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Portraits of prominent entertainers
- Level
- Series
- ID
- Fonds 80; Series 4
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 80
- Series
- 4
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- 1940-1955
- Physical Description
- 38 photographs : b&w (19 negatives) : 18 x 12 cm or smaller.
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of negatives and proofs produced by Sylvia Schwartz in the studio. The images depict formal portraits of prominent American and Canadian entertainers from the 1940s and 50s. They chiefly consist of images of the head and upper body of the sitter. Two images show entertainers with their families, two include the entertainers with Sylvia's companions, Jewell Schwartz and Frances Gruber, while one depicts a sitter with his piano. There are 17 subjects in total, as multiple negatives of certain entertainers have been retained.
- The most prominent entertainer included in the series is Duke Ellington. Other entertainers included in the series are Willie Byrant, Todd Duncan, Calvin Jackson, Isabelle Lucas, Phyllis Marshall, Herbert Mills (of the Mills Brothers), Libby Morris, Bert Niosi, Bennie Payne, Walter "Foots" Thomas, John Weinzweig, Portia White and Frank Shuster and Johnny Wayne of "Wayne and Shuster".
- Most images were taken in Sylvia's Toronto studio, however two were taken at the Apollo Theatre in New York City. Despite the different location, these images are still formal portraits with plain backgrounds and do not feature any interior views of the Apollo.
- Notes
- All negatives have been scanned and entered into the database as item level descriptions
- For Item 21, a portrait of Portia White, there is no negative. The proof has instead been used in scanning.
- Subjects
- Entertainers
- Portraits
- Related Material
- Please note: Negatives of Paul Robeson, the American baritone and activist, can be found in Series 6 (European Visits and Travel). These negatives are informal photographs of Robeson in his hotel room or apartment with friends in London, U.K.
- Arrangement
- Series has been arranged into two sub-series. Sub-series 1 contains twenty negatives and Sub-series 2 contains their corresponding proofs. Each item number in Sub-series 1 corresponds with a matching item number in Sub-series 2. They have been arranged alphabetically by last name in each sub-series.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions