Sketch of Marian Anderson

This drawing of singer Marian Anderson likely served as a sketch for artist Donnell Lewis’s 1990 census poster. The final poster and the sketch share a similar perspective, as both are from the point of view of the audience, while Anderson is rendered in formal attire and clasping her hands while standing behind a microphone. Unlike the poster, here Anderson’s eyes and mouth are closed in a moment of calm. The empty background invites the viewer to imagine the famous contralto at any one of her more than fifty performances at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, or inspiring the crowd during her famous 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial.