Photographed by Scott Wolff. Color corrected by Pat Cagney.

Helen Ann Smith at Harlem House, Beale St., Memphis, Tennessee

Artist Ernest C. Withers (American, 1922-2007)

CultureAmerican

Date1959, printed ca. 2000

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 9 1/2 × 9 9/16 in. (24.1 × 24.3 cm)
Overall: 14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 1/16 × 16 1/16 in. (51 × 40.8 cm)

Credit LineGifts of Ernest C. Withers and Panopticon Gallery

Object number2000.1.2

Not on view

DescriptionYoung woman stands smiling behind the counter of Harlem House, Memphis, TN.

Label TextErnest C. Withers American, 1922−2007 Helen Ann Smith at Harlem House, Beale St., Memphis, Tennessee, 1959 Gelatin silver print (photograph), printed ca. 2000 Although blacks were not served in the popular Toddle House chain of restaurants (as shown in the photograph to the right), they were welcomed and treated with respect at any Harlem House lunch counter, an affiliate chain owned by the same parent company. By the early 1960s there were nine Harlem House diners in Memphis, including this one on Beale Street. The menu was simple, and the company prided itself on high-quality customer service. Operating parallel chains allowed the white-owned company to participate in racial segregation and still earn profits from blacks. Gift of Ernest C. Withers and Panopticon Gallery 2000.1.2 Exhibition History"Pictures Tell the Story," Chrysler Museum of Art, Jan. 28 - May 7, 2000. "Women and the Civil Rights Movement," Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 14 - October 30, 2016. "American Appetite: Selections from the Chrysler Museum of Art," Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA, February 6 - June 6, 2021.Published ReferencesErnest C. Withers, with contributions by F. Jack Hurley, Brooks Johnson, and Daniel J. Wolff. PICTURES TELL THE STORY: ERNEST C. WITHERS, REFLECTIONS IN HISTORY. Norfolk, VA: Chrysler Museum of Art. 2000: p. 2, ill.