Milt Jackson
Artist
Roy DeCarava
(American, 1919-2009)
CultureAmerican
Date1956, printed 1991
MediumPhotogravure
DimensionsOverall, Image: 11 1/8 × 7 5/8 in. (28.3 × 19.4 cm)
Overall, Support: 22 × 18 in. (55.9 × 45.7 cm)
Overall, Mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
Overall, Support: 22 × 18 in. (55.9 × 45.7 cm)
Overall, Mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
InscribedEach signed, dated and numbered in pencil in the margin
Credit LineMuseum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank
Object number2002.15.12
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a photogravure of Milt Jackson, on stage as part of a band. He holds two vibraphone sticks; it appears he is waiting for a cue. Milt Jackson wears glasses, a moustache, and a suit in the foreground; in the background another man dressed in a similar, but lighter, outfit looks toward the camera.Label TextRoy DeCarava American (b. 1919) Milt Jackson, 1956 Photogravure, 1991 Museum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank 2002.15.12 DeCarava is known for his work recording African American life in his native New York City and especially for his photographs of the emerging jazz musicians in the 1950s and 1960s. He has remarked, "jazz and photography are immediate things; they both have to do with now… The jazzman and the photographer have to react at the moment." Not surprisingly, DeCarava's improvisational photographic style bears a striking relationship with much of his subject matter-jazz musicians. In 1952 DeCarava became the first photographer (since 1927) and the first black artist ever to win a Guggenheim Fellowship. Edward Steichen, who was at that time director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, backed DeCarava for the Guggenheim, and was also the first to purchase his photographs for MoMA. In 1955 DeCarava published, with Langston Hughes, his classic book The Sweet Flypaper of Life. Since that time he has had numerous publications, including a book of jazz musicians entitled The Sound I Saw. Edited By: CW Edited Date: 2007 Approved By: ERL Approval Date: 2007ProvenanceRoy DeCarava, 1991; Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, Ny.; Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank, 2002. Exhibition History"The Sound I Saw: The Jazz Photographs of Roy DeCarava," The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, Ny., Jan. 20 - March 20, 1983. *This image circulated, not this object. "Roy DeCarava: A Retrospective," The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Ny., Jan. 25 - May 7, 1996; The Art Institute of Chicago, Il., June 8 - Sept. 15, 1996; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Ca., Nov. 14, 1996 - Jan. 26, 1997; Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Ma., Feb. 23 - May 4, 1997; The Saint Louis Art Museum, Mo., June 15 - Aug. 9, 1997; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Tx., Sept. 7 - Nov. 16, 1997; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Ca., Jan. 22 - April 5, 1998; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Ga., June 27 - Sept. 19, 1998; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 1998 - Jan. 4, 1999. *This image circulated, not this object. "The World of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 20, 2007 - May 25, 2008 Published ReferencesRoy DeCarava, _The Sound I Saw: The Jazz Photographs of Roy DeCarava_, exh. cat., Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, Ny., 1983, 44, plate 29. Roy DeCarava, with intro. by Sherry Turner, _Roy DeCarava: Twelve Photogravures_ (Renaissance Press, 1991), 1-12. Peter Galassi, with an essay by Sherry Turner DeCarava, _Roy DeCarava: A Retrospective_, exh. cat., The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Ny., 1996, 133.
