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Primary sourceSculpturec. 1892

Susan B. Anthony Bust by Adelaide Johnson

Adelaide Johnson · c. 1892

A bronze bust of Susan B. Anthony made by sculptor Adelaide Johnson around 1892, during Anthony's own lifetime.

This bust was sculpted from Anthony's own likeness during her lifetime.

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Dark bronze bust of a woman with hair parted and swept to the sides, wearing a draped garment with a collar. The bust sits on a cylindrical base with inscribed lettering. Warm-toned room and window behind.
Adelaide Johnson, bust of Susan B. Anthony, c. 1892. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.

About this source

What it is

This is a bronze bust of Susan B. Anthony made by sculptor Adelaide Johnson around 1892. It is now on display at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Why it matters

Because it was created while Anthony was still alive, this bust is a primary source for her likeness, made by an artist who had the chance to study her appearance directly. Adelaide Johnson was known for sculpting leaders of the suffrage movement, and this work reflects the growing public recognition Anthony had earned by the 1890s.

Look closer

  • What impression of Anthony does the sculptor create through her pose and expression?
  • Why might activists have wanted sculpted portraits made of their leaders during their own lifetimes?
  • What can a bust show about a person that a photograph cannot, and what can it not show?

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

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Scan of a printed and handwritten petition titled 'A Petition for Universal Suffrage,' addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives. Below the text is a two-column list of handwritten signatures under 'Names' and 'Residence,' including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, with places such as New York, Rochester, and Brooklyn.Document

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Petition for Universal Suffrage, circa 1865

Susan B. Anthony and others · circa 1865

Scan of the front page of the first issue of The Revolution, dated New York, Wednesday, January 8, 1868. Masthead reads 'The Revolution' with the motto 'Principle, not policy; justice, not favors.' Three columns of small print include editorials on Kansas woman suffrage and a statement of editors Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Parker Pillsbury and Susan B. Anthony. A round Library of Congress stamp appears at upper right.Newspaper article

Primary source

The Revolution

Elizabeth Cady Stanton · 1868

Dark, nearly black book cover with faint embossed decorative ornament in the center and a white library barcode label on the upper left reading 3 1761 04261 4271 printed vertically.Book

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History of Woman Suffrage

Elizabeth Cady Stanton · 1881-1922

Black-and-white studio portrait of two elderly women. A seated woman with curly white hair, wearing a light lace-edged shawl and patterned dress, looks down at papers. A standing woman with white hair in a bun and wire-rimmed glasses, wearing a dark dress with ruffled bodice, holds the papers and looks down at them. Plain grey backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

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