Search Results

Designer:

Halprin, Lawrence 1916-2009  Search this

Sculptor:

Baskin, Leonard 1922-2000  Search this

Estern, Neil 1926-  Search this

Graham, Robert 1938-2008  Search this

Hardy, Tom 1921-2016  Search this

Segal, George 1924-2000  Search this

Carver:

Benson, John Everett 1939-  Search this

Stonecutter:

Hemmech, Dean  Search this

Kussatz, Kraug  Search this

Leither, Wally  Search this

Maile, LaVern  Search this

Sabrowsky, Mervile  Search this

Assistant:

Moss, Joe  Search this

Contractor:

Cold Spring Granite Company  Search this

William V. Walsh Construction Company  Search this

Subject:

Roosevelt, Franklin D  Search this

Roosevelt, Eleanor  Search this

Medium:

Bronze, Carnelian granite and plant material

Type:

Sculptures-Outdoor Sculpture

Sculptures

Owner/Location:

Administered by United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Washington District of Columbia

Located West Potomac Park Between Tidal Basin, Ohio Drive, and Potomac River Washington District of Columbia

Date:

Designed 1978. 1991, 1994-1997. Dedicated May 2, 1997. Wheel-chair figure of Roosevelt added: Jan. 2001

Topic:

Portrait male--Full length  Search this

Occupation--Political--President  Search this

Portrait female--Full length  Search this

Animal--Dog  Search this

Animal--Portrait--Fala  Search this

Ceremony--Civic--Inauguration  Search this

Ceremony--Funeral  Search this

Figure group  Search this

State of Being--Mood--Desolation  Search this

State of Being--Disabled--Physical Disability  Search this

Recreation--Leisure--Radio  Search this

Animal--Bird--Eagle  Search this

Emblem--Seal  Search this

Control number:

IAS 71500337

Data Source:

Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_ari_344027

Creator:

Wilson, Sol, 1896-1974  Search this

Subject:

Hopper, Edward  Search this

Bouché, Louis  Search this

Burliuk, David  Search this

Evergood, Philip  Search this

Babcock Galleries  Search this

Citation:

Sol Wilson papers, 1919-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Painting, American  Search this

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9380

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211577

AAA_collcode_wilssol

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211577

Manufacturer:

Western Wireless  Search this

Materials:

Metal, phenolic, and glass

Dimensions:

3-D: 34.5 × 33.5 × 27cm, 10.8kg (13 9/16 × 13 3/16 × 10 5/8 in., 23 13/16lb.)

Type:

AVIONICS-Communication

Country of Origin:

United States of America

Date:

1930-1934

Credit Line:

Gift of American Legion Post 678

Inventory Number:

A19500109000

Restrictions & Rights:

CC0

See more items in:

National Air and Space Museum Collection

Data Source:

National Air and Space Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9a37f241b-75cf-44a4-a5a2-d0e1015db564

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nasm_A19500109000

Designer:

Elbert (Burt) L. Rutan  Search this

Manufacturer:

Rutan Aircraft Factory, Inc.  Search this

Materials:

Foam covered with fiberglass.

Dimensions:

Wingspan: 6.8 m (22 ft 2 1/2 in)

Length: 4.3 m (14 ft 2 in)

Height: 1.5 m (59 in)

Weights: Empty, 263 kg (585 lb)

Gross, 472.5 kg (1,050 lb)

Engine: Continental 0-200 four-cylinder, air-cooled, 100 horsepower

Type:

CRAFT-Aircraft

Country of Origin:

United States of America

Credit Line:

Gift of Burt Rutan.

Inventory Number:

A19860067000

Restrictions & Rights:

CC0

See more items in:

National Air and Space Museum Collection

Location:

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA

Exhibit Station:

Sport Aviation

Data Source:

National Air and Space Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv98f49e3d2-0c7f-4b50-829e-3439dc0d3b6f

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nasm_A19860067000

User:

Wong, Anna May  Search this

Physical Description:

wood (overall material)

metal (handles material)

glass (mirrors material)

Measurements:

overall: 8 in x 6 in x 6 in; 20.32 cm x 15.24 cm x 15.24 cm

Object Name:

box

Date made:

before 1930

Subject:

