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Carl Whiting Bishop Collection

Creator:: Bishop, Carl Whiting, 1881-1942 Search this

Names:: Bishop, Carl Whiting, 1881-1942 Search this; Tung, Kuang-zung. Search this; Warner, Langdon (1881-1955) Search this; Wenley, A. G. (Archibald Gibson), 1898-1962 Search this

Extent:: 20 Linear feet

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Negatives; Photographic prints; Manuscript

Place:: China

Date:: 1923-1934

Summary:: An associate curator and associate in archaeology at the Freer Gallery of Art from 1922 to 1942, the collection of Carl Whiting Bishop (1881-1942) document his Gallery-sponsored travels to China from 1923 to 1934 and include an unpublished manuscript describing his archaeological research in China; line drawings; rubbings; maps; note cards; and nearly 4,000 glass and film negatives with corresponding original silver prints. These document his expeditions in northern and central China, illustrating archaeological sites in Henan, Shanxi, and Hebei provinces. Specific digs include the large neolithic site at Wanquan, Shanxi, and sixth century C.E. tombs near Fenyin. Additional images show Chinese cityscapes, daily life and customs, topography, temples, pagodas, caves, and sculpture.

Scope and Contents:: The professional papers and official records of Carl Whiting Bishop include his unpublished two-volume manuscript, [not before 1940]; and photographs, nearly 4,000 images, 1915-1934; and undated. These materials document over a twenty-five year period in the course of Bishop's research and archaeological activities. They were retained at the Freer Gallery of Art after Bishop's death in 1942, and were supplemented with an addition received in 1956 from his widow Daisy Furscott Bishop.

The manuscript was prepared in a typescript format, over 421 pages of text, with photographic illustrations, and completed by Bishop sometime after 1939. Properly titled Archaeological Research in China 1923-1934, this unpublished manuscript constituted a field report that chronicled Bishop's Gallery-sponsored expeditions in northern and central China during the period 1923 to 1934. The reader is provided with a record of the day-to-day operations completed, of obstacles and opposition encountered, and the results obtained from their work. Key diplomatic and scientific representatives from the West and China are recorded who aided and contributed to the investigations. Moreover, there are descriptions of the academic, social and political climate in China during a period of civil war and economic strife. Against this background, Bishop also discussed their efforts in view of the history of China, with commentary on the country's geography, topography, climate, flora and fauna, mineral products, and ancient customs and legends.

The earliest still photographic prints in the Bishop Papers date from his employ at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, where he conducted archaeological reconnaissance from 1915 to 1918 in China, Korea, and Japan. All subsequent images were created or collected by Bishop and his assistant Kuang-zung Tung during the Freer Gallery-sponsored expeditions of 1923-1934. Further descriptions of these materials may be found under Series 2 and Series 3 in this finding aid.

In the transliteration into English of the names of Chinese characters, Bishop followed the Wade-Giles system, with a few exceptions to those rules for certain well known and commonly used place-names, especially those of cities, towns, territorial divisions, and bodies of water. We have retained Bishop's romanization except in certain areas where clarification was needed. The Chinese personal and place-names have been kept as they appeared in his captions.

Arrangement:: Series 1: Manuscript/Writings 1915-1934 and undated

Series 2: Photography Prints

Series 3: Negatives

Series 4: Drawings, Rubbings, and Maps

Biographical / Historical:: Carl Whiting Bishop (1881-1942) was an archaeologist, anthropologist, and specialist in the field of East Asian studies. Born in Tokyo, Japan, on July 12, 1881, he was the son of a Methodist missionary, the Reverend Charles Bishop. Except for a twelve-month residence in the United States during 1889-90, Bishop spent the first sixteen years of his life in Japan, before returning to this country in 1898 for college preparatory work at Northwestern Academy, Evanston, Illinois. He studied at Hampden-Sydney College and in 1912 received an A.B. degree from DePauw University. In 1913 he was awarded the degree of Master of Arts by the Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, where he studied with the noted German anthropologist, Franz Boas (1858-1942). That same year he received his first scientific appointment as a member of the Peabody Museum Expedition to Central America.

From 1914-18 Bishop served as Assistant Curator in Oriental Art at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, where on an expedition for that museum he made his first trip to China. Under the auspices of the university, he conducted archaeological reconnaissance during 1915 and 1916 in China, Korea, and Japan, and again conducted archaeological surveys in 1917 and 1918, although no systematic excavations were carried out at that time. When the United States entered World War I on the side of the Allied Powers, Bishop enlisted in the United States Navy and was made assistant naval attaché, serving in China in the years 1918-20, with the rank of lieutenant, junior grade. He returned to Columbia University in 1921 to assume the position of Assistant in Anthropology, a post he held until the end of the academic season in 1922.

