Portrait of Willie Smith in his apartment, Manhattan, New York, N.Y., ca. Jan. 1947. Photograph by William P. Gottlieb.
Every other Friday the Music Division releases a batch of photos from the William P. Gottlieb Collection to Flickr Commons. This week’s release includes portraits of musical legends like Frank Sinatra, Billy Strayhorn, Sarah Vaughan, and Billy Taylor, whose collection resides in the Music Division. You can also view a gathering of Smiths, including violinist Stuff, alto sax man Tab, and cigar-chomping pianist Willie “The Lion”, as well as artists you wouldn’t expect to find in the collection of a man best known for his portraits of the jazz world, like country legend Ernest Tubb and bubbling bandleader Lawrence Welk, to whom In the Muse paid homage earlier this year.
There are many other stories to be told about these and the hundreds of other photos in the Gottlieb collection, and we welcome the many comments received so far on Flickr. Please visit the site and add your own questions, observations and memories.
And if you’re in the Washington area, be sure to join us for a lunchtime lecture on Monday, November 15th, when Reference Specialist Larry Appelbaum will be discussing the Gottlieb collection. That’s at 12 noon in the Whitall Pavilion, adjacent to the Coolidge Auditorium in the Jefferson Building. For more information contact Solomon HaileSelassie at (202) 707-5503 Request ADA accommodations 5 days in advance, (202) 707-6362, or ada[at]loc.gov
Finally, tomorrow marks the birthday of a native Washingtonian whom we recently remembered for his musical contribution to the fabled comedy troupe Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Celebrate the birthday of John Philip Sousa with the web presentation The March King in the Performing Arts Encyclopdia.
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