Chuck Berry

- Exhibition Label
- Born Saint Louis, Missouri
- An inaugural inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, Chuck Berry was credited with revolutionizing the music scene of the 1950s. He was a major influence on the emergence of rock and roll, blending lyrics about cars, women, and teenage life with the driving combination of rhythm and blues and country and western music. Known for his showmanship on stage and his guitar solos, Berry set the standard for rock performers. A special feature of this work is the imagined "Maybellene," who stands on the neck of the guitar at the center. According to the artist, Red Grooms, he "gave the great Rock and Roller the futurist treatment and made sure the color scheme would work in any cool cat’s parlor."
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Red Grooms / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- 1978
- Object number
- NPG.2011.65
- Culture
- Chuck Berry: American\African American
- Artist
- Red Grooms, born 7 Jun 1937
- Sitter
- Chuck Berry, 18 Oct 1926 - 18 Mar 2017
- Topic
- Music\Musical instrument\Guitar
- Costume\Dress Accessory\Tie\Bowtie
- Chuck Berry: Male
- Chuck Berry: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Songwriter
- Chuck Berry: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer
- Chuck Berry: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Guitarist
- Portrait
- Medium
- Screenprint with collage on paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 81.1 x 64.8 cm (31 15/16 x 25 1/2")
- National Portrait Gallery
- Type