Search Results

Creator:

Kraushaar Galleries  Search this

Subject:

Wilson, Ralph L.  Search this

Fausett, Dean  Search this

Lasker, Joe  Search this

Murdock, Roland P.  Search this

Phillips, Duncan  Search this

Kuhn, Walt  Search this

Smith, Vernon  Search this

Robinson, Boardman  Search this

Lechay, James  Search this

Laurent, Robert  Search this

Hartell, John  Search this

Cantene, David  Search this

Schnakenberg, H. E. (Henry Ernest)  Search this

Kraushaar, Antoinette M.  Search this

Harrison, Preston  Search this

Heliker, John  Search this

Williams, Esther  Search this

Luks, George Benjamin  Search this

Glackens, Edith  Search this

Navas, Elizabeth S.  Search this

DeLonga, Leonard  Search this

Evett, Kenneth Warnock  Search this

Halberstadt, Ernst  Search this

Prendergast, Maurice Brazil  Search this

Morris, Carl  Search this

Ruellan, Andrée  Search this

Smalley, David  Search this

Flannery, Vaughn  Search this

Cowles, Russell  Search this

Penney, James  Search this

Beal, Gifford  Search this

Bacon, Peggy  Search this

Beal, Reynolds  Search this

Hardy, Thomas  Search this

Glackens, William J.  Search this

Prendergast, Charles  Search this

Demuth, Charles  Search this

Albrizio, Humbert  Search this

Lachaise, Gaston  Search this

Bignou, Etienne  Search this

Kirsch, Frederick D. (Frederick Dwight)  Search this

Sloan, John  Search this

Allard, J.  Search this

Bouché, Louis  Search this

Juley, Peter A.  Search this

Stanley, Alix W.  Search this

Arnest, Bernard  Search this

Brueming, Karen  Search this

Miller, Harriette  Search this

Kraushaar, John F.  Search this

Guillaume, Paul  Search this

Art Institute of Chicago  Search this

Toledo Museum of Art  Search this

Cleveland Museum of Art  Search this

Wichita Art Museum  Search this

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

New Britain Institute  Search this

Ernest Brown and Co.  Search this

Carnegie Institute  Search this

University of Nebraska--Lincoln  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Type:

Photographs

Sketches

Drawings

Exhibition catalogs

Financial records

Notes

Sketchbooks

Topic:

Works of art  Search this

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art, American  Search this

Artists -- United States  Search this

Depressions -- 1929  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7781

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209946

AAA_collcode_kraugall

Theme:

The Art Market

Art Gallery Records

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209946

Signed by:

John P. Torrey  Search this

S. W. Fullerton  Search this

Medium:

ink on paper

Dimensions:

H x W: 8 1/4 × 13 5/8 in. (21 × 34.6 cm)

Type:

ships' manifests

Place used:

Port Pontchartrain, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America

Date:

January 27, 1844

Topic:

African American  Search this

Business  Search this

Children  Search this

Commerce  Search this

Domestic slave trade  Search this

Fancy Girl trade  Search this

Slavery  Search this

Transportation  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number:

2014.174.4

Restrictions & Rights:

No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Slavery and Freedom Objects

Documents and Published Materials-Business and Legal Documents

Exhibition:

Slavery and Freedom

On View:

NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5371612ed-99ea-45eb-83f8-5234ebd62b16

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2014.174.4

Issued by:

Hill, Ware, & Chrisp, American, 1859 - 1860  Search this

Subject of:

Byrd Hill, American, 1800 - 1872  Search this

John W. Chrisp, American  Search this

John D. Ware, American, born ca. 1800  Search this

Printed by:

Unidentified  Search this

Medium:

ink on cardboard

Dimensions:

H x W: 2 7/8 × 4 in. (7.3 × 10.2 cm)

Type:

trade cards

Place printed:

Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America

Date:

1859-1860

Topic:

African American  Search this

American South  Search this

Business  Search this

Commerce  Search this

Domestic slave trade  Search this

Slavery  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number:

2014.63.17

Restrictions & Rights:

Public domain

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Slavery and Freedom Objects

Memorabilia and Ephemera-Advertisements

Exhibition:

Slavery and Freedom

On View:

NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd54977d161-9005-45fc-b2ea-c3fe9a7d6b1c

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2014.63.17

Manufactured by:

I. Nutting & Son, British, ca.1805 - 1840  Search this

Used by:

Thomas Porter II, British, 1790 - 1857  Search this

Medium:

pewter

Dimensions:

Diameter: 13/16 in. (2.1 cm), 3.9Grams

Type:

buttons (fasteners)

buttons (information artifacts)

Place collected:

Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Place used:

Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana, Caribbean, South America

Date:

ca. 1820

Topic:

African American  Search this

Commerce  Search this

Middle Passage  Search this

Slavery  Search this

Trans Atlantic slave trade  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number:

2009.32.1

Restrictions & Rights:

No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Slavery and Freedom Objects

Awards and Medals

Exhibition:

Slavery and Freedom

On View:

NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd538c17a61-69b3-46bf-a657-95362382579e

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2009.32.1

Manufactured by:

I. Nutting & Son, British, ca.1805 - 1840  Search this

Used by:

Thomas Porter II, British, 1790 - 1857  Search this

Medium:

pewter

Dimensions:

Diameter: 13/16 in. (2.1 cm), 3.2Grams

Type:

buttons (fasteners)

buttons (information artifacts)

Place collected:

Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Place used:

Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana, Caribbean, South America

Date:

ca. 1820

Topic:

African American  Search this

Commerce  Search this

Middle Passage  Search this

Slavery  Search this

Trans Atlantic slave trade  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number:

2009.32.2

Restrictions & Rights:

No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Slavery and Freedom Objects

Awards and Medals

Exhibition:

Slavery and Freedom

On View:

NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd529db2a55-c81b-41b4-9282-68a33c342371

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2009.32.2

Created by:

Unidentified  Search this

Used by:

Thomas Porter II, British, 1790 - 1857  Search this

Medium:

copper alloy

Dimensions:

Diameter: 3/4 in. (1.9 cm), 2.7Grams

Type:

buttons (fasteners)

buttons (information artifacts)

Place collected:

Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Place used:

Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana, Caribbean, South America

Date:

ca. 1820

Topic:

African American  Search this

Commerce  Search this

Middle Passage  Search this

Slavery  Search this

Trans Atlantic slave trade  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number:

2009.32.3

Restrictions & Rights:

No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Slavery and Freedom Objects

Awards and Medals

Exhibition:

Slavery and Freedom

On View:

NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5a07edb0b-8c52-4a51-9b88-359fbe47e475

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2009.32.3

Created by:

Unidentified  Search this

Used by:

Thomas Porter II, British, 1790 - 1857  Search this

Medium:

copper alloy

Dimensions:

Diameter: 3/4 in. (1.9 cm), 2.8Grams

Type:

buttons (fasteners)

buttons (information artifacts)

Place collected:

Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Place used:

Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana, Caribbean, South America

Date:

ca. 1820

Topic:

African American  Search this

Commerce  Search this

Middle Passage  Search this

Slavery  Search this

Trans Atlantic slave trade  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number:

2009.32.4

Restrictions & Rights:

No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Slavery and Freedom Objects

Awards and Medals

Exhibition:

Slavery and Freedom

On View:

NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd574df6dda-c31e-41e3-89fe-beddd9022be7

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2009.32.4

Creator:

Anacostia Community Museum  Search this

Subject:

Kinard, John 1936-1989  Search this

Newsome, Steven C. 1952-2012  Search this

Akeju, Camille Giraud  Search this

Yarrish, Lori D  Search this

Sasaki, Lisa  Search this

Adams, Melanie A 1969-  Search this

Anacostia Neighborhood Museum  Search this

Anacostia Museum  Search this

Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture  Search this

Type:

Mixed archival materials

Date:

1966

1966-

Topic:

African American museums  Search this

Historical museums  Search this

Local number:

SIA AH00014

Data Source:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_arc_217775

Creator:

Anacostia Community Museum Office of the Director  Search this

Subject:

Akeju, Camille Giraud  Search this

Newsome, Steven C. 1952-2012  Search this

Kinard, John 1936-1989  Search this

Yarrish, Lori D  Search this

Physical description:

5 cu. ft. unprocessed holdings

Type:

