Child Beauty (Barbara Jordan)

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

Barbara Jordan’s mother was anxious to comb her daughter’s hair before Masha Arms took this picture but Masha insisted that she leave Barbara just the way she was, resulting in the photograph’s title, “Child Beauty.” Originally from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Masha Arms arrived in Washington, DC, during the Great Depression. After buying a Model G Leica camera in 1934, and teaching herself about the technical aspects of photography, she landed a job in 1936 teaching photography at the King-Smith Studio School. Masha’s work was published in a 1936 Washington Post review of the Junior League Gallery exhibition alongside photographs by Ansel Adams and Margaret Bourke-White. In 1941, when the United States entered World War II, Masha left Washington, married William Tyler Arms of Deerfield, Massachusetts, and moved back to New England.

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Details

Item typePhotograph
PhotographerArms, Masha
Datecirca 1938
PlaceWashington, D.C.
EraGreat Depression and World War II, 1929–1945
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatPhotography; Silver-gelatin
Dimension detailsHeight: 12.87 in Width: 9.62 in
Catalog #1997.16.38
View this item in our curatorial database →
Arms, Masha, photographer. Child Beauty (Barbara Jordan). Photograph. ca. 1938. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1997-16-38/. Accessed on December 8, 2024.

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