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Dizzy Gillespie

Dizzy Gillespie
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Marc Klionsky, 22 Feb 1927 - 17 Sep 2017
Sitter
Dizzy Gillespie, 21 Oct 1917 - 6 Jan 1993
Date
1988
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 132.7 x 168.3 x 3.8cm (52 1/4 x 66 1/4 x 1 1/2")
Frame: 137.2 x 172.7 x 5.4cm (54 x 68 x 2 1/8")
Topic
Costume\Jewelry\Necklace
Interior
Music\Musical instrument\Trumpet
Artwork\Sculpture\Statue
Costume\Dress Accessory\Mask
Dizzy Gillespie: Male
Dizzy Gillespie: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Jazz musician
Dizzy Gillespie: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Horn player\Trumpeter
Dizzy Gillespie: Grammy
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Estate of Aron Chilewich
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© 1988, Marc Klionsky
Object number
NPG.93.475
Exhibition Label
Born Cheraw, South Carolina
In the early 1940s, the young jazz trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie began meeting with several other musicians, including Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker, at a New York City nightclub to explore a new form of musical expression. Out of these sessions came the infectious energy of bebop, with Gillespie as one of its pioneers and eventually its elder statesman. Aimed at evolving jazz out of its earlier swing mode, the new music initially offended some jazz traditionalists but ultimately found a niche in the popular-music mainstream. In the 1970s a critic proclaimed Gillespie “the world’s greatest trumpet [player] in or out of jazz.” His interest in African American culture is reflected in this portrait, where artist Marc Klionsky—following conversations with the musician about his heritage—flanked Gillespie with African masks.
Provenance
The artist; purchased as gift for NPG by Simon Chilewich
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Exhibition
Bravo!
On View
NPG, South Gallery 322 Mezzanine