Laura Wheeler Waring
One of the outstanding voices of the 20th century, contralto Marian Anderson first achieved success in Europe (like many African American artists of the time). 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 of her race. 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.
This painting is amazing because it shows a great African American singer, depicted by an incredibly talented African American woman artist. Laura Wheeler Waring was best known for her paintings of prominent African Americans that she made during the Harlem Renaissance, which was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, and politics centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s.
P.S. Here you can learn about more Black female figures in art history. If you're interested in Harlem Renaissance, here is a perfect article for you! :)
P.P.S. If you're up for more women artists, please check our Women Artists Notebook full of works created by women here.