The Arts
1886-1939. b. Columbus, Georgia. Often called the ?Mother of the Blues,? Rainey is credited with the rise in popularity of blues music at the beginning of the 20th century. She was also known as the ?Gold Necklace Woman of the Blues? because she carried her wealth in gold dollars on a chain. The child of minstrel show performers, Gertrude Pridgett took to the stage at 14. In 1904, she married Will ?Pa? Rainey and together they performed as the Assassinators of the Blues. She sang for more than 20 years before her recording debut in 1923. Although her recording career lasted a mere six years, she recorded more than 100 songs, including ?Bo-Weavil Blues? and ?Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,? supported by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, and Louie Austin. In the 30s, when female blues singers became less popular with audiences, Rainey retired to her hometown. Her obituary described her as a housekeeper but her recording legacy continues to influence successive generations of musicians. Inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, she was honored on a U.S. postage stamp in 1994.
The Arts
1885?1941, Originally named Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe, b. Gulfport, La. He began studying piano as a child and in his youth was a pianist in the colorful Storyville district of New Orleans. Later he played with Johnny Dodds, Baby Dodds, Kid Ory, Barney Bigard, and other noted jazz musicians, but his popularity severely declined in the 1930s. Although Morton is regarded by many as the greatest New Orleans pianist, his egocentricity, moodiness, and quarrelsome disposition led many musicians and critics to disparage him. His compositions and arrangements, many of which reflect his Creole background, include Dead Man Blues, Jelly Roll Blues, King Porter Stomp, Mama Nita, Mamie’s Blues (or 219 Blues), Moi pas l’aimez
The Arts
1914 ? 1988
b. Charlotte, N.C. Bearden grew up in Harlem and, in his work, has attempted to come to terms with the experience of blacks in America. Although his early work involved religious themes, his later production showed a greater connection with jazz and its relation to the art of collage. He is also noted for his prints in a variety of media, e.g., the lithographs in ?Jazz Series? (1979). In the 1960s, he was a founder of the Cinque Gallery, which was intended to help young artists, and the Spiral Group, which aided African-American artists. His work is represented in many major museums.
The Arts
1927-2001. Baptist preacher and prolific folk artist known as much for his outsized personality as for his sculpture made out of trash. He won wide recognition for his Paradise Garden, a two-and-a-half acre gallery of works created out of detritus. He also played the banjo on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and designed album covers for the Talking Heads and R.E.M.
The Arts
1888 – 1946
b. West Chester, Pa. He worked as a porter, peddler, and warehouseman and never studied art. He was severely wounded in World War I. The naive fervor and bold design of his painting brought him recognition in the 1930s. Although his output amounted to less than 150 oils, drawings, and wood panels, he is one of the most widely acclaimed of America’s ?primitive? artists and was the subject of a major retrospective in 1994. Among his works in public collections are Self-Portrait (Albright-Knox Art Gall., Buffalo, N.Y.); Suppertime (Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pa.); and End of the War (Philadelphia Mus. of Art).
The Arts
1886 ? 1983
b. Lenox, Mass. The son of Ulysses S. Grant’s maid and butler, Van Der Zee opened his first studio in Harlem, New York City, in 1915. For 60 years, working in obscurity, he made a visual record of Harlem life unsurpassed in scope and detail. In 1967 the Metropolitan Museum of Art discovered Van Der Zee’s remaining 40,000 prints and negatives and displayed many of them in its ?Harlem on My Mind? exhibit (1969).
