Transnational Family Portraits – Museum of Chinese in America

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2004.005.055 A composite family portrait of the Low Family, held together with masking tape. The base photograph was taken ca. 1961 with additional photographs affixed at an unknown date. Lin S. Low is the elderly man in the center. His wife, Kow Gin Mark, is seated next to him. Clockwise from left are: Mildred Y. Lee, daughter; Gim, son; Moo Gee, daughter; Stanley Wong, son-in-law (Moo Gee’s husband); Marilyn, daughter; Kam F. (Johnny), son; David, grandson; Pauline, granddaughter; Kam C. (Danny), son. Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection. 2004.005.055 Low Family 的复合全家福，用胶带固定在一起。基础照片拍摄于大约 1961 年，上面附有未知日期的附加照片。 Lin S. Low 是中间的老人。他的妻子 Kow Gin Mark 坐在他旁边。左起顺时针为：Mildred Y. Lee，女儿；吉姆（Gim），儿子；穆吉（Moo Gee），女儿； Stanley Wong，女婿（穆吉的丈夫）；玛丽莲（Marilyn），女儿； Kam F. (Johnny)，儿子；大卫（David），孙子；宝琳（Pauline,），孙女； Kam C. (Danny)，儿子。美国华人博物馆（MOCA）馆藏。

In the above photograph, taken ca. 1961, the seated elderly gentleman is Lin S. Low. Low served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and as result, became a naturalized citizen eligible to sponsor his wife and children, then living in Hong Kong, to join him in the United States. However, due to unsupported documentation, eldest daughter Moo Gee was not allowed to enter. This portrait gives the impression that the whole family was eventually able to reunite, however, the Low family portrait is actually a composite photograph on which the heads of four separated family members—eldest daughter Moo Gee, her husband and two young children—were pasted onto the bodies of stand-ins at the studio where the family went to take the original base portrait. In actuality, after they left Hong Kong, it would be more than twenty years until the Lows would see Moo Gee again. In the intervening years, she had remained in Hong Kong with other relatives and later married Stanley Wong, with whom she relocated to London and started a family.

Shaped by a legacy of immigration and exclusion, Chinese American families have been no strangers to extended family separation. Looking through MOCA’s collection of historical portraits, especially ones with handwritten messages addressed to family to whom they were sent, one wonders about both presences and absences. Before Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype cheaply connected people across oceans through video conferencing technology, Chinese leaving home to labor overseas did not expect to see their families for many years. Photographs of loved ones became cherished mementos, taken before emigrating or sent through the mail to accompany updates. And before mass-accessible camera technology, portrait studios served the needs of not only local but also transnational immigrant communities. Before leaving Hong Kong, a primary port of emigration, emigrants visited studios such as that of the prolific Francis Wu and later ones set up by émigré photographers from China after 1949. Little is known about the neighborhood-based photography studios serving NYC’s immigrant Lower East Side and Chinatown, but the stamps printed on the back of portraits or their accompanying paper frame help us identify a handful of them. At various points, Chinese immigrants had their portraits taken at Wellington Lee Studio at 44 Mulberry Street, Tarsy Photo Studio at 8 Catherine Street, Jon Yon Photo Studio at 62-64 Bayard Street, Natural Photo Studio (天然影相馆) at 47 Mott Street, and many long forgotten others. Studies of other immigrant-sending communities have found family albums filled with photographs stamped with portrait studio addresses located in immigrant-receiving communities in the United States. They are a testament to enduring family bonds but also long separations necessitated by transnational migration.

2019.004.074-FRONT Studio portrait of an older couple, Mei Shi (left) and Chen Da Pin (right), taken in 1964. The back of the photograph bears the following details: 1964 Mei Shi is 74 years old, and her birthday is July 1st (according to the lunar calendar). Chen Da Pin is 86 years old, and his birthday is April 14th (lunar as well). Courtesy of Ida Leung, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Family Treasures Digitization Project. 2019.004.074 一对老夫妇Mei Shi（左）和Chen Da Pin（右）的照相馆肖像，摄于 1964 年。照片背面有以下细节： 1964年 Mei Shi今年74岁，生日是7月1日（农历）。 Chen Da Pin今年86岁，生日是4月14日（也是农历）。由Ida Leung捐赠，美国华人博物馆（MOCA）家族珍宝数字化项目馆藏。