Effective 10 April 1922, Bishop was appointed as Associate Curator of the Freer Gallery of Art by then director John Ellerton Lodge (1878-1942). Asked to undertake important archaeological work, Bishop headed the gallery's first expedition to China, sponsored jointly by the FGA and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, lasting from 20 February 1923 to 6 August 1927. From 16 November 1929 to 11 April 1934, he headed another expedition, sent out this time by the Freer Gallery alone. When conditions in China made further efforts impractical, Bishop returned to Washington in 1934, where he remained at the gallery as Associate in Archaeology until the time of his death on 16 June 1942.

Carl Whiting Bishop was a member of a number of learned societies: the American Oriental Society, the American Archaeological Society, the Anthropological Society, the American Society for the Advancement of Science, the American Geographical Society, and he served on the advisory board of the American Council of Learned Societies until his death.

1881, July 12 -- Born in Tokyo, Japan

1898 -- Attends Northwestern Academy in Evanston, Illinois for college preparatory work Attends Hampden-Sydney College

1912 -- Receives A.B. degree from DePauw University

1913 -- Receives Master of Arts from Department of Anthropology from Columbia University, where he studied with Franz Boas

1914 -- Begins serving as Assistant Curator in Oriental Art at the University of Pennsylvania Museum

1915-1918 -- Makes several archaeological survey trips to China, Korea and Japan

1918-1920 -- Enlists in the U.S. Navy, serving as assistant naval attaché in China

1921 -- Serves as Assistant Professor in Anthropology at Columbia University

1922, April 10 -- Becomes Associate Curator of the Freer Gallery of Art

1923-1927 -- Heads the Freer Gallery's first expedition to China, co-sponsored by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts

1929-1934 -- Heads the second Freer-sponsored expedition to China

1934 -- Returns to US and serves as Associate in Archaeology at the Freer Gallery of Art

1942, June 16 -- Dies.

Related Materials:: Additional Bishop material may be found in the following collections also found in the the Archives of the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery:

Li Chi Reports, 1926-1929, regarding Li's reconnaissance work at Shi-yin Ts'un, Shansi Province, and the excavation at Anyang.

Archibald Gibson Wenley Papers, 1924-1926, including field diaries, notes, and photographs documenting his participation in the FGA expedition work in China.

Charles Lang Freer Papers, including 1915 correspondence between Freer and Bishop; newspaper clippings related to Bishop, and documents dated 1912-1913, relating to Freer's support for a proposed American School of Archeology in China.

A number of objects from the FGA expeditions, including bronzes, ceramics, and stone sculpture, have been accessioned into the permanent art collection of the Freer Gallery of Art. Additionally, remnants of antiquities, potteries, and metalwork accumulated during the field work, have been placed in the Freer Gallery Study Collection. Records for these items are retained with the Galleries' Registrar's Office.

Additional Bishop material may be found in the Smithsonian Institutional Archives:

Expedition Records, including correspondence of Carl Whiting Bishop, 1914; 1923-1942, nearly 3,000 letters arranged alphabetically by correspondent name; a manuscript catalogue of expedition acquisitions, Peking, 1923-1925; financial records, 1923-1934, including expedition fund ledgers, account statements, and receipts; and newspaper clippings, 1924-1932, documenting the gallery's field work and general archaeological work being conducted around the world at that time.

Smithsonian Institutional Archives, Central Files, Bishop folders, 1923-1942, including expedition letters, field reports, and photographs sent to John E. Lodge.

Personnel and Special Events Photograph Collection, containing portrait photographs of Bishop.

Additional Bishop matieral may be found in the University of Pennsylvania Museum Archives, Philadelphia:

Documentation of University of Pennsylvania Museum-sponsored field work in East Asia may be found there that includes records of C.W. Bishop, dated 1914-1927 (measuring about .5 linear foot), much of it created during his tenure as the Museum's Assistant Curator of Oriental Art from 1914-1918. Included are Bishop's journals consisting of daily entries for two trips to China for the University of Pennsylvania Museum; letters to and from G.B. Gordon, C.W. Harrison, and Jane McHugh, written during Bishop's travel in China and subsequent to his return; and detailed financial accounts of expenditures during the China travels. Additionally, the repository houses a group of Bishop's negatives taken in China to visually record the expedition work.

