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

Inscription

signed and dated by artist, lower right on sheet in black ink: Allen Ginsberg 3/14/95; artist inscription, across bottom under image: 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 [title underlined] 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, specializing in hand-painted or arranged frame-by-frame animated collages. Here seen at his last week at Breslin Hotel, Manhattan, transforming milk into milk, January 12, 1985.; on verso, in upper left corner, by unknown hand, in graphite: #48 VE; center, stamped in black ink: Photograph By Allen Ginsberg COPYRIGHT 1994 NYC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Fax 212-675-1686; lower center, in graphite: GD-AG-94; lower right, in part stamped in black ink and with capital letters, in part by unknown hand, in graphite: PHOTO INFORMATION YEAR January/85 LOCATION New York IMAGE# 11,375 SLEEVE# 288 PRINTED BY Sid Kaplan NOTE Signed 3/15/95 AG; lower right corner, in graphite, by unknown hand: Exhibit GDC-883

Provenance

Allen Ginsberg Estate; Ellen and Gary Davis, Greenwich, CT (through Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York); gift to NGA, 2008.

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