Portrait of Lillian Evans Tibbs Evanti

P. H. Polk, Portrait of Lillian Evans Tibbs Evanti, 1937, gelatin silver print, image: 10 ³⁄₈ x 8 in. (26.4 x 20.3 cm) sheet: 13 ¹⁄₂ x 10 ¹⁄₂ in. (34.3 x 26.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr., 1994.61

Artwork Details

Title: Portrait of Lillian Evans Tibbs Evanti
Artist: P. H. Polk
Date: 1937
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: image: 10 ³⁄₈ x 8 in. (26.4 x 20.3 cm) sheet: 13 ¹⁄₂ x 10 ¹⁄₂ in. (34.3 x 26.7 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr.
Mediums Description: gelatin silver print
Classifications: Photography
Photoprint
Subjects: African American
Dress — accessory — hat
Performing arts — music — voice
Portrait female — Tibbs, Lillian Evans — full length
Portrait female — Evanti, Lillian, Madame — full length
Animal — dog — borzoi
Object Number: 1994.61
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1994.61

Artwork Description

A stately Russian wolfhound recruited for this portrait accentuates the poise and glamour of Lillian Evans Tibbs. Known professionally as Madame Evanti, this Washington native was an internationally acclaimed lyric soprano and the first African American to sing with the Paris Opera. P.H. Polk treated his clients as collaborators, claiming, “If you can’t touch a person in some way, you don’t get a good picture.” His portrait of Lillian Evans Tibbs was designed to reveal her personality, rather than to promote her celebrity status.

A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2013