August 13, 1818-1893
“Now all we need is to continue to speak the truth fearlessly, and we shall add to our number those who will turn the scale to the side of equal and full justice in all things.”
“A wife should no more take her husband's name than he should hers. My name is my identity and must not be lost.”
Lucy Stone was an incredibly gifted public speaker and journalist. She not only fought for woman suffrage, she also worked to pass the 13th Amendment and helped organized the Equal Rights Association. One thing Lucy believed was that women need not change their name to their husband’s. Which is amazing considering this was way before the practice became commonplace.
As a child, she became aware of the unfair control that her father had over her mother’s earnings. Later she worked the same job as her brother and received less pay. This fueled her later efforts to make things more equal and just for women. She pursued her education despite her parent’s disapproval and eventually became the first woman in the state of Massachusetts to earn a college degree.
Lucy was a dear friend of Susan B. Anthony for many years. Unfortunately, their friendship became greatly stressed because of differing views about supporting the 13th Amendment. It also bothered Anthony that Lucy married Henry Blackwell because it seemed that Lucy was choosing family life over the bigger cause of woman’s suffrage. Despite the split, Lucy, along with her new husband Henry continued to campaign for both causes.
I have often struggled with the issue of changing my name to my husband’s. When I married my husband Alex, I chose to keep my maiden name. It still causes confusion, but I can’t even imagine how difficult it must have been to make the same choice in 1855. On many documents Lucy’s signature had to include the words “married to Henry Blackwell” in order to be legal.
This painting was created for my first show about women suffrage “On Their Shoulders We Stand”. I am so inspired by Lucy Stone’s courage and a bit jealous of her gifts in public speaking. In this painting I hope to show Lucy’s strength and determination.
As with all my suffrage portraits, Lucy Stone is an encaustic painting. Encaustic provides a wonderful metaphor for woman suffrage. It lends itself to the vulnerability and unpredictability of life, especially as we wrestle with the issue of democracy. As heat can destroy the beeswax, so can hate and injustice destroy the foundation of Democracy.