Chinese Americans  Search this

Asian Americans  Search this

Actors  Search this

Cosmetics  Search this

ID Number:

2022.0275.01

Accession number:

2022.0275

Catalog number:

2022.0275.01

See more items in:

Culture and the Arts: Entertainment

Popular Entertainment

Exhibition:

New Acquisitions Case 3W

Exhibition Location:

National Museum of American History

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng434b35386-4253-46da-8938-1b703687b8fc

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_2023231

User:

Wong, Anna May  Search this

Physical Description:

cellulose acetate (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 7 in x 2 1/2 in x 1 in; 17.78 cm x 6.35 cm x 2.54 cm

Object Name:

cigarette case

Date made:

around 1930s

Subject:

Tobacco Use  Search this

Chinese Americans  Search this

Asian Americans  Search this

Actors  Search this

ID Number:

2022.0275.02

Accession number:

2022.0275

Catalog number:

2022.0275.02

See more items in:

Culture and the Arts: Entertainment

Popular Entertainment

Exhibition:

New Acquisitions Case 3W

Exhibition Location:

National Museum of American History

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng439d4e71b-9126-46b5-a695-43947a102bad

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_2023245

User:

Wong, Anna May  Search this

Physical Description:

paper (overall material)

printed (overall production method/technique)

Measurements:

overall: 2 in x 3 1/2 in; 5.08 cm x 8.89 cm

Object Name:

card

Subject:

Chinese Americans  Search this

Asian Americans  Search this

Actors  Search this

ID Number:

2022.0275.03

Accession number:

2022.0275

Catalog number:

2022.0275.03

See more items in:

Culture and the Arts: Entertainment

Popular Entertainment

Exhibition:

New Acquisitions Case 3W

Exhibition Location:

National Museum of American History

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng4c601a8b5-4a8e-473e-94cd-4cd690bd385a

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_2023247

User:

Wong, Anna May  Search this

Physical Description:

paper (overall material)

printed (overall production method/technique)

Measurements:

overall: 2 in x 3 1/2 in; 5.08 cm x 8.89 cm

Object Name:

card

Subject:

Chinese Americans  Search this

Asian Americans  Search this

Actors  Search this

ID Number:

2022.0275.04

Accession number:

2022.0275

Catalog number:

2022.0275.04

See more items in:

Culture and the Arts: Entertainment

Popular Entertainment

Exhibition:

New Acquisitions Case 3W

Exhibition Location:

National Museum of American History

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng4bd520728-2ba0-4276-a78c-00eff1900c4d

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_2023249

Artist:

Cauleen Smith, born Riverside, CA 1967  Search this

Medium:

digital video, color, sound, 22:41 minutes

Type:

Media Arts

Date:

2018

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the SJ Weiler Fund

Copyright:

© 2020, Cauleen Smith

Object number:

2020.54.1

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Time-Based Media Art

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk719536258-e31e-4549-93c1-718929a1901b

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_2020.54.1

Materials:

Canvas and hemp rope

Dimensions:

3-D (Flat): 102.2 × 48.3 × 3.8cm (40 1/4 × 19 × 1 1/2 in.)

3-D: 96.5 x 45.7cm, 0.9kg (38 x 18 in., 2lb.)

Type:

EQUIPMENT-Mission Support

Date:

1931-1933

Credit Line:

Transferred from the USAF Museum

Inventory Number:

A20030068012

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/nv9dfcd7b0c-2db0-48b0-9544-c985687a09e9

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nasm_A20030068012

Creator:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-03-24T16:19:59.000Z

YouTube Category:

Music  Search this

Topic:

Cultural property  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianfolkways

Data Source:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianfolkways

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_-j7wl7oWHqU

Creator:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-01-28T15:32:39.000Z

YouTube Category:

Music  Search this

Topic:

Cultural property  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianfolkways

Data Source:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianfolkways

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_Rc087XKMGlE

Creator:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-02-17T14:00:32.000Z

YouTube Category:

Music  Search this

Topic:

Cultural property  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianfolkways

Data Source:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianfolkways

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_ZtvTK175Yfc

Creator:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-05-08T16:22:38.000Z

YouTube Category:

Music  Search this

Topic:

