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, two years before women’s suffrage became federal law.
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “Jeannette Rankin,” http://history.house.gov/Collection/Detail (February 23, 2013)
Office of the Historian
Office of Art and Archives
B-53 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 226-1300
