Historical Portrait
C. A. Koljonen, portrait, photograph
Archive record
Forms part of a group of field materials documenting C. A. Koljonen performing Finnish music on September 4, 1939, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Central Valley, California.
About this photograph
This portrait documents C. A. Koljonen, who performed Finnish music on September 4, 1939, in Central Valley, California. The photograph was made by Sidney Robertson Cowell as part of her fieldwork that day.
Cowell directed the W.P.A. California Folk Music Project, which recorded and photographed traditional musicians across Northern California between 1938 and 1940. She deliberately worked across the state's immigrant communities rather than focusing on any single tradition, creating a collection that includes Armenian, Icelandic, Italian, Portuguese, Mexican, Irish, and Serbian names alongside Finnish performers like Koljonen.
The photograph forms part of a group of field materials from that September recording session. The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress holds both Cowell's recordings and photographs from the project.
Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.
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