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Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge
Usage Conditions Apply
Title
Carmen Jones
Artist
Unidentified Artist
Sitter
Dorothy Dandridge, 9 Nov 1922 - 8 Sept 1965
Associated Institution
20th Century Fox Film Corporation
Date
1954
Type
Print
Medium
Color photolithographic poster with halftone
Dimensions
Image: 188.4 × 99.5 cm (74 3/16 × 39 3/16")
Sheet: 196.7 × 104.7 cm (77 7/16 × 41 1/4")
Mount: 203.7 × 111.8 cm (80 3/16 × 44")
Topic
Costume\Jewelry\Earring
Costume\Jewelry\Bracelet
Music\Sheet music
Poster
Poster\Movie
Dorothy Dandridge: Female
Dorothy Dandridge: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer
Dorothy Dandridge: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie actor
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© 20th Century Fox Film Corp.
Object number
NPG.99.92
Exhibition Label
Born Cleveland, Ohio
Every element of the film poster for Carmen Jones—vivacious pose, life-size scale, ambiguous space, simplified color scheme, and jazzy lettering— heightens Dorothy Dandridge’s glamour and promise. Dandridge, who could both sing and act, played the title role in Otto Preminger’s 1954 film. Set in an African American community during World War II and first performed on Broadway, Carmen Jones was an adaptation of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen (1875). The all-Black musical had garnered rave reviews, and the following year, Dandridge became the first African American to receive an Oscar nomination for a starring role.
Although there were few leading roles available for Black actors in mainstream film, Dandridge went on to star opposite Sidney Poitier in Porgy and Bess (1959), among other films. Overall, Dandridge described the challenge she faced as “not yetness.” Despite being lauded for her talent and beauty, she felt white society was not “quite ready for full acceptance.”
Nacida en Cleveland, Ohio
Cada elemento del cartel de Carmen Jones —pose vivaz, tamaño natural, espacio ambiguo, colores simplificados y letra llamativa— realza el glamour y el potencial de Dorothy Dandridge, quien, sabiendo cantar y actuar, logró protagonizar este filme de 1954 dirigido por Otto Preminger. Ambientada en una comunidad afroamericana durante la II Guerra Mundial y presentada primero en Broadway, la historia de Carmen Jones era una adaptación de la ópera Carmen (1875) de Georges Bizet. El musical fílmico, con un elenco de artistas negros, recibió críticas muy elogiosas y al año siguiente Dandridge fue la primera afroamericana nominada para el Oscar por un papel principal.
Aunque eran pocos los papeles estelares para actores negros en la industria, Dandridge también protagonizó Porgy and Bess (1959) junto a Sidney Poitier, entre otras. Solía describir los retos que enfrentó como el “todavía no”: a pesar de ser alabada por su talento y belleza, sentía que la sociedad blanca no estaba “del todo lista para aceptarme plenamente”.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view