The “SculptHER™” Collection continues with the «Portrait Monument to Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony»

The monument was presented to the U.S. Capitol as a gift from the women of the United States by the National Woman’s Party and was accepted on behalf of Congress by the Joint Committee on the Library on February 10, 1921.

The unveiling ceremony was held in the Capitol Rotunda on February 15, 1921, the 101st anniversary of the birth of Susan B. Anthony, and was attended by representatives of over 70 women’s organizations. The Committee authorized the installation of the monument in the Crypt, where it remained on continuous display. In accordance with House Concurrent Resolution 216, which was passed by Congress in September 1996, the sculpture was relocated to the Rotunda in May 1997.

The portraits are copies of the individual busts Adelaide Johnson carved for the Court of Honor of the Woman’s Building at the World’s Columbian Exhibition in 1893. The detailed busts are surrounded by rough-hewn marble at the top of the sculpture

The monument originally consisted of three parts, the 14,000-pound sculpture itself and two rectangular stone base slabs. The black Belgian marble base and the white Carrara marble base were donated by Johnson in 1925. However, the black marble base arrived broken and was not replaced by the artist until 1929. In 1930 both pieces were installed, completing the artist’s design. The total weight of the monument and its two bases was approximately 26,000 pounds. To allow safe placement in the Rotunda, the marble base slabs were replaced with lighter structures designed to resemble them. From left to right the figures represent Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B Anthony, and Lucretia Mott