Cultural property  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianfolkways

Data Source:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianfolkways

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_fRHkPESQPYo

Creator:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-03-31T17:43:43.000Z

YouTube Category:

Music  Search this

Topic:

Cultural property  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianfolkways

Data Source:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianfolkways

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_u-O8zeOxUo4

Creator:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-04-22T21:01:45.000Z

YouTube Category:

Music  Search this

Topic:

Cultural property  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianfolkways

Data Source:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianfolkways

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_xnu3hqkG24g

Creator:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2018-03-30T22:55:59.000Z

YouTube Category:

Music  Search this

Topic:

Cultural property  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianfolkways

Data Source:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianfolkways

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_y7-rK9i89dA

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.

"

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

Interviewee:

Sun Ra  Search this

Gaskin, Leonard, 1920-  Search this

Taylor, Billy  Search this

Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987  Search this

Wells, Ronnie  Search this

Whiting, Margaret  Search this

Towers, Jack  Search this

Venuti, Joe, 1903-1978  Search this

Pullen, Don, 1941-  Search this

Roney, Wallace  Search this

Pizzarelli, Bucky, 1926-  Search this

Pizzarelli, John, 1960-  Search this

Shaw, Artie, 1910-2004  Search this

Shepp, Archie, 1937-  Search this

Sanders, Pharaoh  Search this

Grant, Felix, 1918-1993  Search this

Scott, Jimmy  Search this

McPhail, Jimmy  Search this

McPartland, Marian  Search this

McFerrin, Bobby  Search this

Krall, Diana  Search this

O'Connell, Helen  Search this

Mulligan, Gerry  Search this

Metheny, Pat  Search this

McShann, Jay  Search this

Horn, Shirley, 1934-  Search this

Hinton, Milt, 1910-2000  Search this

Hill, Andrew, 1937-  Search this

Hendricks, Jon, 1921-  Search this

Keane, Helen  Search this

Kaminsky, Max, 1908-  Search this

Jordan, Sheila, 1928-  Search this

Humes, Helen, 1913-1981  Search this

Hampton, Lionel  Search this

Harris, Eddie, 1934-  Search this

Heath, Jimmy, 1926-  Search this

Frishberg, Dave  Search this

Ennis, Ethel  Search this

Farmer, Art, 1928-  Search this

Flanagan, Tommy, 1930-  Search this

Hampton, Slide  Search this

D'Rivera, Paquito, 1948-  Search this

Daniels, Billy  Search this

Davison, Bill  Search this

Donegan, Dorothy, 1922-  Search this

Crouch, Stanley, 1945-2020  Search this

Conyers, John, 1929-  Search this

Cruz, Celia, 1924-2003  Search this

Byard, Jaki  Search this

Brown, Ruth  Search this

Carter, Betty, 1930-  Search this

Byron, Don  Search this

Betts, Keter, 1928-  Search this

Bellson, Louis  Search this

Bowie, Lester, 1941-  Search this

Blakey, Art, 1919-1990  Search this

Allen, Steve, 1921-2000  Search this

Adderly, Nat, 1931-2000  Search this

Bailey, Benny, 1925-  Search this

Collector:

Stokes, W. Royal, Dr., 1930-  Search this

Names:

Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971  Search this

Davis, Miles  Search this

Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this

Gillespie, Dizzy, 1917-  Search this

Extent:

10 Cubic feet (39 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Audiotapes

Black-and-white photographic prints

Publicity photographs

Date:

1940s-2005

Summary:

Publicity photographs of musicians and entertainers, mostly jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie, but including many rock and even a few classical performers. The collection also contains tape recorded radio interviews conducted between 1970 and 2003. In addition there are posters relating to musical performances.

Scope and Contents:

This collection was formed by W. Royal Stokes in the course of his professional work as a music and arts critic. It is composed primarily of publicity portraits of musical performers, both single acts and groups. The emphasis is on jazz musicians and singers, although many rock stars and groups, and other popular musical performers are included. Even a few classical musicians are represented. The pictures are primarily mass-produced black and white publicity photographs distributed to newspapers, writers, etc., by agents for entertainment personalities. Some prints were made from the original negatives, while others clearly were made from copy negatives after typography was stripped together with a print and re-photographed. However, there are some rarer original photographs included in the collection, such as personal color snapshots, higher quality prints by art photographers, etc. Nearly all the prints are unmounted, and are 8 x 10 inches or smaller in size. The bulk of the photographs date from circa 1970 to 2000, however, a number of the earlier photographs are included as well as slightly later examples.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into nine series.

