FUR COAT - 1930

This fur coat is displayed in tribute to a famous 1932 photograph by James Van Der Zee of a Harlem Couple standing in front of their Cadillac V-16 wearing raccoon fur coats. Originally popularized on American college campuses, extravagantly oversized raccoon fur coats quickly became popular status items amongst African American men and women in Harlem in 1930s. Van Der Zee created meticulously-staged portraits that celebrated the carefully styled images that the sitters sought to project. This image—with its many trappings of success—challenged popular perceptions of about race and class, and provided an aspirational model for African Americans aspiring to achieve the American Dream.