Marian Anderson

This 1944 portrait of Marian Anderson (1897-1993) by Laura Wheeler Waring hangs in the National Gallery in Washington, DC.

“One of the outstanding voices of the twentieth century, contralto Marian Anderson-like many African American artists of the time-first achieved success in Europe. Impresario Sol Hurok convinced her to return to America, and a triumphant 1935 concert secured her reputation. In 1939 she became embroiled in a historic event when the Daughters of the American Revolution banned her appearance at its Constitution Hall because she was black. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt intervened and facilitated Anderson's Easter Sunday outdoor concert at the Lincoln Memorial ? an event witnessed by 75,000 and broadcast to a radio audience of millions. In 1955 Anderson was invited to appear at the Metropolitan Opera (in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera), becoming the first African American to sing an important role with that company. In 1978 she received a Kennedy Center Honors award.” – National Portrait Gallery