Provenance:: Gift of Carl Whiting Bishop.

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research.

Rights:: Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.

Topic:: Archaeology Search this; Archaeological expeditions Search this; Archaeology -- China Search this; Photography -- China Search this

Genre/Form:: Negatives; Photographic prints; Manuscript

Citation:: The Carl Whiting Bishop Collection. FSA.A.02. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

Identifier:: FSA.A.02

See more items in:: Carl Whiting Bishop Collection

Archival Repository:: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc31125ea37-fbdf-4cd0-b413-1b022a34356b

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-fsa-a-02

Online Media:

No Image Available

Diplomatic List

Collection Collector:: Whitehead, Henry Preston, 1917-2002 Search this

Container:: Box 160, Folder 12

Type:: Archival materials

Date:: 1949-1963

Collection Restrictions:: Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.

Collection Rights:: The Henry P. Whitehead collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.

Collection Citation:: Henry P. Whitehead collection, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Michael A. Watkins.

See more items in:: Henry P. Whitehead collection; Henry P. Whitehead collection / Series 3: Tomlinson D. Todd / Printed Material / Books

Archival Repository:: Anacostia Community Museum Archives

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa763f4ec54-f846-493f-ac00-aaa3087fb995

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-acma-06-042-ref1309

Duke Ellington Collection

Creator:: Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974 Search this

Names:: Duke Ellington Orchestra Search this; Washingtonians, The. Search this; Ellington, Mercer Kennedy, 1919-1996 (musician) Search this; Strayhorn, Billy (William Thomas), 1915-1967 Search this

Collector:: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Musical History Search this

Extent:: 400 Cubic feet

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Phonograph records; Papers; Photographic prints; Posters; Sound recordings; Scrapbooks; Music; Clippings; Awards; Audiotapes

Place:: New York (N.Y.) -- 20th century; Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- 20th century; Washington (D.C.) -- 20th century

Date:: 1903 - 1989

Summary:: The collection documents Duke Ellington's career primarily through orchestrations (scores and parts), music manuscripts, lead sheets, transcriptions, and sheet music. It also includes concert posters, concert programs, television, radio, motion picture and musical theater scripts, business records, correspondence, awards, as well as audiotapes, audiodiscs, photographs, tour itineraries, newspaper clippings, magazines, caricatures, paintings, and scrapbooks.

Scope and Contents:: Dating approximately from the time Duke Ellington permanently moved to New York City in 1923 to the time the material was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution in 1988, the bulk of the material in the Duke Ellington Collection is dated from 1934-1974 and comprises sound recordings, original music manuscripts and published sheet music, hand-written notes, correspondence, business records, photographs, scrapbooks, news clippings, concert programs, posters, pamphlets, books and other ephemera. These materials document Ellington's contributions as composer, musician, orchestra leader, and an ambassador of American music and culture abroad. In addition, the materials paint a picture of the life of a big band maintained for fifty years and open a unique window through which to view an evolving American society.

The approximate four hundred cubic feet of archival materials have been processed and organized into sixteen series arranged by type of material. Several of the series have been divided into subseries allowing additional organization to describe the content of the material. For example, Series 6, Sound Recordings, is divided into four subseries: Radio and Television Interviews, Concert Performances, Studio Dates and Non-Ellington Recordings. Each series has its own scope and content note describing the material and arrangement (for example; Series 10, Magazines and Newspaper Articles, is organized into two groups, foreign and domestic, and arranged chronologically within each group). A container list provides folder titles and box numbers.

The bulk of the material is located in Series 1, Music Manuscripts, and consists of compositions and arrangements by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and other composers. Series 6, Sound Recordings also provides a record of the performance of many of these compositions. The materials in Series 2, Performances and Programs, Series 3, Business Records, Series 8, Scrapbooks, Series 9, Newspaper Clippings, Series 11, Publicity and Series 12, Posters provide documentation of specific performances by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Ellington was a spontaneous and prolific composer as evidenced by music, lyrical thoughts, and themes for extended works and plays captured on letterhead stationery in Series 3, Business Records, in the margin notes of individual books and pamphlets in Series 14, Religious Materials and Series 15, Books, and in the hand-written notes in Series 5, Personal Correspondence and Notes.

