Bennett Donates Ellington Painting to Smithsonian

  I  

Tony Bennett will present his watercolor painting of Duke Ellington to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., on April 29. This date was chosen as it is the 110th anniversary of Ellington’s birth and the end of Jazz Appreciation Month.

The painting depicts Ellington with a bouquet of pink roses in the background. Bennett, who considered Ellington a mentor, chose this motif to celebrate Ellington’s habit of sending the singer a dozen pink roses whenever Ellington composed a new song.

Bennett has been painting all his life and this donation marks the third painting he has donated to the Smithsonian.

More info: si.edu



  • Jack_DeJohnette_by_Steve_Sussman.jpg

    ​Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.

  • Don_and_Maureen_Sickler_by_Richard_Halterman_copy_2.jpg

    Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.

  • Trio_aRT_courtesy_Trio_aRT_copy_3.jpg

    Trio aRT with its avalanche of instrumentation: from left, Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson and Julian Thayer.

  • KurtElling_6.2.25_by_ElliotMandel-REV-6.jpg

    “Think of all the creative people I’m going to meet and a whole other way of thinking about music and a challenge of singing completely different material than I would have sung otherwise to my highest level in dedication to the moment,” Elling says about his Broadway run.

  • Pat_Metheny_Side-Eye_III_Jimmy_Katz.jpg

    Pat Metheny will perform with his Side-Eye III ensemble at ​Big Ears 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee, next March.


On Sale Now
November 2025
Gary Bartz
Look Inside
Subscribe
Print | Digital | iPad