Collage of Alberta Hunter news clippings by Rex Madsen: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A collage of newsprint clippings, handwritten notes and lyrics, two-tone prints, and cutout color images of flowers celebrating Alberta Hunter's late-career renaissance, created by Rex Madsen and from a collection belonging to Jimmie Daniels. Newsprint is from various sources, including Negro Digest Vol. IV No. 1 ("Chicago singer teams up with General Ike to score a diplomatic triumph"), and New York Times ("Where to Blow the Horns at Midnight," "In Jazz, Opera and Recitals, It's a Rare Time for Music," and "Old Jazz That Makes Us Feel So Young"). There are two pieces of paper with handwritten notes. One is a scrap of paper with a lyric from the Hunter-written song "Down Hearted Blues," and the other is a note to Alexa from Richard Hilty discussing the importance of hard work in vocal training and offering a free voice lesson. Collage is on dark blue-gray Bainbridge board. Collage is signed at bottom right, [ for my dear friend Alberta / Rex Madsen "1978"]. Back of board features repeating watermarks for Charles T. Bainbridge's Sons Inc.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1978
• Created by: Rex Madsen, American
• Subject of: Alberta Hunter, American, 1895 - 1984
• Owned by: Jimmie Daniels, American, 1907 - 1984
• Subject of: The New York Times, American, founded 1851
• Subject of: Eubie Blake, American, 1887 - 1983
• Type: collages
• Type: clippings
• Medium: ink on newsprint with cardboard
• Dimensions: H x W: 32 × 24 in. (81.3 × 61 cm)
• Place depicted: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Blues (Music)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: A2020.19.1.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Paul Bodden in memory of Thad McGar and James "Jimmie" Daniels
• 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.