Name: Sass ‘n Class Girls Night Out Dolls
Made by and When: Annie Lee for Sandy USA, 2004
Material: Vinyl
Marks, Complexion, Figure Size: Each doll has a Sass ‘n Class Annie Lee Girls Night Out hangtag with the doll’s series number and name on the back of the hangtag. Each doll has a number incised in the back of its left leg. The series numbers, leg numbers, complexions, and sizes of the dolls in this installation are as follows.
- #6402 Ravishing in Red is marked 0727; has a medium brown complexion, and a moderately full figure.
- #6403 Sultry in Silver is marked 0790; has the deepest complexion, and a moderately full figure.
- #6406 Beckoning in Blue is marked 0246; has a medium brown complexion, and a slender figure.
- #6408 Glamorous in Gold is marked 0541; has a light brown complexion, and the fullest figure in this group.
Not shown in individual photos are #6401 Gorgeous in Green, #6404 Bewitching in Black, #6405 Passionate in Purple, #6407 Captivating in Crème, #6409 Pleasurable in Pink, and #6410 Provocative in Polka Dots.
Height: 17-1/2 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Dolls have different wigged hairstyles and colors as shown in the gallery photographs. Considered faceless dolls, their facial features are absent.
Clothes: Each doll is dressed in nonremovable Roaring-Twenties-style “going out” fashions, shoes, and accessories based on the “High Roller” painting by Annie Lee. Girls Night Out dolls wear stylish earrings, bracelets, and rings. Sultry in Silver has a shoulder bag. Their names are based on the main color of their fashions.
Other: The individually numbered, limited edition of 2000 faceless dolls with hangtags are part of a series of 10 dolls inspired by the original Annie Lee painting, “High Roller.” The painting depicts a girls’ night out scene. The dolls’ brown complexions range from light to dark with lighter painted palms. Their body sizes differ from slender to curvaceously full-figured. They have beautifully sculpted hands with separately posed fingers and polished stiletto fingernails.
The following poem, “High Roller,” by D. Joy Smith is printed on the inside of the hangtag:
Shed the Boardroom 9 to 5
To Catch that first class flight
Look out boys, she’s coming in
Lady Luck’s high rolling tonight
Her jewelry jingles but her money folds
As she strolls through casino doors
You can bet whatever she takes to play
She’ll always come back with more.
Black jack, loose slots, “Come on seven!!!”,
Her poker face set to win
The lady blushes royal flushes
‘til the men sigh, “I’m all in.”
About the Artist: Annie Frances Lee was an American artist. She is known for her depiction of African-American everyday life. Her work is characterized by images without facial features. She used body language to show emotion and expression in her work. Her most popular paintings are Blue Monday and My Cup Runneth Over.” (Wikipedia)
See eight of the 10 dolls here where Ravishing in Red and Sultry in Silver are not shown. Those two are shown in the gallery images next.
Gallery
_________
Your comments are valued. Donations aid the initiative to preserve Black-doll history.
If you subscribe to DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum™ by email, be sure to click the post title in the email, which links to the website to view all text and associated media. Please “like” and share this installation with your social media doll contacts. To subscribe, add your email address to the subscribe or sign-up field in the footer or right sidebar.
DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum™ 