Harry Smith (1923-1991), Anthropologist, entho-musicologist, bibliophile, innovative animator & film-maker, painter, designer, metaphysician & hermetic alchemist. Made over 1500 recordings for "restricted scientific use", 120 cuts commercially released. Mr. Smith's work collecting and preserving American oral song literature and artifacts was a primary source for post-mid-century folk music revival; Bob Dylan and others drew inspiration from his historic 3-box 6-record _Anthology of American Folk Music_ Collection made available 1952 on Folkways (FA 2951, 2&3) Records. First recordings of Charlie Parker, of the Fugs, of the Kiowa Peyote Ceremony (FE 4601, 1965 Folkways). Lived in poverty on New York's Bowery, awarded a Grammy 1991 for his "advancement of American Folk Music". Equally celebrated as avant-garde film-maker.
1985, printed 1995
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 32.1 x 32 cm (12 5/8 x 12 5/8 in.) sheet: 50.5 x 40.5 cm (19 7/8 x 15 15/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Gary S. Davis
Accession Number
2008.131.19
About the Artist
Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997), born in Newark, New Jersey, emerged as a multifaceted figure in American culture, best known as a Beat Generation poet but also a prolific visual artist whose photographs, drawings, and prints captured the raw energy of his era. His early life offers little documentation on artistic training, though he attended Columbia University in the 1940s, where he formed connectio...