During its fifty-year lifespan, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra were billed under various names including The Washingtonians, The Harlem Footwarmers and The Jungle Band. The soloists were informally called "the band", and Series 3 includes salary statements, IOU's, receipts and ephemera relating to individual band members. Series 1, Music Manuscripts contains the soloists' parts and includes "band books" of several soloists (for example; Harry Carney and Johnny Hodges) and numerous music manuscripts of Billy Strayhorn. The changing role of Strayhorn from arranger hired in 1938 to Ellington's main collaborator and composer of many well-known titles for Duke Ellington and His Orchestra including "Take The A' Train" and "Satin Doll" can be traced in these music manuscripts. Series 7, Photographs and Series 2, Performances and Programs contain many images of the band members and Strayhorn. This Collection also documents the business history of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Series 3, Business Records contains correspondence on letterhead stationery and Series 11, Publicity contains promotional material from the various booking agencies, professional companies, and public relations firms that managed the Orchestra.

The materials in the Duke Ellington Collection provide insight into public and institutional attitudes towards African Americans in mid-twentieth-century America. The business records in Series 3 beginning in 1938 and published sheet music in Series 1 depict Duke Ellington's progression from an African-American musician who needed "legitimization" by a white publisher, Irving Mills, to a businessmen who established his own companies including Tempo Music and Duke Ellington, Incorporated to control his copyright and financial affairs. Programs from the segregated Cotton Club in Series 2, Performances And Programs and contracts with no-segregation clauses in Series 3: Business Records further illustrate racial policies and practices in this time period. The public shift in perception of Duke Ellington from a leader of an exotic "Jungle Band" in the 1930s to a recipient of the Congressional Medal Of Freedom in 1970 is evidenced in Series 2, Performances And Programs, Series 12, Posters, Series 7, Photographs and Series 13, Awards. Reviews and articles reflecting Ellington's evolving status are also documented in Series 8, Newspaper Clippings, Series 9, Scrapbooks, Series 10, Newspaper and Magazine Articles.

The materials in the Duke Ellington Collection reflect rapid technological changes in American society from 1923-1982. Sound recordings in Series 6 range from 78 phonograph records of three minutes duration manufactured for play on Victrolas in monaural sound to long-playing (LP) phonograph records produced for stereo record players. Television scripts in Series 4, programs in Series 2 and music manuscripts (for example, Drum Is A Woman) in Series 1 demonstrate how the development of television as a means of mass communication spread the Orchestra's sound to a wider audience. The availability of commercial air travel enabled the Ellington Orchestra to extend their international performances from Europe to other continents including tours to Asia, Africa, South America and Australia and archival material from these tours is included in every series.

Series 4, Scripts and Transcripts and Series 6, Audio Recordings contain scripts and radio performances promoting the sale of United States War bonds during World War II, and Series 7, Photographs includes many images of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra's performances for military personnel revealing the impact of historic events on Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Series 2: Programs and Performances, Series 9, Newspaper clippings and Series 8, Scrapbooks document the 1963 Far East tour aborted as a result of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

The Duke Ellington Collection contains works by numerous twentieth-century music, literature, and art luminaries. Series 1, Music Manuscripts contains original music manuscripts of William Grant Still, Eubie Blake, Mary Lou Williams, and others. Series 4, Scripts and Transcripts contains a play by Langston Hughes, and Series 12, Posters contains many original artworks.

Arrangement:: Series 1: Music Manuscripts, circa 1930-1981, undated

Series 2: Performances and Programs, 1933-1973, undated

Series 3: Business Records, 1938-1988

Series 4: Scripts and Transcripts, 1937-1970

Series 5: Personal Correspondence and Notes, 1941-1974, undated

Series 6: Sound Recordings, 1927-1974

Series 7: Photographs, 1924-1972, undated

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1931-1973

Series 9: Newspaper Clippings, 1939-1973, undated

Series 10: Magazine Articles and Newspaper Clippings, 1940-1974

Series 11: Publicity, 1935-1988

Series 12: Posters and Oversize Graphics, 1933-1989, undated

Series 13: Awards, 1939-1982

Series 14: Religious Material, 1928-1974

Series 15: Books, 1903-1980

Series 16: Miscellaneous, 1940-1974

Biographical / Historical:: A native of Washington, DC, Edward Kennedy Ellington was born on April 29, 1899. Edward was raised in a middle-class home in the Northwest section of Washington described by his sister Ruth--younger by sixteen years--as a "house full of love." Ellington himself wrote that his father J.E. (James Edward) raised his family "as though he were a millionaire" but Edward was especially devoted to his mother, Daisy Kennedy Ellington. In 1969, thirty-four years after his mother's death, Ellington accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom with these words, "There is nowhere else I would rather be tonight but in my mother's arms." Both his parents played the piano and Ellington began piano lessons at the age of seven, but like many boys he was easily distracted by baseball.

