Skip to main content

George Gershwin

George Gershwin
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Arthur Kaufmann, 7 Jul 1888 - 25 Sep 1971
Sitter
George Gershwin, 26 Sep 1898 - 11 Jul 1937
Date
1936
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 92.1 x 62.2 x 2.5cm (36 1/4 x 24 1/2 x 1")
Frame: 114.3 x 84.5 x 8.9cm (45 x 33 1/4 x 3 1/2")
Topic
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Necktie
George Gershwin: Male
George Gershwin: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Composer
George Gershwin: Visual Arts\Artist\Portraitist
George Gershwin: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Songwriter
George Gershwin: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Pianist
George Gershwin: Congressional Gold Medal
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Object number
NPG.73.8
Exhibition Label
Born New York City
In the early decades of the twentieth century, when waves of immigration and explosive urban growth transformed the face of America, George Gershwin emerged as a transcendent voice of modernism. His staccato-paced, syncopated rhythms helped define the Jazz Age on Broadway in the 1920s in such shows as Lady Be Good and Girl Crazy. At the height of the Great Depression, his “folk opera” Porgy and Bess attempted to catch the clash and blends of cultural “interfusions” that he saw as distinctively American. And he was part of the Hollywood scene during the golden age of the silver screen, notably completing—with his lyricist brother Ira—the score for The Goldwyn Follies just before his death in 1937, at age thirty-nine. Gershwin had become a centrifugal force in the lively arts in years marked by a search for a modern American identity.
Provenance
The artist; Edward Wormley [1907-1995]; Mrs. Ben Aronson, New York; purchased 1973 NPG
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Exhibition
Bravo!
On View
NPG, South Gallery 321 Mezzanine