Duke Ellington and his Band at the Saint-Lazare Station: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Black and white photograph of Duke Ellington, members of his orchestra, and others gathered around the outside of a train car at the Saint-Lazare Station in Paris. In the center, Ellington and another man sit atop luggage cases. Juan Tizol stands to Ellington's proper right. Everyone in the photo wears heavy overcoats and hats, or hold hats in their hands. Several orchestra members, including Ivie Anderson, pose on the train steps. To the right are two train or station attendants in uniform caps. There are no marks or inscriptions on the front. On the back of the photograph are two inscriptions handwritten in blue ink: [873461 / 1939 / Paris, France] at the top left and [Duke Ellington + his Band at the Saint-Lazare Station] at the top right. At center, stamped in black ink, is: [PLEASE CREDIT / United Press International Photo] with additional rights information.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1939
• Created by: United Press International, American, founded 1907
• Subject of: Duke Ellington, American, 1899 - 1974
• Subject of: Juan Tizol Martinez, Puerto Rican, 1900 - 1984
• Subject of: Ivie Anderson, American, 1905 - 1949
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Type: black-and-white photographs
• Type: portraits
• Medium: ink on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Travel
• Object number: 2012.46.60.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.