Fine head-and-shoulders portrait of the noted American conductor. Signed in full

8" x 10", dated "Aug. 3, 1938, Philadelphia, Pa."

With minor annotations in pencil and ink and handstamp of "The New York Times Studio" to verso, along with another handstamp of "Henry Y. Porter" to upper right corner. Smallens, a noted Russian-born American conductor, "studied at the New York Institute of Musical Art and, from 1909, at the Paris Conservatoire, returning to the USA as assistant conductor of the Boston Opera, 1911-14. After two years as conductor of Pavlova's touring company, including a South American tour, he returned to become conductor of the Chicago Opera, 1919-23 ... His Chicago association began when he replaced Hasselmans as conductor for the première of De Koven's Rip Van Winkle, and he also gave the première of Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges at Chicago in 1921. He was musical director of the Philadelphia Civic Opera, 1924-31, where he gave the American premières of Strauss's Feuersnot in 1927 and Ariadne auf Naxos in 1928, and was also assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, 1927-34. Later he moved towards a lighter repertory, conducting the première of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess at Boston in 1935 ..." Bernard Jacobson in Grove Music Online.