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Gertrude Hadley Jeannette

Gertrude Hadley Jeannette
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Alex Asher Daniel, born 1973
Sitter
Gertrude Hadley Jeannette, 1914 - 2018
Date
2011
Type
Drawing
Medium
Acrylic, colored pencil, oil stick, spray paint on paper
Dimensions
Image: 42.5 × 23 cm (16 3/4 × 9 1/16")
Sheet: 70.2 × 51 cm (27 5/8 × 20 1/16")
Topic
Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses
Gertrude Hadley Jeannette: Female
Gertrude Hadley Jeannette: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor
Gertrude Hadley Jeannette: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Civil rights activist
Portrait
Place
United States\New York\Kings\New York\Manhattan Island\Harlem
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift in honor of Michael and Sade Lythcott and Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© 2011 Alex Asher Daniel
Object number
NPG.2016.139
Exhibition Label
Born Union County, Arkansas
Gertrude Jeannette has never shied away from blazing new trails. In 1935 she became the first woman in New York City licensed to drive a motorcycle. In 1942, when wartime service claimed many of the city’s cabdrivers, she was the first woman licensed to drive a cab. Her most enduring contribution has been as a pioneer of African American theater. Her acting career spanned seventy years and included roles in such Broadway productions as The Skin of our Teeth (1975), Amen Corner (1965), and The Great White Hope (1968). Jeannette also wrote, directed, and produced plays, and in the mid-1960s and 1970s, she appeared in films, including Shaft and Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970). In 1979 Jeannette founded the still-thriving HADLEY Players with the goal of developing theatrical talent and enriching the cultural life of Harlem. She was recognized as a “living legend” at the National Black Theater Festival in 1991.
Nacida en el Condado Union, Arkansas
Gertrude Jeannette nunca temió abrir brechas. En 1935 fue la primera mujer en la ciudad de Nueva York que obtuvo una licencia para conducir motocicletas. En 1942, durante la guerra, cuando la mayoría de los taxistas de la ciudad servían en las fuerzas armadas, fue la primera mujer taxista. Su aportación más perdurable ha sido su labor pionera en el teatro afroamericano. Su carrera artística abarcó setenta años e incluyó papeles en producciones de Broadway tales como The Skin of our Teeth (1975), Amen Corner (1965) y The Great White Hope (1968). Jeannette también escribió, dirigió y produjo obras teatrales, y en las décadas de 1960 y 1970 apareció en películas, entre ellas Shaft y Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970). En 1979 fundó los HADLEY Players, activos hasta hoy, con el fin de desarrollar el talento teatral y enriquecer la vida cultural de Harlem. En 1991, en el Festival Nacional de Teatro Negro, fue reconocida como una “leyenda viviente”.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view