The Lady and the Fan
Lillian Evanti performed her standard encore, "The Lady and the Fan" while singing at the White House in 1934. Both photographs and handheld fans testify to Evanti's opera roles, notably Rosina in The Barber of Seville. Evanti's friend, Loïs Mailou Jones, famously painted the lyric soprano in costume for this role. A photo of the portrait with the artist and Evanti's grandson, art collector Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr., tells a story of artistry, friendship, and family. In the portrait, the trees depicted beyond Evanti echo the shape of the golden yellow fan in her hand. A handheld fan adorned with cherry blossoms recalls renowned trees in Evanti's hometown of Washington, DC. Another fan bears the Cuban flag, possibly from her extensive travel in Latin America as a goodwill ambassador for the Department of State.
Lillian Evanti holds a fan in a cover photo on the program from her Nov. 28, 1926 recital at Boston's Copley Theatre.
Evans-Tibbs collection, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution, gift of the Estate of Thurlow E. Tibbs, Jr.
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- Resource Type
- Culture
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Set Name
- filter Evans-Tibbs Collection 40 Exclude Evans-Tibbs Collection
- filter Evans-Tibbs Collection / Series 5: Photographs / Publicity and Special Events 28 Exclude Evans-Tibbs Collection / Series 5: Photographs / Publicity and Special Events
- filter Evans-Tibbs Collection / Series 5: Photographs / Family / Evans Family 7 Exclude Evans-Tibbs Collection / Series 5: Photographs / Family / Evans Family
- filter Evans-Tibbs Collection / Series 5: Photographs / Family / Brooks Family 2 Exclude Evans-Tibbs Collection / Series 5: Photographs / Family / Brooks Family
- filter Evans-Tibbs Collection / Series 5: Photographs / Family / Murray Family 2 Exclude Evans-Tibbs Collection / Series 5: Photographs / Family / Murray Family
- filter Evans-Tibbs Collection / Series 5: Photographs / Family / Tibbs Family 1 Exclude Evans-Tibbs Collection / Series 5: Photographs / Family / Tibbs Family
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- filter Portraits 21 Exclude Portraits
- filter African American singers 19 Exclude African American singers
- filter African American entertainers 14 Exclude African American entertainers
- filter African Americans 11 Exclude African Americans
- filter African American women singers 5 Exclude African American women singers
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- filter African American women 3 Exclude African American women
- filter Performers 3 Exclude Performers
- filter African American families 1 Exclude African American families
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