Aaron Siskind, The Wishing Tree, Gelatin silver print, 1937, printed later
Artist/Maker:
Aaron Siskind
Bio:
American, 1903-1991
Title:
The Wishing Tree
Portfolio/Series:
Harlem Document, 1936-40
Date:
1937, printed later
Medium:
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Sheet: 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm) Image: 6 1/2 × 10 in. (16.5 × 25.4 cm)
Credit Line:
Purchase: Lillian Gordon Bequest
Accession Number:
2000-58
Copyright:
© Aaron Siskind Foundation, Courtesy Bruce Silverstein Gallery

Not On View

Harlem’s legendary Wishing Tree, bringer of good fortune, was once a tall elm that stood outside a theater at 132nd Street and Seventh Avenue. When it was cut down in 1934 Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, the celebrated tap dancer, moved the stump to a nearby block and planted a new Tree of Hope beside it to assume wish-granting duties. A piece of the original trunk is preserved in the Apollo Theater on 125th Street, where performers still touch it for luck before going onstage.

Information may change as a result of ongoing research.

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