Exhibit at Purdue features works of famous suffragist cartoonist

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University's Black Cultural Center in conjunction with Purdue Libraries and the Women's Studies program, are hosting an exhibit to celebrate Women's History Month.

The exhibit, "A Woman Speaking to Women: The Political Art of Nina Allender," looks at the women's suffrage movement of the late 19th and 20th century through the political cartoons of Nina Allender. The Sewall-Belmont House and Museum in Washington, D.C. loaned Purdue her works for the exhibit, which is on display through April 12 at the Black Cultural Center.

Born Nina Evans, Nina Allender was an artist, suffragist and feminist whose political cartoons are credited with helping alter public opinion on women's suffrage. Her early cartoons focused on issues such as poverty, child labor, worker exploitation and domestic responsibilities. Allender's focus shifted to the suffrage movement when she was asked to contribute to "The Suffragist," a weekly publication for the National Women's Party. When her final cartoon was published in 1927, Allender had contributed more than 150 cartoons to the newspaper.

The women's suffrage movement in the United States came to the forefront with the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. The Civil War put the movement on hold, but it gained momentum when the debate over African-American suffrage started. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, two pivotal figures in the movement, opposed the passage of the 15th Amendment, which gave all males the right to vote. In 1920, Congress passed the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

The exhibit, curated by Purdue master of fine arts candidate LaToya M. Hobbs, can be viewed for free from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 5-9 p.m. on Sunday.

Writer: Morgan Stephens, 765-490-4855, MorganLStephens@gmail.com

Sources: Renee Thomas, 765-494-3091, rathomas@purdue.edu

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