George Gershwin, 26 Sep 1898 - 11 Jul 1937 Search this
Sitter:
DuBose Heyward, 31 Aug 1885 - 16 Jun 1940 Search this
Medium:
Oil on pressboard
Dimensions:
Accurate: 61 x 45.7cm (24 x 18")
Frame: 74 × 58.4 × 2.9cm (29 1/8 × 23 × 1 1/8")
Type:
Painting
Date:
1935
Exhibition Label:
Born Charleston, South Carolina
In 1925, writer DuBose Heyward published his first and most successful novel, Porgy, which recounts the story of a disabled African American beggar in the Charleston neighborhood of Catfish Row. As a teenager, DuBose was a checker on a steamboat.
His experience working among African American stevedores anchored his portrayal of that community, which critics saw as sympathetic and dignified. He dramatized the novel with his wife, Dorothy, and Porgy made Broadway history in 1927 as the first play with an all-Black cast. By then, composer George Gershwin had approached Heyward about collaborating on an operatic version.
Gershwin painted this likeness of Heyward in 1935, the year they premiered Porgy and Bess at the Alvin Theater in New York City. Considered “the great American opera,” it broke barriers with its blend of blues, gospel, jazz, and classical music. It helped push the opera world and Broadway toward the racial integration of their stages and audiences.
Nacido en Charleston, Carolina del Sur
En 1925, el escritor DuBose Heyward publicó su primera y más exitosa novela, Porgy —la historia de un mendigo discapacitado afroamericano en el barrio Catfish Row de Charleston—. De adolescente, Heyward fue revisor en un barco de vapor. Sus experiencias entre los estibadores negros dieron base a su retrato de dicha comunidad, descrito por la crítica como empático y digno. Heyward dramatizó la novela con su esposa Dorothy, y Porgy hizo historia en Broadway en 1927 como primera obra teatral con elenco de raza negra. Para entonces, el compositor George Gershwin gestionaba ya con Heyward una colaboración para una versión operística.
Gershwin pintó esta imagen de Heyward en 1935, cuando estrenaron Porgy and Bess en el Alvin Theater de Nueva York. Considerada “la gran ópera americana”, la obra rompió barreras con su mezcla de blues, góspel, jazz y música clásica. También encaminó al mundo de la ópera y a Broadway hacia la integración racial en el escenario y en el público.
Provenance:
The artist; his brother Ira Gershwin; gift to NPG 1966.
