Sarah Vaughan

Artist

Josef Breitenbach, 03 Apr 1896 - 07 Oct 1984

Sitter

Sarah Vaughan, 27 Mar 1924 - 3 Apr 1990

Exhibition Label

Born Newark, New Jersey

Known popularly as “the divine Sarah” and “Sassy,” Sarah Vaughan was regarded as one of the premier female vocalists of her day. Drawn to music from an early age, she studied piano and sang in her church choir as a youth. When Vaughan was eighteen, she entered an amateur talent contest at Harlem’s Apollo Theater on a dare and won first prize. This success led to frequent invitations to perform alongside the leading figures in contemporary jazz, including Earl “Fatha” Hines, Dizzy Gillespie, and Billy Eckstein. Adept at bebop improvisation, Vaughan possessed a wonderfully versatile voice that complemented a larger jazz ensemble. By 1950—the year in which Josef Breitenbach created this portrait—she was selling upwards of three million records a year. During this period, a poll in Down Beat magazine named her the top female singer for six consecutive years.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

1950

Object number

NPG.99.160

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Copyright

© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation

Type

Photograph

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image: 34.2 x 26.7 cm (13 7/16 x 10 1/2")

Sheet: 25.4 x 27.8 cm (10 x 10 15/16")

Mat: 71.1 x 55.9 cm (28 x 22")

Frame: 71.9 x 56.7 x 3.2 cm (28 5/16 x 22 5/16 x 1 1/4")

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Costume\Jewelry\Earring

Indeterminable

Sarah Vaughan: Female

Sarah Vaughan: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Pianist

Sarah Vaughan: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer\Jazz

Sarah Vaughan: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Jazz

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.99.160

Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4051b344c-f50c-40c7-81a6-e066a415d2bd