She heard the records of Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith, both of whom became her idols and influences. Eleanora dropped out of school when she was 11 and survived some harrowing episodes that left her feeling unloved and with a lifelong inferiority complex, leading to many bad decisions later on. Her mother was evicted from her parent’s home after she became pregnant, made a living as best she could, and often left her daughter under the indifferent care of relatives. Born Eleanora Fagan on Apin Baltimore, Maryland, her Dad was rhythm guitarist Clarence Holiday who for a few years was a member of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra.Īlthough she would have liked a close relationship with her father, he abandoned the family shortly after her birth and in the 1930s was sometimes embarrassed that he had an adult child. He was 18, she was 16 and I was three.” Truth is that when she was born, her father was 17, her mother was 19, and they never got married. She begins her colorful (but not always accurate) memoir Lady Sings The Blues with “Mom and Dad were just a couple of kids when they got married. Please note our canvases can take up to 7 working days to be delivered or to be collected in store.Holiday’s early years were turbulent and are still somewhat shrouded in mystery.

Our McKee images are printed onto the canvases with high-definition printers to produce sharp, high-quality images. Our canvases are hand-stretched onto chunky pine frames with hand-folded corners. Please note that framed prints take 7-10 working days to be made up and an extra 2-3 working days for delivery. Mounted and framed in a bespoke, glass, black angled frame.

Unframed prints are available the same day from the McKee gallery for collection only. Please note that unframed prints take 1-2 working days to be printed and an extra 1-2 working days for delivery. *Dimensions include a white border that surrounds the image and measures approximately 5cm. This image is available as an art print, produced on high-quality paper and available unframed or framed. Originally created for the 2021 Great Moments in Popular Music exhibition. I wanted to literally reference ‘the blues’ with a colour that fills the entire venue, reaching every nook and cranny like the music would have done.” An obvious colour choice for this painting’s colour palette was a deep blue. When painting this piece I yearned to travel back to a smoky basement bar when bebop was at its height and all the men wore the chicest of Italian-cut suits. My favourite singers are Billy Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, who have blessed the world with their incredible and distinctive voices. “I’m a massive jazz fan and wanted to paint an image which gives a nod to the amazing jazz scene, specifically in the 1950s.

Lady sings the blues by billie holiday