Object Image

Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson 27 Feb 1897 - 8 Apr 1993

Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Arturo Toscanini said that Marian Anderson had a voice that came along "once in a hundred years." When one of Anderson's teachers first heard her sing, the magnitude of her talent moved him to tears. Because she was black, however, her initial prospects as a concert singer in this country were sharply limited, and her early professional triumphs took place mostly in Europe. The magnitude of her musical gifts ultimately won her recognition in the United States as well. Despite that acclaim, in 1939 the Daughters of the American Revolution banned her from performing at its Constitution Hall. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt ul...

1955
Oil on canvas
153.0 x 97.5 x 2.5 cm
NPG.67.76
Image and text © National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2024

Where you'll find this

Deepen your knowledge