Representative Women of Deseret
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
NPG.78.236
Tags
Religious writerEliza Roxey Snow Smith: FemaleReligious leaderPortraitPoster
About this artwork
This poster of prominent female leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was intended to counter derogatory stereotypes of Mormon women. Through their grassroots activism, they helped achieve womenâs voting rights in local elections in Utah Territory in 1870. But their equally vigorous campaign to defend polygamy prompted newspapers across the country to publish scurrilous attacks and demeaning caricatures while representatives in Congress threatened legislation to revoke the...