Object Details
- Artist
- Brian Lanker, 31 Aug 1947 - 13 Mar 2011
- Sitter
- Althea Gibson, 25 Aug 1927 - 28 Sep 2003
- Exhibition Label
- Born Silver, South Carolina
- I knew that I was an unusual, talented girl through the grace of God. I didn’t need to prove that to myself. I only wanted to prove it to my opponents.
- — Althea Gibson
- Before claiming eleven Grand Slam titles and her sport’s top ranking, tennis great Althea Gibson had to contend with racism that excluded her from the nation’s most prestigious courts. In 1946, after reaching the national finals of the American Tennis Association (ATA)—Black tennis’s alternative to the all-white United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA)—Gibson secured the mentorship of two ATA members who believed she could break the sport’s color barrier.
- Despite Gibson’s impressive record on the Black amateur tennis circuit, the USLTA banned her from competing until its 1950 championship, where she lost to reigning Wimbledon champion Louise Brough. Gibson rebounded by becoming the first Black player to win a Grand Slam title with her singles victory at the 1956 French Open. She cemented her place in sports history with consecutive singles championships at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open (1957; 1958) and six Grand Slam doubles titles.
- Nacida en Silver, Carolina del Sur
- Yo sabía que era una niña peculiar y talentosa por la gracia de Dios. No necesitaba probármelo a mí misma. Solo quería probárselo a mis oponentes.
- —Althea Gibson
- Antes de conquistar 11 títulos de Grand Slam y la cumbre del tenis, la gran Althea Gibson afrontó un racismo que la excluía de las canchas más prestigiosas del país. En 1946, tras llegar a la final nacional de la Asociación Americana de Tenis (ATA) —la alternativa negra a la Asociación de Tenis sobre Césped de Estados Unidos (USLTA)—, Gibson obtuvo el apoyo de dos miembros de la ATA que creían que ella podía romper la barrera racial en dicho deporte.
- A pesar de su impresionante historial en el circuito amateur negro, la USLTA le prohibió competir hasta el campeonato de 1950, donde perdió contra la campeona reinante de Wimbledon, Louise Brough. Gibson se recuperó y fue la primera jugadora negra que ganó un título de Grand Slam con su victoria en sencillos en el Abierto de Francia de 1956. Su lugar en la historia se consolidó con campeonatos consecutivos en sencillos en Wimbledon y el Abierto de EE.UU. (1957; 1958) y seis títulos de Grand Slam en dobles.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of Lynda Lanker and a museum purchase made possible with generous support from Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker, Agnes Gund, Kate Kelly and George Schweitzer, Lyndon J. Barrois Sr. and Janine Sherman Barrois, and Mark and Cindy Aron
- 1988
- Object number
- NPG.2021.107
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- © Brian Lanker Archive
- Type
- Photograph
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 71.2 × 71.4 cm (28 1/16 × 28 1/8")
- Sheet/Mount: 81.8 × 75.4 cm (32 3/16 × 29 11/16")
- Mat: 88.3 × 86.9 cm (34 3/4 × 34 3/16")
- Frame: 90.8 × 89.5 × 4.4 cm (35 3/4 × 35 1/4 × 1 3/4")
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Costume\Jewelry\Necklace
- Costume\Jewelry\Earring
- Interior
- Interior\Studio
- Equipment\Sports Equipment\Tennis racket
- Althea Gibson: Female
- Althea Gibson: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
- Althea Gibson: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Biographer
- Althea Gibson: Sports\Athlete\Golfer
- Althea Gibson: Politics and Government\Civil servant
- Althea Gibson: Sports\Athlete\Tennis
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.2021.107
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4a595f789-91c5-4a93-a167-e2ab3b8c5592