In his early teens, Ellington sneaked into Washington clubs and performance halls where he was exposed to ragtime musicians, including James P. Johnson, and where he met people from all walks of life. He returned in earnest to his piano studies, and at age fourteen wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag" also known as "Poodle Dog Rag." Ellington was earning income from playing music at seventeen years of age, and around this time he earned the sobriquet "Duke" for his sartorial splendor and regal air. On July 2, 1918, he married a high school sweetheart, Edna Thompson; their only child, Mercer Kennedy Ellington, was born on March 11, 1919. Duke Ellington spent the first twenty-four years of his life in Washington's culturally thriving Negro community. In this vibrant atmosphere he was inspired to be a composer and learned to take pride in his African-American heritage.

Ellington moved to New York City in 1923 to join and eventually lead a small group of transplanted Washington musicians called "The Washingtonians," which included future Ellington band members, Sonny Greer, Otto Hardwicke and "Bubber" Miley. Between 1923 and 1927, the group played at the Club Kentucky on Broadway and the ensemble increased from a quintet to a ten-piece orchestra. With stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith as his unofficial guide, Ellington soon became part of New York's music scene; Smith proved to be a long-lasting influence on Duke's composing and arranging direction. At the Club Kentucky, Ellington came under the tutelage of another legendary stride pianist, "Fats" Waller. Waller, a protege of Johnson and Smith, played solos during the band's breaks and also tutored Ellington who began to show progress in his compositions. In November 1924, Duke made his publishing and recording debut with "Choo Choo (I Got To Hurry Home)" released on the Blu-Disc label. In 1925, he contributed two songs to Chocolate Kiddies, an all-black revue which introduced European audiences to black American styles and performers. By this time Ellington's family, Edna and Mercer, had joined him in New York City. The couple separated in the late 1920's, but they never divorced or reconciled.

Ellington's achievements as a composer and bandleader began to attract national attention while he worked at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City, from 1927 to 1932. The orchestra developed a distinctive sound that displayed the non-traditional voicings of Ellington's arrangements and featured the unique talents of the individual soloists. Ellington integrated his soloists' exotic-sounding trombone growls and wah-wahs, their high-squealed trumpets, their sultry saxophone blues licks and Harlem's street rhythms into his arrangements. In the promotional material of the Cotton Club, the band was often billed as "Duke Ellington and His Jungle Band." With the success of compositions like "Mood Indigo," and an increasing number of recordings and national radio broadcasts from the Cotton Club, the band's reputation soared.

The ten years from 1932 to 1942 are considered by some major critics to represent the "golden age" for the Ellington Orchestra, but it represents just one of their creative peaks. These years did bring an influx of extraordinary new talent to the band including Jimmy Blanton on double bass, Ben Webster on tenor saxophone, and Ray Nance on trumpet, violin and vocals. During this ten year span Ellington composed several of his best known short works, including "Concerto For Cootie," "Ko-Ko," "Cotton Tail," "In A Sentimental Mood," and Jump For Joy, his first full-length musical stage revue.

Most notably, 1938 marked the arrival of Billy Strayhorn. While a teenager in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Strayhorn had already written "Lush Life," "Something To Live For" and a musical, Fantastic Rhythm. Ellington was initially impressed with Strayhorn's lyrics but realized long before Billy's composition "Take the A' Train" became the band's theme song in 1942 that Strayhorn's talents were not limited to penning clever lyrics. By 1942, "Swee' Pea" had become arranger, composer, second pianist, collaborator, and as Duke described him, "my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine." Many Ellington/Strayhorn songs have entered the jazz canon, and their extended works are still being discovered and studied today. Strayhorn remained with the Ellington Organization until his death on May 30, 1967.

Ellington had often hinted of a work in progress depicting the struggle of blacks in America. The original script, Boola, debuted in Carnegie Hall in November of 1943, retitled Black, Brown and Beige. The performance met with mixed reviews, and although Ellington often returned to Carnegie Hall the piece was never recorded in a studio, and after 1944 was never performed in entirety again by the Ellington Orchestra. Nonetheless, it is now considered a milestone in jazz composition.

After World War II the mood and musical tastes of the country shifted and hard times befell big bands, but Ellington kept his band together. The band was not always financially self-sufficient and during the lean times Ellington used his songwriting royalties to meet the soloists' salaries. One could assign to Ellington the altruistic motive of loyalty to his sidemen, but another motivation may have been his compositional style which was rooted in hearing his music in the formative stage come alive in rehearsal. "The band was his instrument," Billy Strayhorn said, and no Ellington composition was complete until he heard the orchestra play it. Then he could fine tune his compositions, omit and augment passages, or weave a soloist's contribution into the structure of the tune.

