Tony Bennett was an accomplished artist who exhibited paintings around the world here are some of his best works
Talia Lakritz
- Tony Bennett died on Friday at the age of 96, the New York Times reported.
- In addition to being a legendary jazz musician, Bennett was an accomplished painter.
Legendary jazz musician Tony Bennett died in New York on Friday at the age of 96, according to reports.
While his many accolades as a singer — including 19 Grammy awards — are well known, Bennett was also an accomplished painter.
Take a look at some of his best works.
In addition to his decades-long career as a jazz musician, Tony Bennett was also an artist.
Bennett studied music and painting at the New York High School of Industrial Arts. At 16, he dropped out of school and took a job as a waiter to help support his family.
He painted portraits of other jazz legends like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as landscapes and urban scenes.
"I've always done the two things that I love to do, which is sing and paint, and it's wonderful being honored about it," he told Reuters at an exhibit of his work in 2017.
He signed his paintings, which have been exhibited around the world, with his birth name, Anthony Benedetto.
The United Nations commissioned paintings from Bennett in honor of its 50th anniversary in 1995. In 2000, he hosted an exhibit entitled "What My Heart Sees" at the Catto Gallery in London.
Three of his paintings are part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection.
His painting of Ella Fitzgerald is part of the National Museum of American History's collection. The Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibits his landscape of Central Park, and his portrait of Duke Ellington is available to view at the National Portrait Gallery.
Bennett described himself as "a perpetual student of learning how to paint" in a 2009 interview with Smithsonian magazine.
Even as his music career took off with hits such as "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," Bennett said he would alternate between singing and painting, picking one back up when he needed a break from the other.
"It would be a big lift," he told Smithsonian magazine. "It created a state of perpetual creativity. There is no need for vacation or to retire."
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