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.

  • 750x750_copy.jpg

    ​D’Angelo achieved commercial and critical success experimenting with a fusion of jazz, funk, soul, R&B and hip-hop.

  • 1_Kandace_Springs_by_Joey_Kennedy_2025_Pittsburgh_Jazz_Fest_copy.jpg

    Kandace Springs channeled Shirley Horn’s deliberate phrasing and sublime self-accompaniment during her set at this year’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.

  • Jim_McNeely_Courtesy_jim-mcneely.com_copy.jpg

    ​Jim McNeely’s singular body of work had a profound and lasting influence on many of today’s top jazz composers in the U.S. and in Europe.

  • Ray_Drummond_-_RI_Sutherland-Cohen_-_JAN_2019_2_copy.jpeg

    Drummond was cherished by generations of mainstream jazz listeners and bandleaders for his authoritative tonal presence, a defining quality of his style most apparent when he played his instrument unamplified.

    Bassist Ray Drummond Dies at 78

    Ray Drummond, a first-call bassist who appeared on hundreds of albums as a sideman for some of the top names in jazz…