Historical Portrait
Sam Bell, portrait, photograph
Archive record
Forms part of a group of field materials documenting Sam Bell performing Anglo-American music on August 1 and 2, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Tuolumne County, California.
About this photograph
This portrait was made during fieldwork for the W.P.A. California Folk Music Project in Tuolumne County, California. Sidney Robertson Cowell photographed and recorded Sam Bell performing Anglo-American music over two days in August 1939.
Cowell directed the project from 1938 to 1940, working across Northern California's immigrant communities rather than focusing on a single tradition. The resulting archive includes portraits of traditional musicians from Armenian, Icelandic, Italian, Portuguese, Mexican, Irish, and Serbian backgrounds.
The photograph forms part of a group of field materials documenting Bell's performances. The project's recordings and photographs are held by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.
Rights & Attribution
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