IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Artist
Mabel Dwight, 1876 - 1955
Sitter
Paul Robeson, 9 Apr 1898 - 23 Jan 1976
Date
1930
Type
Print
Medium
Color lithograph on paper
Dimensions
Image: 37.9 x 33.2 cm (14 15/16 x 13 1/16")
Sheet: 49.9 x 40cm (19 5/8 x 15 3/4")
Topic
Exterior
Nature & Environment\Plant\Tree
Paul Robeson: Male
Paul Robeson: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Stage actor
Paul Robeson: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer
Paul Robeson: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Civil rights activist
Paul Robeson: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie actor
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Object number
NPG.80.63
Exhibition Label
Born Princeton, New Jersey
The all-American athlete and world-renowned theater and film actor, singer, and human rights activist Paul Robeson held a commanding presence in multiple arenas. Acutely aware of injustices imposed on African Americans and other populations worldwide, Robeson condemned racism at home and abroad. McCarthyists targeted him during the early 1950s because he supported left-wing causes. Despite the revocation of his passport and the boycott of his performances, he continued his work as a singer and activist until his death in 1976. Robeson played the lead role in Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones beginning in 1925. That year, Mabel Dwight painted him in character as Brutus Jones, a former Pullman porter who became the ruler of a West Indian island. This lithograph references that earlier work.
Nacido en Princeton, Nueva Jersey
Paul Robeson, típico atleta estadounidense y actor de teatro y cine, cantante y activista por los derechos humanos de fama mundial, tuvo una presencia imponente en varias áreas. Sumamente consciente de las injusticias que padecían los afroamericanos y otras poblaciones del mundo, Robeson condenó el racismo en su país y en el extranjero. Los macartistas enfocaron sus críticas en él a principios de los años 50 porque apoyaba causas de izquierda. A pesar de la revocación de su pasaporte y del boicot de sus actuaciones, continuó su trabajo como cantante y activista hasta su muerte en 1976. Robeson protagonizó The Emperor Jones de Eugene O’Neill a principios de 1925. Aquel año, Mabel Dwight lo pintó en su papel de Brutus Jones, antiguo botones de coche cama que se convertía en gobernador de una isla de las Indias Occidentales.
