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Primary sourcePhotographc. 1900

Susan B. Anthony by Frances Benjamin Johnston

Frances Benjamin Johnston · c. 1900

A studio portrait of an elderly Susan B. Anthony by pioneering photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston, taken around Anthony's 80th birthday.

Portrays Anthony near her 80th birthday as a revered national figure.

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Black-and-white studio portrait of an elderly woman with light hair pulled back, wire-rimmed glasses, and a dark satin dress with a high white lace ruffled jabot fastened by a dark brooch. She sits with hands clasped near lace cuffs against a dark background.
Frances Benjamin Johnston, Susan B. Anthony, c. 1900.

About this source

What it is

This photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston shows an elderly woman with light hair pulled back, wire-rimmed glasses, and a dark satin dress with a lace jabot and brooch, hands clasped. It appears to date from around 1900, near Anthony's 80th birthday.

Why it matters

By this time Anthony had become a widely respected national figure in the women's rights movement. The portrait was made by Johnston, one of the first well-known female professional photographers in the United States, linking two pioneering women across generations.

Look closer

  • How does this image of Anthony as an elderly, respected figure differ from earlier portraits of her as a young woman?
  • Why might a female photographer have been chosen to photograph Anthony?
  • What might this formal, dignified pose be meant to communicate to the public?

This photograph 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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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

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Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

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