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The photographer James VanDerZee frequently depicted African Americans
pursuing the American Dream. Madame C. J. Walker—who owned this beauty
salon, a beauty school, a line of hair care products, and a flourishing
mail-order business—was reputed to have been the first self-made woman
millionaire in the United States. Though she was born on a southern
plantation and began as a domestic worker and a laundress, Walker
became an influential symbol of urban sophistication. Her emphasis
on beauty culture and her legendary success inspired generations of
African-American women to achieve economic independence.
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Reception in the Office of the C. J. Walker Company, 1929
James VanDerZee (American, 18861986) Gelatin silver print; 7 1/2 x 9 5/8 in. (19 x 24.4 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Gift of The James VanDerZee Institute, 1970 (1970.539.109) © Donna Mussenden VanDerZee |
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