Dorothy Dandridge
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Object Details
- Artist
- Unidentified Artist
- Sitter
- Dorothy Dandridge, 9 Nov 1922 - 8 Sept 1965
- Associated Institution
- 20th Century Fox Film Corporation
- Exhibition Label
- Born Cleveland, Ohio
- Every element of the film poster for Carmen Jones—vivacious pose, life-size scale, ambiguous space, simplified color scheme, and jazzy lettering— heightens Dorothy Dandridge’s glamour and promise. Dandridge, who could both sing and act, played the title role in Otto Preminger’s 1954 film. Set in an African American community during World War II and first performed on Broadway, Carmen Jones was an adaptation of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen (1875). The all-Black musical had garnered rave reviews, and the following year, Dandridge became the first African American to receive an Oscar nomination for a starring role.
- Although there were few leading roles available for Black actors in mainstream film, Dandridge went on to star opposite Sidney Poitier in Porgy and Bess (1959), among other films. Overall, Dandridge described the challenge she faced as “not yetness.” Despite being lauded for her talent and beauty, she felt white society was not “quite ready for full acceptance.”
- Nacida en Cleveland, Ohio
- Cada elemento del cartel de Carmen Jones —pose vivaz, tamaño natural, espacio ambiguo, colores simplificados y letra llamativa— realza el glamour y el potencial de Dorothy Dandridge, quien, sabiendo cantar y actuar, logró protagonizar este filme de 1954 dirigido por Otto Preminger. Ambientada en una comunidad afroamericana durante la II Guerra Mundial y presentada primero en Broadway, la historia de Carmen Jones era una adaptación de la ópera Carmen (1875) de Georges Bizet. El musical fílmico, con un elenco de artistas negros, recibió críticas muy elogiosas y al año siguiente Dandridge fue la primera afroamericana nominada para el Oscar por un papel principal.
- Aunque eran pocos los papeles estelares para actores negros en la industria, Dandridge también protagonizó Porgy and Bess (1959) junto a Sidney Poitier, entre otras. Solía describir los retos que enfrentó como el “todavía no”: a pesar de ser alabada por su talento y belleza, sentía que la sociedad blanca no estaba “del todo lista para aceptarme plenamente”.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- 1954
- Object number
- NPG.99.92
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- © 20th Century Fox Film Corp.
- Type
- Medium
- Color photolithographic poster with halftone
- Dimensions
- Image: 188.4 × 99.5 cm (74 3/16 × 39 3/16")
- Sheet: 196.7 × 104.7 cm (77 7/16 × 41 1/4")
- Mount: 203.7 × 111.8 cm (80 3/16 × 44")
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Title
- Carmen Jones
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Costume\Jewelry\Earring
- Costume\Jewelry\Bracelet
- Music\Sheet music
- Poster
- Poster\Movie
- Dorothy Dandridge: Female
- Dorothy Dandridge: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer
- Dorothy Dandridge: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie actor
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.99.92
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Usage conditions apply
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm476f7a728-67ee-45f4-97f1-0227cdcb5c7e
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