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ca. 1991

Christie's auction site dated this photograph as ca. 1991. This may be confirmed by the eleven digit code on the back of the photograph. In this case, the code is 02111111089: 02 is the month, 1 is the manufacturing year, and 11111089 is the machine and shift information. Though it is unclear if the 1 refers to 1981 or 1991. However, it is most likely the 1990s. Following her marriage to Bruce Sudano in 1980, Summer began to paint prolifically on their 56-acre ranch in Thousand Oaks, Ventura County, California. Two articles noted that she had a garage studio and would often paint alongside her daughters. In the Donna Summer documentary titled, Love to Love you Donna Summer, at about the 1.30.00 mark, there is an audio clip by Summers explaining that her daughters inspired her to paint, which she also felt gave her full creative autonomy. Based on her younger daughters' ages, Brooklyn Sudano (b. 1981) and Amanda Sudano (b. 1982), the early 1990s seems likely. Her oldest daughter, Mimi Sommer (b. 1973), appears to have spent her early years with Summer's parents but later lived with her mother and stepfather Bruce Sudano in California. If the date attribution is correct, Summer's California studio is also most likely where this photograph was taken. Both polaroids in this lot, (2023.85.2.1 and 2023.85.2.2) appear to have been taken in the same location. That said, it is possible that this was taken at her Nashville, TN residence which was built in 1993.
The painting of the woman in the red dress (2023.85.2.1) is partially visible in the HBO documentary at the 1.23.25 mark. In the scene, two of her daughters are going through their mother's art studio, discussing her art. Presumably, this is her studio in Naples Florida, where Summers and Sudano lived until from 2007 until her death in 2012.
CF, 10/3/2023
Sources:
"TWO POLAROID PHOTOGRAPHS OF DONNA SUMMER'S WORKS ON CANVAS
DONNA SUMMER, CIRCA 1991," Christie's
"Film Identification and Manufacturing Information," Gawain Weaver Art Conservation
"6 Ways of Looking at Donna Summer," The Cut
"Donna Summer’s Passionate Paintings Come Into Focus with a New Documentary and a Christie’s Sale," ARTnews
Williams, Roger Ross and Brooklyn Sudano. Love to Love you Donna Summer. HBO, 2023, 1 HR 47min. https://www.hbo.com/movies/love-to-love-you-donna-summer. Accessed 10/3/2023.
"Florida Residence of the Late Pop Singer and Disco Diva, Donna Summer, Sells for US$2.85 million," Christies International Real Estate
"914 Overton Lea Rd. Nashville, Tennessee 37220," Fridrich & Clark Realty

A color Polaroid photograph taken by Donna Summer depicting two paintings by Donna Summer. The colorful abstract portrait paintings are shown sitting on a hardwood floor, leaning against a white wall. The taller portrait, on the left, is of a woman wearing a plum-colored dress set against a plain, blue-gray background. The woman has long, curly black hair and extends her proper right arm out to her side. In the top left corner of the portrait are a pair of dangling, bare legs. The second, smaller portrait depicts a woman in red with long black hair, standing in front of male figure. The woman is depicted from the bust-up, with the man partially visible over her shoulder. Both appear on the left side of the painting. The right side of the portrait has a light purple field at the bottom and blue-gray field at the top. Six red poppies are painted over the blue field. The back of the photograph is black with a white frame. The date and film code, [02111111089], is printed in the bottom left corner with [POLAROID ® 6] in the right corner.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Photographs and Still Images

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

National Museum of African American History and Culture

2023.85.2.1

dye diffusion transfer prints

© Estate of Donna Summer
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

dye on photographic paper

H x W x D (Sheet): 4 1/4 × 3 1/2 × 1/16 in. (10.8 × 8.9 × 0.2 cm)
H x W (Image): 3 1/8 × 3 1/16 in. (7.9 × 7.8 cm)

Object Name • Polaroid photograph of two works on canvas by Donna Summer

nmaahc_2023.85.2.1

NMAAHC

POLAROID PHOTOGRAPH OF TWO WORKS ON CANVAS BY DONNA SUMMER

National Museum of African American History and Culture

CC0

1990s

Summer, Donna • Eastman Kodak Company

Thousand Oaks • United States • North and Central America • California • Ventura County

Photography • Art • Disco (Music) • Composers (Musicians) • Singers (Musicians)

City • Thousand Oaks • County • Ventura County • State • California • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America

Images

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