Fabric fragments from a dress worn by Marian Anderson altered for Denyce Graves: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Swatches and fragments of original and alteration fabrics from the dress 2012.49.1 worn by Marian Anderson, then altered and worn by Denyce Graves.

.1: Swatch of ivory silk matte satin used on the exterior of the altered dress.

.2: Swatch of medium brown lining material used to stabilize the altered dress.

.3: Three fragments of pink net with metallic gold floral lace used on the altered dress.

.4: Three fragments of satin facing from the neck and underarms removed from the original dress.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2009
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Marian Anderson, American, 1897 - 1993
• Subject of: Denyce Graves, American, born 1964
• Type: swatches
• Medium: .1: silk satin
• Medium: .2: silk
• Medium: .3: lace
• Medium: .4: silk satin
• Dimensions: H x W (.1): 6 1/2 × 11 in. (16.5 × 27.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (.2): 8 1/2 × 16 in. (21.6 × 40.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (.3 (largest)): 5 × 5 1/2 in. (12.7 × 14 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (.4 (largest)): 1 × 39 in. (2.5 × 99.1 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Opera (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2013.186.1-.4
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Beverly Johnson
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.