Electronic records

Brochures

Clippings

Exhibition catalogs

Manuscripts

Pamphlets

Compact discs

Floppy disks

Architectural drawings

Color photographs

Electronic mail

Date:

1978

1978-2018

1978, 1986, 1990-2018

Topic:

Museums--Administration  Search this

Museum directors  Search this

Local number:

SIA RS01825

Restrictions & Rights:

Materials less than 15 years old Restricted. Contact reference staff for details

See more items in:

Subject Files 1978, 1986, 1990-2018 [Anacostia Community Museum Office of the Director]

Data Source:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_arc_384504

Collector:

Musical History, Division of (NMAH, SI)  Search this

Musical History, Division of (NMAH, SI)  Search this

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

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 and include trophies, plaques, and medals. See accessions: 1989.0369; 1991.0808; 1993.0032; and 1999.0148.

Provenance:

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

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

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

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0301

Interviewee:

Kington, L. Brent (Louis Brent), 1934-2013  Search this

Interviewer:

Douglas, Mary F., 1956-  Search this

Creator:

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Names:

Cranbrook Academy of Art -- Students  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale -- Faculty  Search this

University of Kansas -- Students  Search this

Thomas, Richard C., 1917-1988  Search this

Extent:

95 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

2001 May 3-4

Scope and Contents:

An interview of L. Brent Kington conducted 2001 May 3-4, by Mary Douglas, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Kington's home and studio, Makando, Illinois.

Kington describes his childhood and the impact of the Depression; his adopted sister Kay; and his hyperactivity and difficulty accomplishing schoolwork. He comments on his high school teachers; his academic and athletic accomplishments at University of Kansas (UK); his studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art with Richard (Dick) Thomas "the intellectual silversmith" and his "mentor"; Hugh Acton and the GM Tech Center; and fellow metalsmiths Fred Fenster, Mike Jerry, Stanley Lechtzin, and Heikki Seppä.

He discusses exhibitions including "Kansas Designer Craftsmen," "Michigan Designer Craftsmen," "Fiber, Clay, Metal," "Creative Casting, Young Americans 1962," and "Objects: USA." He talks about Ashanti gold weights; Scandinavian design; teaching at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois (SIU) and Illinois State University (ISU), and taking students to the Saint Louis Art Museum to see granulation in Mycenaean gold. He comments at length on his toys and experimenting with ideas about toys.

Kington also describes blacksmithing workshops held at SIU and the "renaissance" of blacksmithing in the United States. He recalls his involvement with the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), American Craft Council (ACC), World Crafts Council (WCC), Artist Blacksmith's Association of North America (ABANA), the Kentucky School of Craft, the National Ornamental Metal Museum, and other organizations. He discusses his weathervane pieces and other series such as Icarus, Crozier, Europa, and Axis Mundi. He comments on the influence of Mircea Eliade's book "The Forge and the Crucible" (1979), considers the blacksmith's role in various cultural mythologies, and evaluates publications such as "Anvil's Ring" and "American Blacksmith."

He comments on the current state of affairs in metalsmithing; his retirement from SIU and teaching in the University of Georgia-Cortona program; the impact of Cyril Stanley Smith's insights and the importance of his book "A History of Metallography" (1960); his appreciation of Daryl Meier's work; exploring new techniques such as mokume gane, kuromido, shibuichi, rokusho (patination process); encouraging Mary Lee Hu to pursue wire structuring; and his enthusiasm for sharing information. He recalls John Allgood, Philip Baldwin, Robert Ebendorf, Phil Fike, Maija Grotell, Marvin Jensen, Richard Mawdsley, Lee Nordness, Ron Pearson, Bob Peterson,Gene and Hiroko Pijanowski, Jim Wallace, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

L. Brent Kington (1934-) is a metalsmith from Makanda, Illinois. Mary Douglas (1956-) is a curator at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte, N.C.

General:

Originally recorded on 7 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 54 min.

Provenance:

This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Topic:

Metal-workers -- Illinois -- Interviews  Search this

Blacksmithing  Search this

Blacksmithing -- Technique  Search this

Learning disabilities  Search this

Decorative arts  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.

Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

Identifier:

AAA.kingto01

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-kingto01

Interviewee:

Preusser, Robert O. (Robert Ormerod), 1919-1992  Search this

Interviewer:

Brown, Robert F  Search this

Subject:

Davidson, Ola McNeill  Search this

Kepes, Gyorgy  Search this

White, Minor  Search this

Art Center School (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

Boris Mirski Gallery  Search this

Center for Advanced Visual Studies  Search this

Downtown Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, Mass.)  Search this

Institute of Design  Search this

Joan Peterson Gallery  Search this

Massachusetts Institute of Technology  Search this

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this

Newcomb College  Search this

University of Houston  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching -- Massachusetts  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching -- Texas -- Houston  Search this

Camouflage (Military science)  Search this

Painters -- Massachusetts -- Interviews  Search this

Painters -- Texas -- Houston -- Interviews  Search this

Painting -- Study and teaching  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)13337

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215616

AAA_collcode_preuss91

Theme:

Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_215616

Interviewee:

Tibbs, Thomas S., 1917-2002  Search this

Interviewer:

Karlstrom, Paul J  Search this

Subject:

American Crafts Council. Museum of Contemporary Crafts  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Handicraft  Search this

Museum directors -- California -- San Diego -- Interviews  Search this

Educators -- California -- San Diego -- Interviews  Search this

Decorative arts  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12536

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215942

AAA_collcode_tibbs96

Theme:

Craft

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_215942

Interviewee:

Thurman, Sue M., 1927-2012  Search this

Interviewer:

Brown, Robert F  Search this

Subject:

Rickey, George  Search this

Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, Mass.)  Search this

Isaac Delgado Museum of Art  Search this

Cranbrook Academy of Art  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Arts administrators -- Massachusetts -- Interviews  Search this

Museum directors -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12833

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216373

AAA_collcode_thurma93

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216373

Interviewee:

Tovish, Harold, 1921-2008  Search this

Interviewer:

Brown, Robert F  Search this

Subject:

Pineda, Marianna  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12651

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216433

AAA_collcode_tovish97

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216433

Interviewee:

Valdez, Patssi, 1951-  Search this

Interviewer:

Rangel, Jeffrey J.  Search this

Subject:

Mesa-Bains, Amalia  Search this

Gronk  Search this

Gamboa, Harry  Search this

Self-Help Graphics and Art, Inc.  Search this

Otis Art Institute  Search this

Asco (Group of artists)  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Hispanic American artists -- Interviews  Search this

Mexican American artists -- Interviews  Search this

Hispanic American women artists -- Interviews  Search this

Women artists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)13543

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216609

AAA_collcode_valdez99

Theme:

Latino and Latin American

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216609

Interviewee:

Sternberg, Harry, 1904-2001  Search this

Interviewer:

Yard, Sally  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Philosophy  Search this

Art -- Philosophy  Search this

Prints -- Technique  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12394

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)223512

AAA_collcode_sternb99

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_223512

Interviewee:

Turner, Robert Chapman, 1913-2005  Search this

Interviewer:

Carney, Margaret, 1949-  Search this

Subject:

National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (U.S.)  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Conscientious objectors -- World War, 1939-1945  Search this

Ceramicists -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this

Ceramicists -- Maryland -- Interviews  Search this

Quakers  Search this

Ceramics -- Equipment and supplies  Search this

Decorative arts  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12010

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)227020

AAA_collcode_turner01

Theme:

Craft

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_227020

Interviewee:

Stocksdale, Kay Sekimachi, 1926-  Search this

Interviewer:

Baizerman, Suzanne  Search this

Subject:

Adamson, Glenn  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Fiber artists -- California -- Berkeley -- Interviews  Search this

Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945  Search this

Japanese American women  Search this

Decorative arts  Search this

Asian American artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11768

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)227771

AAA_collcode_sekima01

Theme:

Craft

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_227771

Interviewee:

Underhill, William, 1933-  Search this

Interviewer:

Carney, Margaret, 1949-  Search this

Subject:

Voulkos, Peter  Search this

Alfred University  Search this

Lee Nordness Galleries  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Art metal-work -- Study and teaching  Search this

Art metal-work -- Technique  Search this

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Bronze founding -- Technique  Search this

Decorative arts  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12395

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)237765

AAA_collcode_underh02

Theme:

Craft

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_237765