Tony Bennett Auctions New Painting of Louis Armstrong for Charity

Tony Bennett in performance on November 4, 2011 at Academy of Music in Philadelphia

In 1970, Tony Bennett created an oil portrait of one of Louis Armstrong that he presented it to Armstrong personally. Bennett’s portrait still hangs in the den of Armstrong’s house, now the Louis Armstrong House Museum. Visitors to the museum hear an audio recording of Armstrong speaking about the painting and about his friend “Benedetto” (Tony Bennett’s birth name).

Now, 42 years later, Bennett has painted a new portrait of Armstrong, which he has donated to be auctioned off on Charitybuzz.com, to raise funds for the museum. The oil painting depicts Armstrong performing on his gold-plated Selmer trumpet. In the lower right corner is Bennett’s signature, “Benedetto.”