Bessie Smith - If You Don't Like My Peaches - Don't Shake My Tree

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Stephen Longstreet
Bessie Smith - If You Don't Like My Peaches - Don't Shake My Tree
1980

About the Item

Bessie Smith - If You Don't Like My Peaches - Don't Shake My Tree Collage, 1980 Signed and dated in pencil lower right (see photo) Titled in pencil lower left Original price verso '3,000' (see photo) Provenance: Acquired from the artist Joseph M. Erdelac, Cleveland, friend and patron of the artist Condition: Very good Usual minor condition issues (wrinkling) associated with the artist's creation process Stephen Longstreet (1907-2002) The artist’s own grandchildren attempt to fathom the real life and nature of Stephen Longstreet, prolific author, artist, screenplay writer, and jazz aficionado. Born Chauncy Weiner (sometimes spelled Wiener) in New York City in 1907, Longstreet reinvented himself on a regular basis. Changing his name first to “Henry,” then “Henri,” he started his career as a commercial artist for a department store. In various public biographies he claimed to have studied in New York, London, and Paris, and said he was a student of cartoonist Ralph Barton (1891-1931). Facts that can be documented are that he was art editor for Golfer and Sportsman magazines, and was a contributor to various other magazines including The New Yorker, Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Life, and Hooey, among others. He wrote sketches for NBC radio and the Rudy Vallee Show. In the 1930s, Longstreet worked and wrote under the names Thomas Burton, David Ormsbee, and Paul Haggard before settling on the name Stephen Longstreet in 1939. He wrote 12 novels under this name as well as numerous screen plays, most notably The Jolson Story, The Greatest Show on Earth, and The Helen Morgan Story. Longstreet claimed to have been introduced to ragtime and jazz by no less a legend than singer Paul Robeson while Robeson was an All-American football player at Rutgers University. However it happened, the world of jazz was a constant theme throughout Longstreet’s life. He drew and painted such notables as Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Duke Ellington. His media included collage, watercolors, and ink drawings. In 1989 Longstreet published his 100th book, Jazz from A to Z: a Graphic Dictionary. One of the more curious aspects of Longstreet’s art is his method of dating his material. He dated his works by the year depicted, not by the date of actual execution. Art signed “Longstreet” and dated before 1939 was actually done much later, as Stephen Longstreet did not exist prior to that! Early works from the late 1920s and 1930s will be signed “Henri” or “He” since Longstreet was still Weiner in those days. Later he often signed his work SL inside a circle. His collages dated in the 1950s or earlier were most likely done in the 1970s or 1980s. Longstreet spent most of his life in the Los Angeles area with his wife and oft-times collaborator, Ethel Longstreet. The artist remained active and prolific into his 90s. He died in Los Angeles in 2002 at the age of 94. Courtesy: StephenLongstreet

Creator:
Stephen Longstreet
Creation Year:
1980
Dimensions:
Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 23.63 in (60.03 cm)
Medium:
Magazine Paper
Movement & Style:
Abstract
Period:
1980-1989
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Fairlawn, OH
Reference Number:
Seller: FA89621stDibs: LU14010315692