2019.004.074-BACK Studio portrait of an older couple, Mei Shi (left) and Chen Da Pin (right), taken in 1964. The back of the photograph bears the following details: 1964 Mei Shi is 74 years old, and her birthday is July 1st (according to the lunar calendar). Chen Da Pin is 86 years old, and his birthday is April 14th (lunar as well). Courtesy of Ida Leung, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Family Treasures Digitization Project. 2019.004.074 一对老夫妇Mei Shi（左）和Chen Da Pin（右）的照相馆肖像，摄于 1964 年。照片背面有以下细节： 1964年 Mei Shi今年74岁，生日是7月1日（农历）。 Chen Da Pin今年86岁，生日是4月14日（也是农历）。由Ida Leung捐赠，美国华人博物馆（MOCA）家族珍宝数字化项目馆藏。

2011.044.003-FRONT A studio portrait of a family. The names of family members and/or their familial relationship are written on the photograph. On the back is written: “大姑文惠存，文浣 20/7/69,” translated into English as “To father’s oldest sister, Wen Huan, 7/20/69.” 2011.044.003 一个家庭的照相馆肖像。家庭成员的姓名和/或他们的家庭关系写在照片上。背面写着：“大姑文惠存，文浣 20/7/69”，翻译成英文是“致父亲的大姐文焕，1969年7月20日”。

2011.044.003-BACK A studio portrait of a family. The names of family members and/or their familial relationship are written on the photograph. On the back is written: “大姑文惠存，文浣 20/7/69,” translated into English as “To father’s oldest sister, Wen Huan, 7/20/69.” 2011.044.003 一个家庭的照相馆肖像。家庭成员的姓名和/或他们的家庭关系写在照片上。背面写着：“大姑文惠存，文浣 20/7/69”，翻译成英文是“致父亲的大姐文焕，1969年7月20日”。

2019.006.220-FRONT Studio portrait of Hsio Ho Chao wearing a long overcoat. On the back of the photograph is written: “1958, To dear son, From daddy.” Likely taken in Guangzhou, Guangdong. Courtesy of Ted Chao, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection. 2019.006.220 穿着长外套的Hsio Ho Chao照相馆肖像。照片背面写着：“1958，致亲爱的儿子，爸爸赠。”可能是在广东省广州市拍摄的。由Ted Chao捐赠，美国华人博物馆（MOCA）馆藏。

2019.006.220 Studio portrait of Hsio Ho Chao wearing a long overcoat. On the back of the photograph is written: “1958, To dear son, From daddy.” Likely taken in Guangzhou, Guangdong. Courtesy of Ted Chao, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection. 2019.006.220 穿着长外套的Hsio Ho Chao照相馆肖像。照片背面写着：“1958，致亲爱的儿子，爸爸赠。”可能是在广东省广州市拍摄的。由Ted Chao捐赠，美国华人博物馆（MOCA）馆藏。

2015.037.463-FRONT The back of this photograph indicates that it had been printed onto a postcard that would have been mailed. Date unknown but probably the early 1900s. Courtesy of Douglas J. Chu, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection. 2015.037.463 照片的背面表明它被印在一张可以邮寄的明信片上。日期未知，但可能是 1900 年代初期。由Douglas J. Chu 捐赠，美国华人博物馆 (MOCA) 馆藏。

2015.037.463-BACK The back of the photograph indicates that it had been printed onto a postcard that would have been mailed. Date unknown but probably the early 1900s. Courtesy of Douglas J. Chu, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection. 2015.037.463 照片的背面表明它被印在一张可以邮寄的明信片上。日期未知，但可能是 1900 年代初期。由Douglas J. Chu 捐赠，美国华人博物馆 (MOCA) 馆藏。

2012.013.024 Studio portrait of Gao Cheng Qi (Cheng-Chih Kow) wearing a suit and standing in front of a backdrop painted with an ocean landscape, taken ca. 1920s. On the front of the frame is text handwritten in Chinese, translated to English as “To Aunt Bi Rong, from nephew Gao Cheng Qi.” Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection. 2012.013.024 Gao Cheng Qi（Cheng-Chih Kow）的照相馆肖像，穿着西装，站在画着海洋风景的背景前，拍摄于大约1920 年代。画框正面是用中文手写的文字，翻译成英文是“致Bi Rong姑姑，外甥Gao Cheng Qi”。美国华人博物馆（MOCA）馆藏。

2008.018.001 Studio portrait of women and children left in China, hand-colored and matted black and white print, taken ca. late 1900s. Photograph taken by Chi Kan Yan Fang Image. Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA )Collection. 2008.018.001 中国遗留的妇女和儿童照相馆肖像，手工上色和哑光黑白打印，拍摄于大约1900 年代后期。图片由Chi Kan Yan Fang影像室拍摄。美国华人博物馆（MOCA）馆藏。