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Artist
Norman Rockwell, 3 Feb 1894 - 8 Nov 1978
Sitter
Bob Hope, 29 May 1903 - 27 Jul 2003
Date
1954
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 43.2 × 33cm (17 × 13")
Topic
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Necktie
Bob Hope: Male
Bob Hope: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie
Bob Hope: Performing Arts\Performer\Comedian
Bob Hope: Performing Arts\Performer\Television personality
Bob Hope: Performing Arts\Performer\Entertainer
Bob Hope: Oscar
Bob Hope: Presidential Medal of Freedom
Bob Hope: Congressional Gold Medal
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Linda Hope
Few entertainers have enjoyed greater popularity in American life than comedian Bob Hope. Beginning his career in vaudeville, the English-born Hope combined a rapid-fire delivery with an encyclopedic memory for jokes to become one of the best ad-libbers in show business. By the mid-1930s he was a fixture on radio and a star of such Broadway shows as Cole Porter’s Red, Hot & Blue. He moved to Hollywood and by 1940 began the hugely popular series of “Road” movies, partnered with Bing Crosby. Hope’s commitment to entertaining U.S. troops from 1941 through the Persian Gulf War was legendary. He received five special Academy Awards (but never a competitive one) and, in 1985, a Kennedy Center Honors award.
Norman Rockwell made this portrait for the February 13, 1954, cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Three days later, Rockwell presented Hope with the original painting on his television program, The Bob Hope Show.
Nacido en Eltham, Inglaterra
Pocos artistas del entretenimiento han gozado de más popularidad en la vida estadounidense que el comediante Bob Hope. De origen inglés, Hope empezó su carrera en el vodevil. Su combinación de veloz fraseo con una memoria enciclopédica para los chistes lo convirtió en uno de los mejores improvisadores del mundo del espectáculo. A mediados de la década de 1930, ya era figura habitual en la radio y estrella de shows de Broadway como Red, Hot & Blue de Cole Porter. Se mudó a Hollywood y hacia 1940 empezó la popularísima serie de películas “Road to...”, junto a Bing Crosby. Su compromiso de llevar entretenimiento a las tropas estadounidenses, desde 1941 hasta la Guerra del Golfo, era legendario. Recibió cinco premios “Oscar” especiales (nunca un premio competitivo) y en 1985 el premio del Kennedy Center.
Norman Rockwell pintó este retrato para la portada del 13 de febrero de 1954 de la revista Saturday Evening Post. Tres días después, Rockwell le obsequió la pintura original a Hope en su programa de televisión, The Bob Hope Show.
Provenance
The artist; given by the artist to the subject; his wife, Dolores Hope; their daughter, Linda Hope, the donor
