Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

Elizabeth Cady Stanton 1815–1902
Susan B. Anthony 1820–1906

By the 1870s, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were household names, so much so that celebrity photographer Napoleon Sarony captured their likenesses at his studio in New York City. In this portrait, the two women are seated around a circular desk, which is reminiscent of the table where Stanton penned the 1848 “Declaration of Sentiments.” Contrary to popular belief, Anthony was not present at the famous gathering of women at Seneca Falls in 1848. Anthony and Stanton actu- ally met in 1851 and around 1858 forged an alliance.

Here, Anthony sits beside Stanton and points to a book, inserting herself in history as co-architect of the suffrage movement. Unlike many suffragists, Anthony was not tied to the home because she was single. She could therefore travel across the United States, disseminating Stanton’s ideas to the greater public. Stanton described their professional friendship as such: “I forged the thunderbolts and she fired them.”