Statue of Billie Holiday facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Statue of Billie Holiday |
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|---|---|
| Artist | James Earl Reid |
| Year | 1985 |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Subject | Billie Holiday |
| Location | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| 39°18′04.3″N 76°37′55.3″W / 39.301194°N 76.632028°W | |
A special statue of the famous singer Billie Holiday stands in Baltimore, Maryland, in a place called Billie Holiday Plaza. This plaza is located on Pennsylvania Avenue in the Upton neighborhood. Billie Holiday grew up in Baltimore, and this statue honors her legacy.
Contents
Creating the Billie Holiday Statue
Early Plans for a Memorial
Ideas for a memorial to Billie Holiday in Baltimore started way back in 1971. People first thought about building a statue and a center to help people with health challenges. In the end, only the statue was built.
The statue was also part of a bigger plan to improve the area around Upton. The Royal Theatre, where Billie Holiday once performed, used to be very close to where the statue is now.
The Artist and His Vision
The artist James Earl Reid was chosen in 1977 to create the statue. He designed a beautiful monument to Billie Holiday. However, there were some disagreements about how much the project would cost. Because of these issues, Reid eventually stepped away from the project.
Reid had originally wanted the statue to stand on a tall base, about 6 feet high.
Unveiling and Later Additions
The statue was first shown to the public in 1985. James Earl Reid was not there for the ceremony. The sculpture itself cost $113,000 at that time.
The statue of Billie Holiday is quite tall, standing 8 feet and 6 inches high. It shows her wearing a fancy evening gown without straps. She also has her famous gardenia flowers in her braided hair.
The statue was fully completed in 2009. At this time, bronze panels were added to the base. These panels show important moments in the fight for civil rights for African Americans. These panels were considered too sensitive when the statue was first unveiled in 1985. More money, $76,000, was approved in 2007 to create them.
In 2009, the statue was rededicated with its new granite base and panels. At this event, James Earl Reid said that Billie Holiday "gave such a rich credibility to the experiences of black people and the black artist."
Meaning Behind the Panels
The bronze panels tell stories related to Billie Holiday's music and life.
- One panel shows a child with its umbilical cord still attached. This refers to the words of Holiday's song "God Bless the Child".
- Another panel shows a powerful image related to the struggles faced by African Americans. This reflects the sad themes in her famous song "Strange Fruit".
- To represent the unfair laws that treated Black people differently in the past, a crow is shown eating a gardenia. This image is behind the statue of Holiday, above the artist Reid's signature.
