Born January 20, 1895, in Coffeyville, Kansas Died February 21, 1992, in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Eva Jessye, as choral director for the first Broadway production of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in 1935, was credited with authenticating the sounds of this American classic. She was the first black woman to win international distinction as the director of a professional choral group, the Eva Jessye Singers. Other innovative productions for which she was choral director included Hallelujah, the 1929 film by King Vidor; and the Virgil Thomson opera Four Saints in Three Acts (libretto by Gertude Stein). For many years the Ambassador of the Arts from Kansas, she eventually retired to her home in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
1986
gelatin silver print
29.0 x 27.0 x 1.5 in