Who are the REAL kings (and queens) of cool? National Portrait Gallery runs exhibition of the 100 coolest Americans, Elvis, Frank Sinatra and Debbie Harry

  • 'American Cool' exhibit is currently on show at the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington
  • Just under a quarter of the 100 are women – including Madonna, Mae West and Bonnie Raitt
  • Four defining factors of cool - people chosen had to fit at least three categories to qualify

By Jill Reilly

PUBLISHED: 06:05 EST, 31 March 2014 | UPDATED: 08:31 EST, 31 March 2014

Years after they first made their mark Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra, Madonna and Blondie are all still hip enough to have earned a place in the top 100 coolest Americans.

The 'American Cool' exhibit is currently on show at the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, D.C. America, until 7 September.

Included in the exhibit are the likes of jazz musicians such as Miles Davis and Billie Holiday, actors such as Johnny Depp, and singers such as Elvis Presley and Debbie Harry.

Singer Frank Sinatra, one of the best-selling artists of all time, in a recording studio. The 'American Cool' exhibit is currently on show at the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, D.C. America, until 7 September

Singer Frank Sinatra, one of the best-selling artists of all time, in a recording studio. The 'American Cool' exhibit is currently on show at the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, D.C. America, until 7 September

DEBBIE HARRY
JIMI HENDRIX

Debbie Harry,  lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie, left, and right musician, singer, and songwriter Jimi Hendrix who died in 1970

The 'King of Rock and Roll' Elvis Presley sings to his fans - years after his 1977 death he is still regarded as cool

The 'King of Rock and Roll' Elvis Presley sings to his fans - years after his 1977 death he is still regarded as cool

WHAT DEFINES 'COOL?'

The curators of the exhibition had four defining factors of cool, of which people chosen had to fit at least three categories:

• originality of artistic vision and especially of a signature style

• cultural rebellion, or transgression in a given historical moment

• iconicity, or a certain level of high-profile recognition

• recognised cultural legacy (lasting more than a decade)

The term 'cool' originated in the United States in the early 1940s when legendary jazz saxophonist Lester Young brought the central African American concept into the modern vernacular.

 

More...

Given the large number of celebrities that this term has been used to describe, an alternative list was also created for those who did not make the Top 100.

This list included the likes of Samuel L Jackson, Gwen Stefani, and Tom Petty.

The portraits that feature in the gallery were contemporary images shot by famous photographers such as Richard Avedon and Annie Leibovitz.

KURT COBAIN
Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery and became a leader of the abolitionist movement

Kurt Cobain, lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the grunge band Nirvana who died in 1994. Right, Frederick Douglass, born in 1818, who escaped from slavery and became a leader of the abolitionist movement

Jazz singer and songwriter Bilie Holiday who died aged 44 in 1959 made the cut - just under a quarter of the 100 are women

Jazz singer and songwriter Bilie Holiday who died aged 44 in 1959 made the cut - just under a quarter of the 100 are women

American former professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, nicknamed 'The Birdman' was also deemed cool enough to make the top 100

American former professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, nicknamed 'The Birdman' was also deemed cool enough to make the top 100

Miles Davis, the single most dominating figure in jazz for the second half of the 20th century
McKinley Morganfield, known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is considered the 'father of modern Chicago blues'

Miles Davis, left, the single most dominating figure in jazz for the second half of the 20th century and right, McKinley Morganfield, known as Muddy Waters, who was an American blues musician and  is considered the 'father of modern Chicago blues'

James Dean famously portrayed troubled young man Jim Stark in 1955 Rebel Without A Cause becoming a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment. He died in a car accident in 1955

James Dean famously portrayed troubled young man Jim Stark in 1955 Rebel Without A Cause becoming a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment. He died in a car accident in 1955

Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery, said: 'American Cool is about America's greatest cultural export-cool-and who embodies it.'

'What you might find surprising about this show is how far back this idea reaches.

'I especially like this how this exhibition shows photographs of icons by world-renowned photographers.

'And that the show offers an opportunity for a national conversation about who defines 'cool.'