In 1956, the American public rediscovered Duke and the band at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. The searing performances of tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves on "Diminuendo and Crescendo In Blue," his premiere soloist, alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges on "Jeep's Blues", and the crowd's ecstatic reaction have become jazz legend. Later that year Duke landed on the cover of Time magazine. Although Ellington had previously written music for film and television (including the short film, Black and Tan Fantasy in 1929) it wasn't until 1959 that Otto Preminger asked him to score music for his mainstream film, Anatomy of a Murder, starring Jimmy Stewart. Paris Blues in 1961, featuring box-office stars Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier in roles as American jazz musicians in Paris, followed.

Ellington's first performance overseas was in England in 1933, but the 1960s brought extensive overseas tours including diplomatic tours sponsored by the State Department. Ellington and Strayhorn composed exquisite extended works reflecting the sights and sounds of their travels, including the Far East Suite, 1966. They wrote homages to their classical influences; in 1963, they adapted Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and celebrated Shakespeare's works with the suite Such Sweet Thunder in 1957. With Ella Fitzgerald, they continued the Norman Granz Songbook Series. Ellington also began to flex his considerable pianist skills and recorded albums with John Coltrane (1963), Coleman Hawkins (1963), Frank Sinatra, and Money Jungle (1963) with Charles Mingus and Max Roach. The First Sacred Concert debuted in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral in 1965. In his final years, Ellington's thoughts turned to spiritual themes and he added a Second (1968) and Third (1973) Concert of Sacred Music to his compositions.

In his lifetime, Duke received numerous awards and honors including the highest honor bestowed on an American civilian, the Congressional Medal Of Freedom. In 1965, Ellington was recommended for a Pulitzer Prize to honor his forty years of contribution to music but the recommendation was rejected by the board. Most likely he was disappointed, but his response at the age of sixty-six was, "Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be famous too young."

Ellington never rested on his laurels or stopped composing. Whenever he was asked to name his favorite compositions his characteristic reply was "the next five coming up," but to please his loyal fans Ellington always featured some of his standards in every performance. Even on his deathbed, he was composing the opera buffo called Queenie Pie.

Duke Ellington died on May 24, 1974 at seventy-five years of age. His funeral was held in New York's Cathedral of St. John The Divine; he was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. His long-time companion Beatrice "Evie" Ellis was buried beside him after her death in 1976. He was survived by his only child, Mercer Kennedy Ellington, who not only took up the baton to lead the Duke Ellington Orchestra but assumed the task of caring for his father's papers and his legacy to the nation. Mercer Ellington died in Copenhagan, Denmark on February 8, 1996, at the age of seventy-six. Ruth Ellington Boatwright died in New York on March 6, 2004, at the age of eighty-eight. Both Mercer and Ruth were responsible for shepherding the documents and artifacts that celebrate Duke Ellington's genius and creative life to their current home in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

Related Materials:: Materials in the Archives Center

William H. Quealy Collection of Duke Ellington Recordings (AC0296)

Rutgers University Collection of Radio Interviews about Duke Ellington (AC0328)

Duke Ellington Oral History Project (AC0368)

Duke Ellington Collection of Ephemera and realated Audiovisual Materials (AC0386)

Annual International Conference of the Duke Ellington Study Group Proceedings (AC0385)

Robert Udkoff Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0388)

Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Prints (AC0389)

New York Chapter of the Duke Ellington Society Collection (AC390)

Earl Okin Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0391)

William Russo Transcription and Arrangement of Duke Ellington's First Concert of Sacred Music (AC0406)

Ruth Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0415)

Music manuscripts in the Ruth Ellington Collection complement the music manuscripts found in the Duke Ellington Collection.

Carter Harman Collection of Interviews with Duke Ellington (AC0422)

Betty McGettigan Collection of Duke Ellington Memorabilia (AC0494)

Dr. Theodore Shell Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0502)

Edward and Gaye Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0704)

Andrew Homzy Collection of Duke Ellington Stock Music Arrangements (AC0740)

John Gensel Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0763)

Al Celley Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC1240)

Materials at Other Organizations

Institute of Jazz Studies

Separated Materials:: Artifacts related to this collection are in the Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) and include trophies, plaques, and medals. See accessions: 1989.0369; 1991.0808; 1993.0032; and 1999.0148.

