Russian-American musician Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. By the age of 18, Heifetz was the highest-paid violinist in the world. He and his family left Russia in 1917, and in October of that year Heifetz played for the first time in the United States, at Carnegie Hall in New York City, becoming “an immediate sensation.”

Jascha Heifetz was photographed by Karsh on this day, February 26, in 1950.