Helen Adams Keller

Object Details

Artist

Charles Whitman, active 1890s - 1900s

Sitter

Helen Adams Keller, 27 Jun 1880 - 1 Jun 1968

Exhibition Label

Born Tuscumbia, Alabama

This photograph ran in an article that author and activist Helen Keller published in a 1905 issue of the Century magazine entitled “A Chat about the Hand.” Keller, who was deaf and blind, wrote, “My world is built of touch sensations, devoid of color and sound, but without color and sound it breathes and throbs with life.” The previous year, Keller had graduated with honors from Radcliffe College, where she had written her celebrated autobiography.

Keller was active in a range of social and political movements: She joined the Socialist Party of America, cofounded the ACLU, advocated for women’s suffrage, and was an early supporter of the NAACP. In 1924, she became an official ambassador for the American Foundation for the Blind. Later, she successfully lobbied for the inclusion of Title X in the 1935 Social Security Act, which ensured people who are blind could be eligible for grant assistance.

Nacida en Tuscumbia, Alabama

Esta fotografía se publicó en 1905 en la revista Century con un artículo de la autora y activista Helen Keller titulado “Hablemos de la mano”. Keller, quien era ciega y sorda, escribió: “Mi mundo se compone de sensaciones táctiles, no hay en él color ni sonido, pero aun sin color ni sonido, respira y late lleno de vida”. El año anterior se había graduado con honores de Radcliffe College, donde escribió su celebrada autobiografía.

Keller estuvo activa en diversos movimientos sociales y políticos: ingresó al Partido Socialista de América, cofundó la ACLU, abogó por el sufragio femenino y fue una de las primeras seguidoras de la NAACP. En 1924 pasó a ser embajadora oficial de la Fundación Estadounidense para Ciegos. También cabildeó con éxito por la inclusión del Título X en la Ley de Seguridad Social de 1935, que garantizó a las personas ciegas elegibilidad para subsidios estatales.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

1904

Object number

NPG.91.105

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Photograph

Medium

Platinum print

Dimensions

Image/Sheet: 22.6 x 16.9cm (8 7/8 x 6 5/8")

1st Mount: 23.3 x 17.4cm (9 3/16 x 6 7/8")

2nd Mount: 28.1 x 21.9cm (11 1/16 x 8 5/8")

Mat: 55.9 x 40.6cm (22 x 16")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Location

Currently not on view

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Interior

Printed Material\Book

Container\Vase

Nature & Environment\Plant\Flower\Rose

Helen Adams Keller: Female

Helen Adams Keller: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer

Helen Adams Keller: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Educator\Lecturer

Helen Adams Keller: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer

Helen Adams Keller: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Novelist

Helen Adams Keller: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Humanitarian

Helen Adams Keller: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Essayist

Helen Adams Keller: Person with a disability\Blind person

Helen Adams Keller: Person with a disability\Deaf person

Helen Adams Keller: Civilian awards\Presidential Medal of Freedom

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.91.105

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4aef66b04-d572-494a-855e-52700acbcf1b