Bessie Smith, “Empress of the Blues,” by Carl Van Vechten, 1936. (Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Carl Van Vechten Collection)
Home Bessie Smith, “Empress of the Blues,” by Carl Van Vechten, 1936. (Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Carl Van Vechten Collection) Bessie Smith, “Empress of the Blues,” by Carl Van Vechten, 1936. (Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Carl Van Vechten Collection)