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Provenance:: The collection was purchased through an appropriation of Congress in 1988.

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research but the original and master audiovisual materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:: Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Copyright restrictions. Consult the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Paul Ellington, executor, is represented by:

Richard J.J. Scarola, Scarola Ellis LLP, 888 Seventh Avenue, 45th Floor, New York, New York 10106. Telephone (212) 757-0007 x 235; Fax (212) 757-0469; email: rjjs@selaw.com; www.selaw.com; www.ourlawfirm.com.

Occupation:: Composers -- 20th century Search this

Topic:: Big bands Search this; Pianists Search this; Bandsmen -- 20th century Search this; Jazz -- 20th century -- United States Search this; Musicians -- 20th century Search this; Music -- Performance Search this; African American entertainers -- 20th century Search this; African Americans -- History Search this; Popular music -- 20th century -- United States Search this; Music -- 20th century -- United States Search this; African American musicians Search this

Genre/Form:: Phonograph records; Papers; Photographic prints; Posters; Sound recordings; Scrapbooks -- 20th century; Music -- Manuscripts; Clippings; Awards; Audiotapes

Citation:: Duke Ellington Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Sponsor:: Processing and encoding partially funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.

Identifier:: NMAH.AC.0301

See more items in:: Duke Ellington Collection

Archival Repository:: Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep850a376a1-6b6d-48bc-9076-cffef76fea2c

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0301

Online Media:

Box, Presentation, Medal, Order of the Crown, James H. Doolittle

Manufacturer:: Metal Arts Co. Search this

Materials:: Wood; Textile; Metal

Dimensions:: 3-D: 15.1 × 7.9 × 2.7cm (5 15/16 × 3 1/8 × 1 1/16 in.)

Type:: AWARDS-Medals & Ribbons

Country of Origin:: United States of America

Credit Line:: Donated by Lt. Gen. James H. Doolittle (USAF, Ret.)

Inventory Number:: A19600092001

Restrictions & Rights:: Usage conditions apply

See more items in:: National Air and Space Museum Collection

Data Source:: National Air and Space Museum

GUID:: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9cd7d4124-ae97-4946-a666-1d6cfa23c07a

EDAN-URL:: edanmdm:nasm_A19600092001

Online Media:

Silas Deane

Artist:: B. B. Ellis Search this

Copy after:: Pierre Eugène Du Simitière, c. 1736 - 1784 Search this

Sitter:: Silas Deane, 24 Dec 1737 - 23 Sep 1789 Search this

Medium:: Stipple engraving on paper

Dimensions:: Image: 11 x 9.2 cm (4 5/16 x 3 5/8"); Sheet: 26.7 x 20.3 cm (10 1/2 x 8")

Type:: Print

Date:: 1783

Topic:: Silas Deane: Male Search this; Silas Deane: Law and Law Enforcement\Lawyer Search this; Silas Deane: Politics and Government\Congressman\Continental congressman Search this; Silas Deane: Politics and Government\Diplomat Search this; Silas Deane: Politics and Government\State Legislator\Connecticut Search this; Portrait Search this

Credit Line:: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Object number:: NPG.75.66

Restrictions & Rights:: CC0

See more items in:: National Portrait Gallery Collection

Data Source:: National Portrait Gallery

GUID:: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4b3b87d6b-0007-44f2-8af6-10928a466f07

EDAN-URL:: edanmdm:npg_NPG.75.66

Josephus Daniels

Artist:: De Witt McClellan Lockman, 1870 - 1957 Search this

Sitter:: Josephus Daniels, 18 May 1862 - 15 Jan 1948 Search this

Medium:: Oil on canvas

Dimensions:: 126.5cm x 91.5cm (49 13/16" x 36"), Accurate

Type:: Painting

Date:: 1918

Topic:: Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair Search this; Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table Search this; Artwork\Sculpture Search this; Artwork\Sculpture\Bust Search this; Interior\Domestic Search this; Home Furnishings\Lighting Devices\Lamp Search this; Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Bowtie Search this; Josephus Daniels: Male Search this; Josephus Daniels: Politics and Government\Diplomat\Ambassador Search this; Josephus Daniels: Military and Intelligence\Navy\Secretary of the Navy Search this; Josephus Daniels: Journalism and Media\Newspaper editor Search this; Josephus Daniels: Education and Scholarship\Administrator\University administrator\University trustee Search this; Portrait Search this

