Evans-Tibbs Collection
Object Details
- Biographical/Historical note
- The Evans-Tibbs collection form part of the family papers acquired from the Evans-Tibbs Collection museum, which closed in 1996, and centers around the life of Lillian Evans Tibbs. The museum was formerly the home of Evans, the first African American woman to sing opera with an organized European company. She was born in Washington, DC to a cultured, well-educated, middle-class family. Her mother was Annie Lillian Evans, a music teacher in the DC public school system, and her father was Wilson Bruce Evans, organizer and first principal of Armstrong Technical High School in Washington, DC. Hiram Revels, the first black U.S. senator, was her great-uncle and two other family members are credited with taking part in John Borwn's raid on Harper's Ferry. She married Howard University music professor, Roy W. Tibbs in 1918. Her stage name, Madame Evanti, is a combination of her last name and her husband's. Evans had one child, Thurlow Tibbs Sr., and two grandchildren, Diane Elizabeth and Thurlow Evans Tibbs. Thurlow Jr., operated the Evans-Tibbs Collection museum until 1996, a year before his death.
- Date
- circa 1850-1997
- Extent
- 25.54 Linear feet (46 boxes; 3 cabinet drawers)
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Citation
- Evans-Tibbs collection, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of the Estate of Thurlow E. Tibbs, Jr.
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Photograph albums
- Sheet music
- Letters (correspondence)
- Topic
- African American families
- Place
- Washington (D.C.)
- Oberlin (Ohio)
- Identifier
- ACMA.06-016
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EAD Collection Results
- Studio portrait, African American woman
- Joseph H. B. Evans and daughter Hilda Evans
- Roy W. Tibbs
- Unidentified family and friends
- Studio portrait, baby holding a toy dog
- Garnet-Patterson Jr. High School, group portrait, class of 1967
- Studio portrait, young man in suit and tie
- Thurlow Evans Tibbs
- Studio portrait, young woman posed with titled chair
- Unidentified woman, sitting on a bench holding her hat
- Studio portrait, young man in suit and tie
- Studio portrait, young man in suit and tie
- Portrait, photocopy of woman holding a photograph
- Group portrait in front of building
- Wilson Bruce Evans--Obituary
- American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
- Correspondence--Personal
- Travel Journal
- Annie Brooks Evans--Prayer Book
- Correspondence
- Address Books and Calendars
- Business Card and Davis Drug Company photo envelope
- Correspondence--Family
- The Musical Society presents Lillian Evanti Lyric Coloratura Soprano, William Duncan Allen at the Piano, Odgen Hall program