Women’s Suffrage in New York State
This exhibit, located in the Capitol corridor, which connects the state house to the Empire State Plaza, includes imagery of pro- and anti-suffrage propaganda with historic photographs of the women who organized and marched until the vote was won. The exhibition offers a glimpse of this historic struggle and groundbreaking victory for women’s rights.
The Women of the Great Western Staircase
One of the highlights of the New York State Capitol is the Great Western Staircase, which features a gallery of historic Americans brought to life in elaborate stone carvings. As the staircase was nearing completion, it was observed that not one famous woman was represented. Located in the exhibit area just outside the Empire State Plaza Visitor Center and Gift Shop this exhibit will feature photographs of the six carvings of women that were added to the staircase and serve as an important symbol of the struggle for women’s rights: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Clara Barton, Frances E. Willard, Molly Pitcher, Elmina Spencer, and Susan B. Anthony.
Also on view outside the Visitor Center is the mural Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, which was created in September 2016 by students from the Monroe Community College Art Department in Rochester for the 10th Biennial Global Mural Conference. Known for being a “conductor” on the Underground Rail, Tubman later became a strong supporter of the women’s rights movements, and the mural includes not only portraits of symbols used to by the Railroad to signify safe houses, waterways, trails, and roads, but also portraits of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Frederick Douglas.
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