United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives
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Jeannette Rankin

Portrait painting of Jeannette Rankin, three quarter length, wearing a blue dress and hat with a pink flower, standing in an empty Capitol hallway with a patterned floor, holding a folded newspaper with part of the title, “The Wash-,” visible/tiles/collection/1/1065.xml
Portrait painting of Jeannette Rankin, three quarter length, wearing a blue dress and hat with a pink flower, standing in an empty Capitol hallway with a patterned floor, holding a folded newspaper with part of the title, “The Wash-,” visible
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Date

2004

Artist

Sharon Sprung

Manufacturer

Barron Arts (stretcher/support)

Dimensions

44 x 36 in. (111.8 x 91.4 cm) Framed: 49 3/4 x 41 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. (126.4 x 106 x 9.5 cm)

Accession Number

2004.096.000

Credit Line

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives

Object Details

Unveiled in 2005, Jeannette Rankin’s portrait communicates both the cultural importance and the loneliness of her position as the first woman elected to Congress. Standing in the empty corridor adjacent to the House Chamber, Rankin is depicted holding the Washington Post, in which her 1917 swearing-in was front-page news. The vacant, cool-toned space and her look of resigned calm reflect her singularity as a woman in the legislative branch three years before women’s suffrage became federal law.

Rights and Reproduction Information

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Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov