Sammy Davis, Jr.

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Sammy Davis, Jr.

Artist Burt Glinn (American, 1925 - 2008)

Dateabout 1965

Dimensions16 1/2 x 11 in.

MediumGelatin-silver print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LineGift of Photography in the Fine Arts

Object number

1969.312

Not on View

Label TextWhile studying literature at Harvard University in the late 1940s, Burt Glinn edited and photographed for the Harvard Crimson newspaper. Photography became Glinn’s vocation and he began working for Life magazine in 1949. In 1951, working independently, Glinn became an associate member of the Magnum photo agency. As a Magnum photographer he covered diverse people and events, including Fidel Castro’s entrance into Havana, Andy Warhol’s ‘Factory’ entourage, and the artist Helen Frankenthaler. This image of performer Sammy Davis, Jr. looking out a Manhattan window at dawn is an expressive study of emotion and personality. The cold morning light and shadow-like buildings, filtered through the hazy and streaked window, add to the entertainer’s isolation.Exhibition HistoryTMA About Face Sept.30 - Dec.31 2005.

Toledo Museum of Art, Refraction/Reflection, April 20-September 2, 2012.

Toledo Museum of Art, Framing Fame: 19th- & 20th-century Celebrity Photography, March 4–June 4, 2017.