Rudy Vallee
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine
Accession Number
NPG.88.TC187
Tags
NecktiePortraitActorSaxophonistSingerRudy Vallee: Male
About this artwork
Time commissioned this charcoal sketch of singer-actor Rudy Vallee, but it never appeared in print for unknown reasons. Over the years, many unpublished cover artworks accumulated in Timeâs storage bins. When this sketch was made, Vallee was enjoying success as a bandleader and radio crooner, and his records were top sellers among the young smart set. He was also just breaking into movies; his filmography runs from 1929 to 1976 and includes such classics as I Remember Mama (1948) and How to Su...