Ella Fitzgerald

 

James Todd

  1937 - 2025 (biography)

1999  

wood engraving 

11 x 8 5/8" image 

pencil, lower right 

8 of 50  

titled in pencil in lower left & dated after signature; inscribed on verso in the upper left corner of the paper: #14 Ella Fitzgerald/ Wood Engraving; also bears the artist's red seal in lower right after the signature and date 

illustrated on page 55 in Jazz Icons: Wood Engravings, Wood Cuts, and Paintings by James Gilbert Todd 

ivory Kitakata wove paper 

published 

artist 

JATO126 

$500.00 

James Todd was a fan of jazz music, owing partially to the vinyl records he purchased while stationed in West Germany in the 1960s. He created a series of woodengravings of noted blues and jazz musicians, including Ella Fitzgerald, to celebrate their contributions to the music world.

Ella Fitzgerald (1917- 1996) is considered the "First Lady of Song" with her perfect pitch and exquisite vocalizations and interpretations. She began her career at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and soon began working for Chick Webb as a singer. Shall we say "the rest is history." Lady Ella was beloved internationally and she was the top female jazz singer for half a century. She won thirteen Grammy Awards and was the first African-American woman to win a Grammy.