Object Details
Artist
Unidentified Artist
Sitter
Minnie Tate, 1857 - 1899
Greene Evans, 1848 - 1914
Isaac Dickerson, 1850 - 1900
Jennie Jackson, 1850 - 1910
Maggie Porter, 1853 - 1942
Ella Sheppard Moore, 1851 - 1914
Thomas Rutling, 1854 - 1914
Benjamin Holmes, 1846 - 1875
Eliza Walker, 1857 - 1928
Exhibition Label
Through concerts in cities large and small, these nine original members of the Fisk Jubilee Singers were among the first performers to introduce white audiences to a repertoire of authentic African American spirituals. The Fisk Free Colored School (now Fisk University) in Nashville, Tennessee, opened in 1866 to offer a liberal arts education to formerly enslaved men, women, and children. Five years later, a lack of resources threatened Fisk’s survival. In response, the school’s treasurer and choir director organized a choral ensemble and launched a national tour to raise funds.
The popularity of the Jubilee Singers soared after Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, brother of author Harriet Beecher Stowe, hosted them at his Brooklyn church. For audiences accustomed only to the farce of minstrelsy, the moving spirituals performed by the Jubilee Singers were a revelation. By May 1872, the group had raised $20,000 in critically needed support for Fisk.
En conciertos por pueblos y ciudades, estos nueve miembros originales de los Cantantes del Jubileo de Fisk fueron de los primeros en presentar ante públicos blancos un repertorio de espirituales afroamericanos auténticos. La Escuela Fisk para Personas de Color Libres (hoy Universidad Fisk) en Nashville, Tennessee, se abrió en 1866 para enseñar artes liberales a hombres, mujeres y niños antes esclavizados. Tras cinco años, Fisk se vio en peligro por falta de recursos. Entonces el tesorero de la escuela y el director del coro organizaron un conjunto coral y una gira nacional para recaudar fondos.
La popularidad de los Cantantes del Jubileo se disparó cuando el reverendo Henry Ward Beecher, hermano de la escritora Harriet Beecher Stowe, los recibió en su iglesia de Brooklyn. Para públicos acostumbrados a la farsa de los minstrels (actores blancos pintados de negro), los conmovedores espirituales de la coral fueron una revelación. Para mayo de 1872,
el grupo había recaudado $20,000, apoyo que fue crucial para Fisk.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Date
1872
Object number
S/NPG.97.175
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Photograph
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 5.8 x 9.2cm (2 5/16 x 3 5/8")
Mount: 6.3 x 10.6cm (2 1/2 x 4 3/16")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View
NPG, East Gallery 123
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
Architecture\Column
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Couch
Interior\Studio\Photography
Ella Sheppard Moore: Female
Ella Sheppard Moore: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Ella Sheppard Moore: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Pianist
Ella Sheppard Moore: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher\Music
Minnie Tate: Female
Minnie Tate: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Greene Evans: Male
Greene Evans: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Isaac Dickerson: Male
Isaac Dickerson: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Jennie Jackson: Female
Jennie Jackson: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Maggie Porter: Female
Maggie Porter: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Thomas Rutling: Male
Thomas Rutling: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Benjamin Holmes: Male
Benjamin Holmes: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Eliza Walker: Female
Eliza Walker: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_S_NPG.97.175