Josephine Baker: Image and Icon

Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture

8th Street NW and F Street NW
Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 633-1000

Nearby Metro Stops:

Gallery Place-Chinatown

Wheelchair Accessible:

Yes

Kid Friendly:

Yes

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Josephine Baker led a fascinating life. Born a century ago in St. Louis, the cabaret performer found a more receptive audience in Europe than in the US. She wowed Paris’s cafe society in the 1920s with her exotic looks and great voice, becoming a symbol of the Jazz Age. During World War II, she became involved in the French resistence. Later, a passion for racial harmony led to her work as a civil-rights advocate, during which time she adopted 12 multiracial children. “Josephine Baker: Image and Icon” tells the story of one of the first international pop stars through photographs, posters, prints, and drawings.