hackforth, Freida Lock, Ivor Novello, Alan Paton, Alexis Preller, Gerard Sekoto, and Marda Vanne.
The manuscript materials and office files are comprised of clippings, correspondence, exhibition announcements, invitations and reviews, notes, essays, receipts, and other manuscript materials that document Larrabee's career, family history, and personal life.
Arrangement:
Arranged by format into 3 series:
Series 1: Photographs, circa 1936-circa 1988
Series 2: Manuscript Materials, circa 1936-circa 1996
Series 3: Office Files, 1900-1997
Biographical/Historical note:
Photographer Constance Stuart Larrabee (1914-2000) was best known for her images taken in South Africa. Born in Cornwall, England, she was raised in Pretoria. She studied photography in London (1933-1935) and at the Bavarian State Institute for Photography in Munich (1935-1936), where she was influenced by the avant-garde work of artists at the Bauhaus. Returning to South Africa, Larrabee set up a studio and photographed many leading cultural and political figures of the period. During World War II she served as South Africa's first woman war correspondent, and in 1950 she married American Sterling Larrabee and moved to the United States.
Larrabee began photographing the peoples of South Africa in the late 1930s. She published extensively, including a portfolio produced for the book Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1948). Her work has appeared in exhibits throughout the world, including the following: The Lovedu in Pretoria, 1947; The Family of Man (Museum of Modern Art, 1955); Tribal Photographs (Corcoran Art Gallery, 1984; and Go Well, My Child (National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1986).
Constance Stuart Larrabee collection (COR0011-MS):
Collection held at the George Washington University Archives and Special Collections. Includes artifacts, correspondence, exhibition files, photographs, negatives, and publication files of Constance Stuart Larrabee, photographer and South Africa's first woman war correspondent. A bulk of the materials document Larrabee's time in Europe as a correspondent and photographer during World War II.
Provenance:
Donated by Constance Stuart Larabee in 1986 and 1998.
Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
1 Negatives (photographic) (black and white, 120mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Place:
Durban (South Africa)
Date:
1960
General:
Strip number: 5140 - 5143; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: E.G. Malherbe 1960
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Collection Citation:
Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection, EEPA 1998-006, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The cataloging of the Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection was supported by a grant from The Smithsonian Women's Committee.
1 Photographic print ((contact print)., b&w, 6 x 6 cm.)
1 Photographic print ((dupe print)., b&w, 8 x 10 in.)
Type:
Archival materials
Negatives
Photographic prints
Place:
Africa
Pretoria (South Africa)
South Africa
Date:
1936-1949
Scope and Contents:
Ndebele Woman PaintingGatepost, 1936-1949. The woman is painting one of the ball-capped pillars at the entrance to the homestead area with a paintbrush and holding a tin container for the paint. She is wearing a long blanket over her shoulder, beaded neck, arm, and leg rings, and brass arm and leg rings. Photograph by Constance Stuart Larrabee, 1936-1949.
There are no prints of this negative in the Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection. EEPA produced an 8x10 study print for reference purposes.
Local Note:
Original Constance Stuart Larrabee Number: N147
Contact Sheet Number: 715873-15
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4464, 4465; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4464, 4465; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4466; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4467; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4468, 4469; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4468, 4469; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
1 Photographic print ((contact print)., b&w, 6 x 6 cm.)
1 Photographic print ((dupe print)., b&w, 8 x 10 in.)
Type:
Archival materials
Negatives
Photographic prints
Place:
Africa
Pretoria (South Africa)
South Africa
Date:
1936-1949
Scope and Contents:
Ndebele Woman Painting Gatepost, 1936-1949. The woman is painting one of the ball-capped pillar at the entrance to the homestead area with a paintbrush and holding a tin container for the paint. She is wearing a long blanket over her shoulder, beaded neck, arm, and leg rings, and brass arm and leg rings. Photograph by Constance Stuart Larrabee, 1936-1949.
There are no prints of this negative in the Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection. EEPA produced an 8x10 study print for reference purposes.
Local Note:
Original Constance Stuart Larrabee Number: N148
Contact Sheet Number: 715873-15
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4470, 4471; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4470, 4471; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4472; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4473; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4474; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4475, 4476; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
1 Photographic print ((contact print)., b&w, 6 x 6 cm.)
1 Photographic print ((dupe print)., b&w, 8 x 10 in.)
Type:
Archival materials
Negatives
Photographic prints
Place:
Africa
Pretoria (South Africa)
South Africa
Date:
1936-1949
Scope and Contents:
Ndebele Woman Painting Gatepost, 1936-1949. The woman is painting the top of a ball-capped pillar at the entrance to the homestead area with a paintbrush. She is wearing a long blanket over her shoulder, beaded neck, arm, and leg rings, and brass arm and leg rings. Photograph by Constance Stuart Larrabee, 1936-1949.
There are no prints of this negative in the Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection. EEPA produced an 8x10 study print for reference purposes.
Local Note:
Original Constance Stuart Larrabee Number: N145
Contact Sheet Number: 715873-18
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4475, 4476; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4477, 4478; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Strip number: 4477, 4478; Larrabee's description on negative sleeve: Bushmen of the Kalahari
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