Credit Line:: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Ann Thornton

Object number:: NPG.75.7

Restrictions & Rights:: Usage conditions apply

See more items in:: National Portrait Gallery Collection

Data Source:: National Portrait Gallery

GUID:: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4eca15ef2-83a3-4a2e-b87d-2ec83b2229ae

EDAN-URL:: edanmdm:npg_NPG.75.7

view Joshua Reed Giddings digital asset number 1

Joshua Reed Giddings

Artist:: John Cranch, 1807 - 1891 Search this

Sitter:: Joshua Reed Giddings, 6 Oct 1795 - 27 May 1864 Search this

Medium:: Oil on canvas

Dimensions:: 76.2cm x 63.5cm (30" x 25"), Accurate

Type:: Painting

Date:: 1855

Topic:: Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Bowtie Search this; Joshua Reed Giddings: Male Search this; Joshua Reed Giddings: Law and Law Enforcement\Lawyer Search this; Joshua Reed Giddings: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Ohio Search this; Joshua Reed Giddings: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist Search this; Joshua Reed Giddings: Politics and Government\State Legislator\Ohio Search this; Joshua Reed Giddings: Politics and Government\Diplomat\Consul Search this; Portrait Search this

Credit Line:: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Object number:: NPG.75.9

Restrictions & Rights:: CC0

See more items in:: National Portrait Gallery Collection

Data Source:: National Portrait Gallery

GUID:: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4f81390f3-9714-4efc-947c-120a565d2965

EDAN-URL:: edanmdm:npg_NPG.75.9

Enlistment of Sickles' Brigade

Artist:: Adalbert John Volck, 14 Apr 1828 - 26 Mar 1912 Search this

Sitter:: Daniel Edgar Sickles, 20 Oct 1819 - 3 May 1914 Search this

Medium:: Etching on paper

Dimensions:: Image: 14.7 × 23.8 cm (5 13/16 × 9 3/8"); Sheet: 23 × 30.4 cm (9 1/16 × 11 15/16")

Type:: Print

Date:: 1863

Topic:: Costume\Headgear\Hat Search this; Printed Material\Book Search this; Weapon\Gun Search this; Equipment\Smoking Implements\Pipe Search this; Nature & Environment\Animal\Dog Search this; Printed Material\Book\Bible Search this; Human Figures\Soldier Search this; Exterior\Street Search this; Human Figures\Crowd Search this; Daniel Edgar Sickles: Male Search this; Daniel Edgar Sickles: Politics and Government\US Senator\New York Search this; Daniel Edgar Sickles: Law and Law Enforcement\Lawyer Search this; Daniel Edgar Sickles: Politics and Government\Diplomat Search this; Daniel Edgar Sickles: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\General Search this; Daniel Edgar Sickles: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Civil War army officer\Union army officer Search this; Daniel Edgar Sickles: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Brigadier General Search this; Daniel Edgar Sickles: Politics and Government\US Congressman\New York Search this; Daniel Edgar Sickles: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Major General Search this; Portrait Search this

Credit Line:: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Object number:: NPG.79.95.D

Restrictions & Rights:: Usage conditions apply

See more items in:: National Portrait Gallery Collection

Data Source:: National Portrait Gallery

GUID:: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4454e53f6-cd1b-4b8d-ab9a-cf6ac72a9eea

EDAN-URL:: edanmdm:npg_NPG.79.95.D

view Joseph Hodges Choate digital asset number 1

Joseph Hodges Choate

Artist:: Napoleon Sarony, 9 Mar 1821 - 9 Nov 1896 Search this

Sitter:: Joseph Hodges Choate, 24 Jan 1832 - 14 Mar 1917 Search this

Medium:: Albumen silver print

Dimensions:: Image/Sheet: 31.5 × 26 cm (12 3/8 × 10 1/4"); Mount: 48.5 × 40.7 cm (19 1/8 × 16"); Mat: 55.9 × 40.6 cm (22 × 16")

Type:: Photograph

Place:: United States\New York\Kings\New York

Date:: c. 1870

Topic:: Interior Search this; Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair Search this; Costume\Jewelry\Ring Search this; Autograph Search this; Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Necktie Search this; Joseph Hodges Choate: Male Search this; Joseph Hodges Choate: Law and Law Enforcement\Lawyer Search this; Joseph Hodges Choate: Politics and Government\Diplomat\Ambassador Search this; Joseph Hodges Choate: Society and Social Change\Administrator\Charity administrator\Charity founder Search this; Joseph Hodges Choate: Society and Social Change\Socialite Search this; Joseph Hodges Choate: Society and Social Change\Founder\Museum founder Search this; Portrait Search this