Not really a new photo, it is supposed to be the original, full-body photo from which the famous headshot was cropped.
There is debate over whether it’s real or photoshopped.
There is also a drawing (used in period record ads and included in the 3-CD Catfish box set released in 2001) which appears to be indentical to this photo. (Sorry I couldn’t find a higher-res copy of the drawing).
Prior to the discovery of this new photo, it was assumed that the artist had drawn the face from the headshot and imagined the pose. But now it appears that the artist may have drawn from the original photo (assuming it’s real).
I’m about 80% convinced it’s real. What do you think?
For the uninitiated, singer/guitarist Charley Patton (ca.1891-1934) was one of the earliest recorded blues artists. His scratchy records have been extremely influential to subsequent generations of blues artists, and today maintain a cult-like hold on some of us.
Couldn’t agree more bup about the mismatch between looks and voice. I once met a blues player in Arkansas who summed it up succinctly: “Charley Patton: the perfect voice; perfect guitar playing; the wrong body!”
Are these the same guys who a few years back were promoting a silent film of what was purportedly Robert Johnson playing on a street somewhere? As I recall, that was determined not to be Johnson at all.
