Exhibitions

Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song

March 19, 1998 – May 31, 2006

National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC

3rd Floor, West Wing

See on Map Floor Plan

Costumes, awards, photograph, recordings, scrapbooks, sheet music, and personal memorabilia examine the 60-year career of Ella Fitzgerald (1918-1996) and her rags-to-riches climb to international fame as a jazz and popular singer. This small exhibition features the red, two-piece suit from an American Express ad, along with an Annie Liebovitz photograph used in the ad; the broken goblet from the "Is it Ella or is it Memorex?" ad; the Presidential Medal of Freedom received from President George Herbert Walker Bush; a drawing of her by Pablo Picasso, and a portrait of her by singer Tony Bennett. Also on view are 5 photographs of Ella Fitzgerald by Herman Leonard.

Audio & Video (run continuously)