tony bennett paintings

tony bennett paintings

Bennett, 82, has been a lifelong painter and still takes up a brush every day. He gave the watercolor to the National Portrait Gallery, the third painting he has donated to the Smithsonian Institution, following a portrait of jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald and a painting of New York's Central Park.

Bennett said he chose to focus on jazz icons in some of his paintings because they're not appreciated enough for their contributions to American culture. Jazz was the "greatest art form that's ever been created in the United States," he said.

At the museum Wednesday, a jazz ensemble from Washington's Duke Ellington School of the Arts played some of Ellington's famous songs, such as Take the 'A' Train.

At the New Arrivals gallery, George Washington University President Steven Knapp remarked that Bennett was right on with his depiction of Ellington, a Washington native who is on the District of Columbia's state quarter.

tony bennett paintings