9
●
CHARLES ALSTON (1907 - 1977)
Untitled (Portrait of Lena Horne)
.
Color pastel crayons and watercolor on wove paper, circa 1950. 400x305 mm; 15
3
/
4
x12 inches.
Signed in crayon, lower left.
Provenance: the estate of the artist; thence by descent to the current owner.
Charles Alston and Lena Horne were friends and neighbors. Both were residents in the grand pre-
war Harlem apartment building, 555 Edgecombe Avenue, once known as “The Triple Nickel.” Joe
Louis, Count Basie, Paul Robeson,Thurgood Marshall, Coleman Hawkins, Erskine Hawkins, Canada
Lee,TeddyWilson, Mary LouWilliams, Russell Procope, Johnny Hodges, Don Redman,Andy Kirk,
Dr. Kenneth Clark, and Charles Buchanan, the owner of the Savoy, all lived there.An abstract oil on
canvas by Charles Alston was in Lena Horne’s estate, and was sold at her estate auction at Doyle,
NewYork, in 2011.
[3,000/5,000]
