The First Lady of Jazz (sculpture)

The First Lady of Jazz
The First Lady of Jazz
	The statue in February 2019
Year	1996
Medium	Bronze
Subject	Ella Fitzgerald
Location	Yonkers, New York, U.S.
	40°56′6.7″N 73°54′9.2″W / 40.935194°N 73.902556°W

The First Lady of Jazz is a statue of Ella Fitzgerald situated outside the Yonkers Metro-North station in the city of Yonkers in Westchester County, New York, United States. It was unveiled in October 1996; Fitzgerald had died in June 1996 at the age of 79.^[1]

The statue is cast in bronze and stands on a two tier granite pedestal. It is 5 feet 10 in height.^[1] The statue is life size and depicts Fitzgerald singing with open arms and "snapping fingers" wearing a dress and heels.^[2] It is situated on Trolley Barn Plaza at the corner of Buena Vista Avenue and Main Street in Yonkers.^[1]

It was sculpted by Vinnie Bagwell. It was Bagwell's first commissioned piece of public art, and became her ninth completed sculpture.^[1] The work was commissioned by the Bureau of Community Development and the Office of Downtown and Waterfront Development of Yonkers and was funded by a Federal grant of $25,000.^[1]

Fitzgerald grew up in Yonkers and attended Public School 18 and Benjamin Franklin Junior High School. Her family lived on School Street and Park Hill Avenue.^[1]

The statue is part of Westchester County's African-American Heritage Trail.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "In Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, and Yonkers". The New York Times. 20 October 1996. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
^ Booker, Vaughn (2020). Lift Every Voice and Swing : Black musicians and religious culture in the jazz century. New York University Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-1-4798-9080-4. OCLC 1157083188.
^ "Westchester County Guide to African American History & Heritage". Westchester County. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.

[NYT96-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "In Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, and Yonkers". The New York Times. 20 October 1996. Retrieved 7 December 2021.

[Booker2020-2] Booker, Vaughn (2020). Lift Every Voice and Swing : Black musicians and religious culture in the jazz century. New York University Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-1-4798-9080-4. OCLC 1157083188.

[West-3] "Westchester County Guide to African American History & Heritage". Westchester County. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.

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