Skip to main content

Primary sourcePhotographc. 1913

Studio Portrait of Emmeline Pankhurst

Matzene, Chicago · c. 1913

A widely reproduced studio photograph of Emmeline Pankhurst, taken in Chicago around 1913, showing her cultivated public image.

This is the most widely reproduced photograph of Pankhurst, showing the respectable image she cultivated for the public.

Ask Emmeline Pankhurst about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black and white studio portrait of a woman with curly upswept hair, standing beside a small table with books and a folding frame, wearing a dark satin blouse with a white lace jabot and a long chain necklace, against a dark background.
Emmeline Pankhurst, studio portrait. Copyright by Matzene, Chicago, c. 1913.

About this source

What it is

This black-and-white studio photograph shows Emmeline Pankhurst standing beside a small table with books, wearing a dark satin blouse with a lace jabot and a long chain necklace. It was taken by the Matzene studio in Chicago.

Why it matters

This image is described as the most widely reproduced likeness of Pankhurst. Taken during one of her tours, it presents her as respectable and dignified, a deliberate contrast to the hostile caricatures of suffragettes common in the press at the time.

Look closer

  • Why might Pankhurst have chosen to be photographed in this formal, respectable style?
  • What do the books and setting suggest the photographer wanted viewers to think about her?
  • How might this image have been used differently by supporters and opponents of the suffrage movement?

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

More Emmeline Pankhurst sources

Meet the AI Emmeline Pankhurst →
Speech

Primary source

Freedom or Death

Emmeline Pankhurst · 1913

Book

Primary source

My Own Story

Emmeline Pankhurst · 1914

Black and white photograph of a woman in a dark hat and long dark coat being carried or hustled along a street by a uniformed police officer in a peaked cap, while a man in a bowler hat walks beside her. Other men in suits and top hats are behind them.Photograph

Primary source

Emmeline Pankhurst Arrested, 1914

Unknown author · 22 May 1914

Front page of the Votes for Women supplement, dated October 10, 1907, with a large banner title, editors' names, a notice box, and an illustration of a giant seated woman over London's Parliament and Big Ben.Newspaper article

Primary source

Votes for Women

Frederick Pethick-Lawrence and Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence · 10 October 1907

Black-and-white photograph of a woman in a dark feathered hat and dark coat standing in an open car, gesturing with one hand, surrounded by a dense crowd of men in hats. A flag is partly visible at lower left.Photograph

Primary source

Emmeline Pankhurst Addresses a Crowd in New York City

Topical Press Agency · 1913

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Emmeline Pankhurst now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions