Lisa Curren of the Roberts Foundation, left, and artist Marilyn Parkinson Thrall stand next to “The Art of Perseverance.”
Friends and supporters of Hartford Public Library gathered Tuesday in the Hartford History Center to celebrate the completion of a suffragist sculpture that honors the first women who registered to vote in Hartford after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.
The work by Canton artist Marilyn Parkinson Thrall is titled “The Art of Perseverance” and will become part of the center’s permanent collection. It was funded by a Creation of New Work award from the Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation that Hartford Public Library received in 2020.
“The Art of Perseverance” gives voice to the thousands of Hartford women who, despite barriers, registered to vote in this city in October 1920,” said Brenda Miller, Hartford Public Library’s executive director of culture and communication and the head of the Hartford History Center. “Sculptor Marilyn Parkinson Thrall, through her research in our extensive archive, and by working with staff, became inspired by these women. Now her work, in turn, inspires us. Despite the declarations of Article 1 and the 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments to the Constitution, keeping those rights has been a fight since 1865.”
The sculpture highlights Hartford suffragists in numerous ways. The sash adorning the piece is in the purple and green colors used by Connecticut suffragists as opposed to the purple and yellow used by their national counterparts. It also includes a City of Hartford seal. And the dress is made from reproductions of voter registration cards from some of the first women to register to vote in Hartford that were digitized by the Hartford History Center as part of its award-winning October 1920 exhibit. The cards incorporated in the dress include those of Katharine Martha Houghton Hepburn, the mother of famed actress Katharine Hepburn, as well as Caroline Hewins, who served as Hartford Public Library’s chief librarian from 1875-1926 and saw the library transform from a subscription service to a free public library.
Hartford Public Library President and CEO Bridget E. Quinn speaks with artist Marilyn Parkinson Thrall.
“This sculpture is an inspiration for people of all backgrounds, races, creeds, countries of origin, gender identities and abilities,” said Hartford Public Library President and CEO Bridget E. Quinn. “It’s such a testament to what power we have when we come together to do something right.”
Thrall spoke about her research and how she approached creating the piece during a talk at Tuesday’s event. She said she learned suffragists’ refined clothing choices — including high-collared blouses, long skirts, fancy heats and sashes — were intentional so that the movement would be taken seriously.
“They actually call it fashion activism,” she said. “The women who were in charge decided ‘Well, first off, let’s dress as elegantly and as carefully as we can. We want to present ourselves as professionals, we want to be able to be taken seriously, so let’s start there.’ ”
Replicas of voter registration cards from some of the first women who registered to vote in Hartford are included in the sculpture’s dress.
And wearing white, Thrall said, afforded the opportunity for a lot more people to participate in the movement because low-income women could more easily a white cotton dress than more expensive, colored clothing items. The dresses also showed up well in the black-and-white photography of the day.
The work is available for viewing in the Hartford History Center during the center’s regular hours: Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is accompanied by items from the October 1920 exhibit that will be on display throughout the remainder of the year.