37c Marian Anderson stamp

With this twenty-eighth stamp in the Black Heritage Series, the Postal Service honors Marian Anderson, one of the greatest classically trained singers of the twentieth century and an important figure in the struggle of Black Americans for racial equality. Singing a varied repertoire in her rich contralto, Anderson opened doors for other Black artists.

The Postal Service issued the 37-cent Marian Anderson commemorative stamp in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps, on January 27, 2005, in Washington, DC. Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, Arizona, designed the stamp. Sennett Security Products printed 150 million stamps in the gravure process.

The portrait featured on the stamp is an oil painting by Albert Slark of Ajax, Ontario, Canada. Slark based his painting on a black-and-white photograph, believed to have been made by Moise Benkow in Stockholm, Sweden, circa 1934.

Reference: Postal Bulletin (December 23, 2004)

Scott Catalogue USA: 3896

Copyright United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.

Museum ID: 2005.2012.20