Hannibal MO
July 18, 1867, October 26, 1932
“’Women first’ is a principle as deep rooted in man’s being as the sea. It is world-old and irrevocable. But to me it is all wrong. Women demand equal rights on land-why not on sea?”
“Here I am, a woman who has traveled all over the world, who has eaten with chop sticks, sat tailor fashion, taught her son to dive and ride. I have even put on the [boxing] gloves with him. And I suppose there are some persons who would like me to sit down to devote the rest of my life to bridge. Times have changed, and there’s no reason why I should, like my mother at forty, put on glasses and do little but read.”
As a Colorado native who grew up in Denver, I first learned about Molly Brown and her adventure on the Titanic in school. Her name was a part of the Denver folklore. We visited her house and imagined that terrible day when she became “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”. It is only recently that I discovered her role in the 19th Amendment.
Margaret worked in a factory at age 13 and was raised in a home where both freedom and equality were valued, so it should not be surprising that she became very involved in labor reform and was an advocate for minimum wage. While living in Newport RI she became close to Alice Paul and this is when she began her work for woman’s suffrage.
It is remarkable to think of all this strong, independent, progressive woman accomplished in her lifetime.
In this encaustic piece, I was thinking about my childhood image of Molly and the myth that surrounds her surviving the Titanic. In it, Molly is dressed in the kind of hat that, as a child, I always imagined she wore. Tucked in her hat is the hint of the sinking ship. I also wanted to capture her love of adventure and travel, so I chose two quotes: one that reflects her belief in equality and another her adventurous spirit.