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Catalog Data

Artist:
Rufus P. Anson, 1821 - 21 Mar 1886  Search this
Sitter:
Laura Keene, c. 1826 - 4 Nov 1873  Search this
Medium:
Sixteenth-plate daguerreotype
Dimensions:
Image (sight): 3.1 × 2.5 cm (1 1/4 × 1")
Case Open: 5.4 × 9.7 cm (2 1/8 × 3 13/16")
Case Closed: 5.3 × 4.8 × 1.5 cm (2 1/16 × 1 7/8 × 9/16")
Type:
Photograph
Date:
c. 1855
Exhibition Label:
Born London, England
An accomplished comedic actress, Laura Keene rattled New York City’s theatrical establishment in 1855 when she became the first woman manager of a major theater in that city. After leasing the Metropolitan Theatre, she opened Laura Keene’s Varieties, serving as manager, director, and principal star. Keene faced hostility from New York’s male theatrical managers. Her theater was vandalized, and she lost her lease. Undeterred, she opened the Laura Keene Theatre in a new building in 1856. Well versed in all aspects of her craft, Keene was a highly successful manager who championed emerging playwrights and attracted the brightest stars to her acting company.
Nacida en Londres, Inglaterra
La consumada actriz cómica Laura Keene sorprendió al mundo teatral de Nueva York en 1855 al convertirse en la primera mujer gerente de un teatro importante en la ciudad. Luego de alquilar el Metropolitan Theatre, abrió Laura Keene’s Varieties, donde fungió como gerente, directora y estrella principal. Fue tratada con hostilidad por los gerentes teatrales hombres. Su teatro fue vanda- lizado y perdió su contrato de arrendamiento. Sin desanimarse, abrió el Laura Keene Theatre en 1856. Experta en todos los aspectos de su oficio, Keene fue una gerente exitosa que auspició a dramaturgos nuevos y atrajo a las estrellas más famosas para que actuaran en su compañía.
Topic:
Cased object  Search this
Laura Keene: Female  Search this
Laura Keene: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Stage actor  Search this
Laura Keene: Performing Arts\Performer\Comedian  Search this
Laura Keene: Performing Arts\Theater manager  Search this
Laura Keene: Performing Arts\Producer\Theater producer  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired through the generosity of Bill and Sally Wittliff
Object number:
NPG.2013.105
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4619cbede-43da-4446-8e75-faf6b57b7ce8
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2013.105