Object Details
Artist
Bradley Phillips, 1929 - 1 May 1991
Sitter
Leontyne Price, born 10 Feb 1927
Exhibition Label
Born Laurel, Mississippi
Soprano Leontyne Price studied music at what is now Central State University in Ohio. She then trained at the Juilliard School and scored a major success in 1952, appearing as Bess in a touring production of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. In high demand by opera houses in London, Vienna, and Milan, she did not make her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera until 1961. As Leonora in Il Trovatore, she quickly became a Met favorite, and she starred in numerous operas for the next twenty years. She sang the title role in Cleopatra at the opening of the Met’s new home at Lincoln Center in 1966 and made her farewell opera performance there in Aida in 1985.
Price was also a tireless performer on the recital circuit and won fifteen Grammy Awards for her recordings. She received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1980.
Nacida en Laurel, Misisipi
La soprano Leontyne Price estudió música en lo que es hoy la Universidad Estatal Central de Ohio.
Luego asistió a la escuela Juilliard y obtuvo su primer gran éxito en 1952 con el papel de Bess en una producción itinerante de Porgy and Bess, de George Gershwin. Muy cotizada en Londres, Viena y Milán, no fue hasta 1961 que debutó en el Metropolitan Opera de Nueva York. Como Leonora en Il trovatore, pronto se convirtió en favorita del Met y protagonizó numerosas óperas en los 20 años siguientes. En 1966 estrenó el rol protagónico de Antony and Cleopatra en la inauguración del nuevo Met en Lincoln Center, y allí se despidió de la ópera en 1985 con Aida.
También fue figura habitual del circuito de recitales y ganó 15 Premios Grammy por sus grabaciones. Recibió el Premio de Honor del Kennedy Center en 1980.
Provenance
The artist; his sister Sheldon Sayre, Cambridge, Mass.; gift 1991 NPG
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Ms. Sayre Sheldon
Date
1963
Object number
NPG.91.96
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 127.6 x 92.1 x 3.8cm (50 1/4 x 36 1/4 x 1 1/2")
Frame: 147.3 x 125.1 x 7.3cm (58 x 49 1/4 x 2 7/8")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition
American Winners: Athletes and Entertainers Who Shaped the Nation
On View
NPG, West Gallery 250
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Costume\Jewelry\Earring
Costume\Jewelry\Necklace\Pearl
Costume\Jewelry\Ring
Nature & Environment\Plant\Tree
Interior\Interior with Exterior View
Costume\Jewelry\Ring\Wedding Band
Architecture\Column
Leontyne Price: Female
Leontyne Price: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer\Opera singer
Leontyne Price: Civilian awards\Presidential Medal of Freedom
Leontyne Price: Performing arts awards\Grammy
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.91.96