Group 5 Presentation Summary

     Women in the 19th century were finally enjoying rights and privileges which they did not receive.  The first change was that women were beginning to come together to create a "sisterhood".  They were exchanging marriage and domesticity for professional careers and supporting each other all the while.  The second change was with the introduction of the Industrialized society.  Women were getting paid to work in needlework and in textile manufacturing, where they were making cloth and other important needs.  The drastic changes can also be seen in quilting and sculpting as more women were hired to perform jobs usually given to males.
    
     Quilting was used to highlight many of the social issues that were going on during the 19th century such as the Women's Rights Movement and the Abolition of Slavery. Quilts were used to tell the story of the women that were making them. One important person that was creating quilts in the 19th century was Harriet Powers. Her quilts are the most documented early African quilts. She used the applique style in her quilting which had roots in the eastern/ middle eastern region to create three types of quilts, biblicale (right side), local legends and astronomical occurences. An important point to note about these quilts is that they were using them to focus on the important issues of slavery and womens rights in a way that was not used before. Their style of making a point correlates to the gorilla girls style with their posters.
  

     Harriet Hosmer was seen as a 19th century tomboy and one of the first of a group of women sculptors.  She created the Puck on a Toadstool (1956) which the replica was purchased by the Prince of Wales and insured her fame.  She also created Zenobia in Chains (which is on the left), where instead of depicting Zenobia as a defenseless woman, Hosmer showed her as a strong and independent woman that will not succumb to humiliation.  This sculptor is on display at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, California.

     As one can see, more women were moving away from their comfort zone of painting socially acceptable portraits and their unique work was also being accepted in society as well as being put on display for the world to see.  Many women sculptors created well-known works that can still be seen today on display.  Emma Stebbins created the Columbus statue that stands in Brooklyn, NY and Angel of the Waters Fountain (on the right) which is on display at Central Park, NY in Bethesda Terrace.  Next is Florence Freeman who created the Stonewall Jackson which was the first Confederate Civil War monument in America.  Vinnie Ream Hoxie created the Abraham Lincoln statue (bottom) which can be seen in Statuary Hall in the Capitol and Anne Whitney created a marble statue of Samuel Adams which is living in the Capitol in Washington.

 

Also, here is a funny youtube video we found called "Tabbos for Women in the 19th Century"