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Portrait of Marie Curie, Polish chemist

A photographic portrait of Marie Curie, described as a Polish chemist and the wife of Pierre Curie.

This is a studio portrait photograph of Marie Curie herself, useful for seeing her appearance.

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Black-and-white portrait of an older woman with light hair swept up, wearing a dark dress with a small brooch, seated at a table with her hands resting on paper, smiling slightly and looking to the side.
Portrait of Marie Curie. Wellcome Collection, United Kingdom.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white photographic portrait of Marie Curie, held by the Wellcome Collection. The record describes her as a Polish chemist and the wife of Pierre Curie. It shows her as an older woman, seated at a table with papers, smiling slightly.

Why it matters

Portraits like this one shaped how the public came to recognise Marie Curie, one of the most famous scientists of her time. The way the record identifies her mainly through her marriage to Pierre Curie also reflects how women scientists were often described in relation to male relatives, even when, as with Curie, their own achievements were historic.

Look closer

  • How is Marie Curie posed and dressed in this portrait, and what impression does that create?
  • Why might the record describe her first as

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Marie Curie on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Cover of the January 1904 issue of the magazine Le Radium, showing a printed masthead and a photograph captioned Le Laboratoire de la Rue Lhomond. The photo shows two men and a seated woman among laboratory equipment and glassware, with the caption M. & Mme Curie below.Photograph

Primary source

Photograph of Pierre and Marie Curie in their Laboratory, rue Lhomond

c. 1898-1904

Title page of the 1904 second edition of Recherches sur les substances radioactives by Madame Sklodowska Curie, a thesis presented at the Faculté des Sciences de Paris. Published in Paris by Gauthier-Villars. Handwritten number 5 and a note appear in the top right corner.Book

Primary source

Recherches sur les substances radioactives

Marie Curie · 1904

Document

Primary source

Rayons émis par les composés de l'uranium et du thorium

Marie Curie · 12 April 1898

A museum display case showing a wooden mahogany box with its lid open and a round metal radium container inside, beside a separate lidded metal canister with a brass knob, a key on a chain, and a small cluster of tubes on the glass base.Artifact

Primary source

International Radium Standard

Marie Curie · 1911

Black-and-white photograph of a clear glass vessel with a flared conical bowl, a pouring spout on the left rim, and a short stem on a flat circular foot, set against a plain light background.Artifact

Primary source

Glass beaker used for the first radium salt solution

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