Elizabeth Greenfield

Life & Legacy

Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield (1817 – March 31, 1876), dubbed "The Black Swan" (a play on Jenny Lind's sobriquet, "The Swedish Nightingale" and Catherine Hayes's "The Irish Swan"), was an American singer considered the best-known Black concert artist of her time. She was lauded by James M. Trotter for her "remarkably sweet tones and wide vocal compass". Trotter described her as the first African American concert singer, which has been repeated through many biographies.