Series 1, Photographs of Musicians and Ensembles, circa 1970-2000; undated

Subseries 1.1, Musicians and Ensembles

Subseries 1.2, Recording Company Photographs

Subseries 1.3, Unidentified Musicians

Series 2, Photographs of Performances, 1987-2002; undated

Subseries 2.1, Music Festivals, 1987-2002; undated

Subseries 2.2, Concerts, Music Clubs and Other Venues, 1920s-1940s and circa 1980s-1990s; undated

Series 3, Formal and Informal Groups, circa 1980s-2000; undated

Series 4, Photographs of Musicians in Films, Radio, Television and Theater, 1940s-2000; undated Series 5, Photographs of Subjects and Products related to Musicians and Music, 1970-2000; undated

Series 6, Photographs of Non-Musicians, circa 1980s-2000; undated

Series 7, Interviews with Musicians, 1970-2003

Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1970-2003

Subseries 8.1, Audio Recordings - Audiocassettes

Subseries 8.2, Audio Recordings-Audiotapes

Series 9, Posters, 1976-1990; undated

Biographical / Historical:

Born in Washington, D.C., W. Royal Stokes served in the Army and then embarked on an academic career, teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, Tufts University, Brock University and the University of Colorado. He left the academic profession in 1969 and become a writer, broadcaster and lecturer, journalist, and critic and authority on jazz music. A follower of jazz since his teens in the 1940s, Stokes has written about music for such publications as Down Beat, Jazz Times, and the Washington Post, and hosted the public radio shows "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say . . ." and "Since Minton's". Today he is the editor of the quarterly Jazz Notes, and is the author of The Jazz Scene: An Informal History From New Orleans to 1990 and Swing Era New York: The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson.. He is also the author of Living the Jazz Life: Conversations with Forty Musicians about Their Careers in Jazz (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). Dr. Stokes lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of Ameican History:

Duke Ellington Collection, 1928-1988 (AC0301)

Herman Leonard Photoprints, 1948-1993

Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Reference Prints [copyprints], 1923-1972

Jazz Oral History Collection, 1988-1990

Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, 1910s-1970s (mostly 1930s-1960s)

Jeffrey Kliman Photographs

Stephanie Myers Jazz Photographs, 1984-1987, 2005

Chico O'Farrill Papers

Paquito D'Rivera Papers, 1989-2000.

Louis Armstrong Music Manuscripts, undated

Tito Puente Papers, 1962-1965.

Audrey Wells "Women in Jazz Radio Series, 1981-1982

Mongo Santamaria Papers, 1965-2001

Ramsey Lewis Collection, 1950-2007

Earl Newman Collection of Monterey Jazz Festival Posters, 1963-2009

James Arkatov Collection of Jazz Photographs, 1995-2003

Francis Wolff Jazz Photoprints, 1953-1966

Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection, circa 1920s-2006

Jazz Oral History Program Collection, 1992-2009

Leslie Schinella Collection of Gene Krupa Materials

Provenance:

Donated by W. Royal Stokes to the Archives Center in 2001.

Restrictions:

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.

Topic:

Jazz musicians -- 1950-2000 -- United States  Search this

Musicians  Search this

Publicity  Search this

Portraits -- Musicians  Search this

Popular music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Entertainers  Search this

Rock music  Search this

Genre/Form:

Audiotapes

Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000

Publicity photographs

Citation:

W. Royal Stokes Collection of Jazz Musicians' Photographs, ca. 1970-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0766

See more items in:

W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b79b5a94-c967-451e-bafb-e62dc2d8ff45

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0766

Creator:

Smithsonian Music  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2020-12-11T23:46:36.000Z

YouTube Category:

Music  Search this

Topic:

Music;Entertainers  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianMusic

Data Source:

Smithsonian Music

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianMusic

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_C6yBh9uoJWQ