Indiana Adds Artwork To Statehouse Celebrating Women's Suffrage Centennial

Two new, original pieces of art now hang in the Indiana Statehouse to commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. 

The Indiana Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission commissioned the works to celebrate the women's suffrage 100th anniversary, adding them to the Statehouse's public art collection. One piece is a life-size painting depicting women casting their vote for the first time. It’s by Shelby Nower, from Decatur, and hangs in the Lieutenant Governor’s office.

The other is a nearly eight-foot-tall quilt by Indianapolis artist Kassie Woodworth.

“The connecting thread was always quilting as the craft because it’s been passed down through generations and generations,” Woodworth said.

It shows the words of the 19th Amendment and significant dates in the movement’s history. It also depicts some of the Hoosier women involved in women’s suffrage – including, Woodworth said, Black women.

“It is important to note that they did not really get equal freedoms to vote until the Civil Rights Act of 1964," Woodworth said. "So, their fight continued even after the 1920 amendment.”

Both Woodworth and Nower graduated from the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.