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Witness History
Ming Smith makes history at MoMA
Witness History
Jun 16, 2023

In 1979, The Museum of Modern Art, (MoMA) purchased photographs from an African-American woman for the first time in its history.

Ming Smith was famous for capturing her subjects with slow shutter speeds and using oil paints to layer colour onto her black and white photos.

She worked as a model in New York in the 1970s, while pursuing her passion for photography and was friends with Grace Jones.

Ming took a powerful image of Grace performing at the iconic Studio 54 nightclub in 1978 after meeting her at an audition.

Ming was also a backing dancer in Tina Turner’s music video for What’s Love Got to Do with It, where she captured Tina glancing away from the camera, in front of Brooklyn Bridge wearing a leather skirt, denim jacket and patent stilettos with huge spiky hair.

Ming speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about graduating with a degree in microbiology, modelling and struggling to make a living, and then becoming a famous photographer with a retrospective at MoMA in 2023.

(Photo: Tina Turner, What’s Love Got to Do with It. Credit: Ming Smith)

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Jun 30, 2026
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In September 1997, the remains of a Native American chief were returned to the United States, more than a century after his death in England.

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His family knew he had been buried in London, but they didn't know where, until a British woman came across his story in a second‑hand book.

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Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

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(Photo: Chief Long Wolf and his family. Credit: Johnny Eggitt/AFP via Getty Images)


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Jun 29, 2026
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Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

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(Photo: President Eisenhower signs the proclamation admitting Hawaii as the 50th state. Credit: Getty/Bettmann)


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Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

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(Photo: Paquita la del Barrio. Credit: John Medina/WireImage/Getty Images)


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Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

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(Photo: British troops go forward in 'No Man's Land', August 1916. Credit: IWM/Getty Images)


10min 39sec

Ming Smith makes history at MoMA

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