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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
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