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Catalog Data

Artist:
Josef Breitenbach, 03 Apr 1896 - 07 Oct 1984  Search this
Sitter:
Sarah Vaughan, 27 Mar 1924 - 3 Apr 1990  Search this
Medium:
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Image: 34.2 x 26.7 cm (13 7/16 x 10 1/2")
Sheet: 25.4 x 27.8 cm (10 x 10 15/16")
Mat: 71.1 x 55.9 cm (28 x 22")
Frame: 71.9 x 56.7 x 3.2 cm (28 5/16 x 22 5/16 x 1 1/4")
Type:
Photograph
Date:
1950
Exhibition Label:
Born Newark, New Jersey
Known popularly as “the divine Sarah” and “Sassy,” Sarah Vaughan was regarded as one of the premier female vocalists of her day. Drawn to music from an early age, she studied piano and sang in her church choir as a youth. When Vaughan was eighteen, she entered an amateur talent contest at Harlem’s Apollo Theater on a dare and won first prize. This success led to frequent invitations to perform alongside the leading figures in contemporary jazz, including Earl “Fatha” Hines, Dizzy Gillespie, and Billy Eckstein. Adept at bebop improvisation, Vaughan possessed a wonderfully versatile voice that complemented a larger jazz ensemble. By 1950—the year in which Josef Breitenbach created this portrait—she was selling upwards of three million records a year. During this period, a poll in Down Beat magazine named her the top female singer for six consecutive years.
Topic:
Costume\Jewelry\Earring  Search this
Sarah Vaughan: Female  Search this
Sarah Vaughan: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Pianist  Search this
Sarah Vaughan: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer\Jazz singer  Search this
Sarah Vaughan: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Jazz musician  Search this
Sarah Vaughan: Grammy  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
NPG.99.160
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4051b344c-f50c-40c7-81a6-e066a415d2bd
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.99.160