Lot 168
Johnny Cash - Original Pastel Portrait by Nicholas Volpe. Original 10½ x 9 in. painting of Johnny Cash, the country music legend, signed "Volpe" at lower right, with handwritten copyright date, "1981." Matted and framed to 20 x 16 in. This portrait was painted for The Brown Derby, the "Restaurant of the Stars," and hung on the wall of the Brown Derby. Attached to the back is a Certificate of Provenance from Jocelyn MacKay, who was the Brown Derby's architect for 29 years.
Johnny Cash (1932-2003), called "The Man in Black," was one of the most popular and influential singers of the 20th century and one of the few musicians to be inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was known for songs such as "I Walk the Line," "Folsom Prison Blues," and "Ring of Fire." His songs covered genres other than country, including rockabily, rock and roll, folk, gospel, and blues. In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine selected Cash as the 31st greatest artist of all time.
Nicholas Volpe (1911-1992) was born in Connecticut. He studied art in New York, and taught there and in Florida. but was soon lured to Hollywood to design movie sets and costumes. It was soon obvious that Volpe excelled at painting and he obtained an ongoing commission from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for portraits of each year's Oscar winners. After a cover he designed for Frank Sinatra's album "Only the Lonely" won a Golden Grammy Award, Volpe was commissioned by the famous Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant to paint some 200 portraits of the nation's top recording artists for the Derby's Hall of Fame Record Room, such as Frank Sinatra and the Beatles. This is the painting Volpe made of Johnny Cash for the Hall of Fame Record Room.
Estimated Value $30,000 - 40,000.
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