Julia Ward Howe

Object Details

Begun by

John Elliott, 1858 - 1925

Finished by

William Henry Cotton, 22 Jul 1880 - 5 Jan 1958

Sitter

Julia Ward Howe, 27 May 1819 - 17 Oct 1910

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.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of Maud Howe Elliott to the Smithsonian Institution, 1933

begun c. 1910; completed c. 1925

Object number

NPG.65.31

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Painting

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")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Exhibition

2022 Rehang of Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900

On View

NPG, East Gallery 111

Exhibition

Civil War Gallery Rehang

On View

NPG, East Gallery 111

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Exterior

Printed Material\Book

Nature & Environment\Plant\Tree

Costume\Dress Accessory\Glove\Gloves

Julia Ward Howe: Female

Julia Ward Howe: Literature\Writer\Poet

Julia Ward Howe: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist

Julia Ward Howe: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Civil rights activist\Suffragist

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.65.31

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4d47a0437-3980-4ee0-8068-bf85d8365e73