Over 25 years after his untimely death in 1980, actor Steve McQueen is still considered hip and 'cool' across the world

Over 25 years after his untimely death in 1980, actor Steve McQueen is still considered hip and 'cool' across the world

Bessie Smith was an American blues singer. Nicknamed The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist

Bessie Smith, left, was an American blues singer. Nicknamed The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. Right, Walt Whitman was an American poet whose work was considered controversial in the 20th century

Scottish-born musician permanently residing in the United States, David Byrne is a founding member of the American new wave band Talking Heads

Scottish-born musician permanently residing in the United States, David Byrne is a founding member of the American new wave band Talking Heads

Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. By the time he died in 1988 he had risen from a graffiti artist in his hometown of New York to an international star

Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. By the time he died in 1988 he had risen from a graffiti artist in his hometown of New York to an international star

MADONNA
Benicio del Toro is a Puerto Rican actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic (2000)

One of the most prominent cultural icons for over three decades, Madonna has achieved an unprecedented level of power and control for a woman in the entertainment world. Actor and film producer Benicio del Toro, right ,who won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic (2000)


TOP FIFTY KINGS AND QUEENS OF COOL

The Roots of Cool

Fred Astaire

Bix Beiderbecke

Louise Brooks

James Cagney

Frederick Douglass

Greta Garbo

Ernest Hemingway

Zora Neale Hurston

Jack Johnson

Duke Kahanamoku

Buster Keaton

HL Mencken

Georgia O’Keeffe

Dorothy Parker

Bessie Smith

Willie “The Lion” Smith

Mae West

Walt Whitman

Bert Williams

The Birth of Cool

Lauren Bacall

James Baldwin

Humphrey Bogart

Marlon Brando

Lenny Bruce

William S Burroughs

Raymond Chandler

Gary Cooper

Miles Davis

James Dean

Duke Ellington

Dizzy Gillespie

Woody Guthrie

Audrey Hepburn

Billie Holiday

Jack Kerouac

Gene Krupa

Robert Mitchum

Thelonius Monk

Anita O’Day

Charlie Parker

Jackson Pollock

Elvis Presley

Frank Sinatra

Barbara Stanwyck

Muddy Waters

John Wayne

Hank Williams

Lester Young

Cool and the Counterculture

Muhammad Ali

...THE NEXT FIFTY

James Brown

Jim Brown

Johnny Cash

Angela Davis

Joan Didion

Faye Dunaway

Bob Dylan

Clint Eastwood

Walt Frazier

Marvin Gaye

Deborah Harry

Jimi Hendrix

Bruce Lee

Steve McQueen

Bill Murray

Paul Newman

Jack Nicholson

Bonnie Raitt

Lou Reed

Carlos Santana

Patti Smith

Susan Sontag

Hunter S Thompson

John Travolta

Andy Warhol

Malcolm X

Frank Zappa

The Legacy of Cool

Afrika Bambaataa

Jean-Michel Basquiat

David Byrne

Kurt Cobain

Johnny Depp

Missy Elliott

Tony Hawk

Chrissie Hynde

Jay-Z

Steve Jobs

Michael Jordan

Madonna

Willie Nelson

Prince

Susan Sarandon

Selena

Tupac Shakur

Sam Shepard

Bruce Springsteen

Jon Stewart

Quentin Tarantino

Benicio del Toro

Tom Waits

Neil Young







Comments (46)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

What an odd list! I agree with about half--Elvis, Blondie, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday..... But Selena? John Travolta? J-Z? And I'm scratching my head over Neil Young, he's Canadian! (Not that there's anything wrong with that, luv ya Canada)

0
0
 Click to rate

RAYMOND CARVER !

0
0
 Click to rate

RAYMOND CARVER !

0
0
 Click to rate

Jon Stewart? Jay-Z?

0
0
 Click to rate

I'm cool.....

0
3
 Click to rate

America ceased being truly musically 'cool' when IT SHOT JOHN LENNON - from then on I'd say more ANGRY & THOUGHTFUL to SMUTTY & MINDLESS than coool...

2
1
 Click to rate

Really? "America" shot John Lennon? WOW!

0
2
 Click to rate

Andy Kaufman? John Dillinger? Mr. Rogers? Homer Simpson? Oh, and not ALL jazz musicians are cool.

0
2
 Click to rate

So I guess F. Scott Fitzgerald and Cary Grant weren't cool. Really, who wrote this stupid list.

2
12
 Click to rate

what about woody allen?

27
3
 Click to rate

Dude, no.

0
2
 Click to rate

Where is ELLA FITZGERALD, SARAH VAUGHAN, the singers of their time invented the word 'cool' .... these two ladies should be at the top of the list ...shame, shame, shame.

2
14
 Click to rate

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now