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Catalog Data

Begun by:
John Elliott, 1858 - 1925  Search this
Finished by:
William Henry Cotton, 22 Jul 1880 - 5 Jan 1958  Search this
Sitter:
Julia Ward Howe, 27 May 1819 - 17 Oct 1910  Search this
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
Stretcher: 108 x 72.1 x 2.5cm (42 1/2 x 28 3/8 x 1")
Frame: 123.2 x 87.3 x 7cm (48 1/2 x 34 3/8 x 2 3/4")
Type:
Painting
Date:
begun c. 1910; completed c. 1925
Exhibition Label:
Born New York City
For years, Julia Ward Howe yearned to take a more active part in public affairs. But her husband, the noted Boston reformer Samuel Gridley Howe, insisted that she restrict herself to running their home. In 1861, she unwittingly became a minor celebrity by writing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Composed during a visit to Washington, D.C., this fiercely martial poem, dedicated to the Union cause, was set to the music of “John Brown’s Body.” By 1865 it had become the North’s unofficial wartime anthem.
After the Civil War, Howe finally broke the constraints imposed by her husband to become one of the best-loved figures in the growing women’s suffrage movement, while raising six children. In 1870, she founded Woman’s Journal, a weekly suffragist magazine. The following year, she organized the Woman’s Peace Congress in London, and she was elected president of the Association of the Advancement of Women in 1881.
John Elliott (1858–1925), finished by William Henry Cotton (1880–1958)
Oil on canvas, c. 1910, completed c. 1925
Transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of Maud Howe Elliott to the
Smithsonian Institution, 1933
NPG.65.31
Julia Ward Howe 1819–1910
Nacida en la Ciudad de Nueva York
Julia Ward Howe ansió durante años un papel más activo en los asuntos públicos, pero su esposo, el reformista bostoniano Samuel Gridley Howe, insistía en que se limitara al manejo de la casa. En 1861 alcanzó cierta fama cuando escribió el “Himno de batalla de la República”. Compuesto en una visita a Washington D.C., este fervoroso poema marcial dedicado a la causa de la Unión se cantaba con la música de “El cuerpo de John Brown”. Para 1865 se había convertido en el himno de guerra extraoficial del norte.
Tras la Guerra Civil, Howe al fin se liberó de las restricciones impuestas por su esposo y fue una de las figuras más queridas del creciente movimiento sufragista, a la vez que criaba a seis hijos. En 1870 fundó el Woman’s Journal, una revista semanal sufragista. Al año siguiente organizó en Londres el Congreso de la Mujer por la Paz y en 1881 fue elegida presidenta de la Asociación para el Progreso de la Mujer.
Provenance:
The sitter; her daughter Maud Howe Elliott [Mrs. John Elliott]; gift to Smithsonian [NCFA] 1933; transferred 1965 to NPG.
Topic:
Exterior  Search this
Printed Material\Book  Search this
Nature & Environment\Plant\Tree  Search this
Costume\Dress Accessory\Glove\Gloves  Search this
Julia Ward Howe: Female  Search this
Julia Ward Howe: Literature\Writer\Poet  Search this
Julia Ward Howe: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist  Search this
Julia Ward Howe: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Civil rights activist\Suffragist  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of Maud Howe Elliott to the Smithsonian Institution, 1933
Object number:
NPG.65.31
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition:
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View:
NPG, East Gallery 111
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4d47a0437-3980-4ee0-8068-bf85d8365e73
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.65.31