Vintage Black Glamour

UPDATED: This photo, entitled “Six Women” (actress Vonetta McGee is second from the right) was taken by David S. Johnson, the premier chronicler of Black life in San Francisco in the 1950s and 1960s. Mr. Johnson photographed luminaries including Nat “King” Cole and Eartha Kitt and documented historic events including voter registration drives, the March on Washington and other activities in the Civil Rights Movement in the San Francisco area. Born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1926, Mr. Johnson was the first Black student of photography icon Ansel Adams and a graduate of the first fine art photography program in the United States at California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute). Today, Mr. Johnson is in his 80’s and still lives and works in the Bay Area. Thanks to Maya DeRoche and Sally Dupre for the updated information.

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I saw this photo on Tumblr recently, described (incorrectly) as models in a fashion show in San Francisco’s Union Square circa 1950s. This can’t be the 1950s (it is definitely late 1960s) and I know this because of the presence of actress, Vonetta McGee (1945-2010) who is second from the right. If anyone has any further information on this shot (photographer, names of the other models) please let me know in the comment section.