Twenty-seventh in the series. When Louis Armstrong returned to New Orleans in 1931, nine years after he left to join King Oliver's Band in Chicago, he came back to a hero's welcome and found his way back 'o town, to the black jazz clubs that jammed all night and spawned what became his American art form. For the centennial of Armstrong's birth, James Michalopoulos depicts Armstrong stepping out to cool himself from a searing after-hours session with New Orleans' hottest players. As he wipes his brow, you can almost hear the faint echo of those most original sounds ricocheting off the ancient facades of the city that care forgot. Michalopoulos' magnificent silk-screen print tops even his 1998 Jazz Festival poster portrait of Dr. John. The artist peels away the public persona, revealing the soul of his subject as no one before. With characteristic architectural distortion, a deep palette and lighting, Michalopoulos created the definitive portrait of America's singular jazz progenitor.
Editions:
10,000 Unsigned and numbered 23" x 36"
3,000 Artist-signed & numbered, 24" x 38"
750 Remarques, double signed & numbered, 25" x 40"
300 C-Marques, double signed & numbered, 25" x 40".
Poster originally sold for $59 (unsigned), $235 (signed), $595 (Remarque), and $895 (C-Marque).
