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Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company

National Portrait Gallery

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Object Details

Artist
Patrick Lofthouse, born 4 Jul 1937
Copy after
Tom Weir, born 1935
Sitter
Janis Joplin, 19 Jan 1943 - 4 Oct 1970
James Gurley, 22 Dec 1939 - 20 Dec 2009
Peter Albin, born 1944
Samuel Andrew, 18 Dec 1941 - 12 Feb 2015
David Getz, born 1938
Exhibition Label
When Texas-born singer Janis Joplin (1943–1970) joined the San Francisco band Big Brother and the Holding Company in 1966, she propelled the group to the top of the rock scene. A passionate, bluesy singer with a raw, powerful voice, Joplin electrified audiences with her sexualized performance style, delivered with explosive movements and wailing, whispering, and shrieking. One writer described her as a "mixture of Leadbelly, a steam engine, Calamity Jane, Bessie Smith, an oil derrick, and rot-gut bourbon." Before her 1970 death of a drug overdose at age twenty-seven, Joplin had become a female rock icon.
The distinctive lettering and vivid colors of the psychedelic rock posters helped launch a poster collecting craze. As advertising images, portraits of film and music celebrities, and political propaganda wallpapered bedrooms and dorm rooms, the poster became a statement of one’s personal affiliations and a visual symbol of the era.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Jack Banning
1968
Object number
S/NPG.92.135
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Bill Graham Archives, LLC
Type
Print
Medium
Color photolithographic poster
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 53.7cm x 35.8cm (21 1/8" x 14 1/8")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Alternate Title
Janis Joplin, James Gurley, Peter Albin, Samuel Andrew, and David Getz
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Costume\Jewelry\Necklace
Poster
Janis Joplin: Female
Janis Joplin: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer\Rock
Samuel Andrew: Male
Samuel Andrew: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician
Samuel Andrew: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Songwriter
Samuel Andrew: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Guitarist
Samuel Andrew: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Arranger
David Getz: Male
David Getz: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer
James Gurley: Male
James Gurley: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician
Peter Albin: Male
Peter Albin: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician
Portrait
Record ID
npg_S_NPG.92.135
Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm45941a8f8-b073-41a9-9fb8-9dc20eaa30b7

Related Content

  • 1968: A Year in the Collections

  • Rock and Roll Music

  • The Art of Rock and Roll

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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