The Women of the Republican Court Revisited

(March 11, 2009)

An evening event in the spirit of Martha Washington! As part of the Library Company’s Visual Culture Program, Curator of Women’s History Cornelia King brings to life the women depicted in Daniel Huntington’s painting The Republican Court; or, Lady Washington’s Reception Day (1861). The group portrait includes Martha Washington, Dolley Madison, Anne Willing Bingham, Harriet Chew Carroll, and many others who had public roles in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was the nation’s capital. The image captures a nostalgic understanding of the early years of the country, and continues to stimulate interest in women’s public roles in early American history. This Women’s History Month event also celebrates the publication of Re-framing Representations of Women, edited by Susan Shifrin, whose “Picturing Women” exhibition inspired us to study the portraiture of these remarkable women.