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Fab 5 Freddy

Fab 5 Freddy
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Jane Dickson, born 1952
Sitter
Fab 5 Freddy, born 31 Aug 1960
Date
1982
Type
Painting
Medium
Acrylic on canvas-backed vinyl
Dimensions
Stretcher: 101.9 × 127.3 × 1.9cm (40 1/8 × 50 1/8 × 3/4")
Object dimensions: 40.25 x 50 x 1.25"
Topic
Exterior\Cityscape
Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses\Sunglasses
Fab 5 Freddy: Visual Arts\Artist
Fab 5 Freddy: Male
Fab 5 Freddy: Performing Arts\Producer\Music producer
Portrait
Place
United States\New York
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© 1982, Jane Dickson
Object number
NPG.2016.8
Exhibition Label
Between the late 1970s and the early 2000s, hip-hop developed from a New York City urban subculture of African American and Puerto Rican youth into a powerful industry that had become the most widely listened-to music genre internationally. Fred Brathwaite, aka Fab 5 Freddy, was instrumental to this process. Coming out of the street art scene during the 1970s, which included luminaries like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, Brathwaite derived his nickname from his association with the Fabulous 5 graffiti group that painted the sides of the city’s subways. Through graffiti exhibitions that he curated in the galleries and rock clubs of downtown Manhattan, Fab 5 Freddy helped connect street culture with the city’s art scene. In 1988 he became the host of MTV’s first foray into rap: Yo! MTV Raps.
Jane Dickson painted this portrait in 1982, the same year she co-produced the hip-hop cult movie Wild Style with Fab 5 Freddy and Charlie Ahearn.
Provenance
Jane Dickson [1952]; sold to (Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects (SHAFP)), New York.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view