Artwork by Dick Ellescas featuring illustrated portraits of Della Reese: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Framed collage-style drawing by Richard "Dick" Ellescas featuring three images of Della Reese. The drawing is done entirely in black, gray, and white. In each image, she is pictured from the chest up, holding a microphone. The largest image is at the top right. It shows the woman with a gray streak in her black hair, her eyes closed, mouth open and hands raised. On the left, she wears a floral patterned garment, with her mouth open as if she is singing. The lowest image appears to have been done on a separate sheet of paper and overlaid with the other drawing. It shows her smiling and wearing a garment with a decorated neckline. The drawing is in a black metal frame on brown mat board with a tan border. The drawing is signed along a flower stem at lower left [dick Ellescas].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: circa 1970
• Created by: Dick Ellescas, American, 1937 - 2025
• Subject of: Della Reese, American, 1937 - 2017
• Type: drawings
• Type: portraits
• Medium: ink on paper with glass and metal
• Dimensions: H x W (drawing): 23 1/2 × 21 1/4 in. (59.7 × 54 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (frame): 27 1/4 × 24 1/4 × 3/4 in. (69.2 × 61.6 × 1.9 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Television
• Object number: 2015.150.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Rev. Della Reese-Lett and Mr. Franklin Lett
• 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.