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Ginger RogersEnlarge Ginger Rogers (1911-1995)

In the annals of American entertainment lore, the name of Ginger Rogers will be forever linked to Fred Astaire. Together, this dancing pair set the standard for Hollywood dance musicals of the 1930s with their glossy sophistication and glamour, and it is often said that the movies of Rogers and Astaire provided a much-needed escape from the harsh realities of the Depression. Today many of their films-among them Flying Down to Rio, The Gay Divorcee, and Top Hat-are considered classics in American entertainment. But Rogers also proved quite capable in straight drama. In 1940, she won a best-actress Oscar for her performance in Kitty Foyle.

Artist Isami Noguchi modeled this likeness in clay and then translated it into plaster. He carved the final marble version while interned at a Japanese-American camp in Arizona during World War II.



Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988)
Marble, 1942
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
©Isamu Noguchi Foundation, Inc., New York

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