Green beaded gown and scarf worn by Shirley Verrett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The sleeveless v-neck dress is floor length and is made from several layers of a flowy silk chiffon. The top front of the dress is covered in a woven gold colored netting pattern, which continues onto the top part of the back of the dress. The gold netting contains black beads as well as large rhinestones in red, deep red, green, light blue, and dark blue. There is a lightweight, sheer green scarf with the dress. There is a green plastic zipper down the back of the dress, and a metal hook and eye closure above the zipper. There is a white rectangular tag on the inside of the dress along the zipper. It has black text which reads [STAVROPOULOS / NEW YORK ATHENS].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1960-1990
• Designed by: George Peter Stavropoulos, Greek, 1920 - 1990
• Owned by: Shirley Verrett, American, 1931 - 2010
• Type: gowns
• Medium: chiffon, beads, metallic thread, plastic, metal, and thread
• Dimensions: H x W (a. gown (width at shoulders)): 56 × 22 3/4 in. (142.2 × 57.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (b. scarf (length when folded, width at widest part)): 52 1/2 × 19 in. (133.4 × 48.3 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Opera (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: A2019.88.1.4ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Francesca LoMonaco in memory of Shirley Verrett
• 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: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.