Where There Is a Woman There Is Magic

The National Portrait Gallery’s collection illuminates the history and cultures of the people of the United States. In particular, it furthers the understanding of women’s contributions in the fields of business, science, education, the arts, sports, politics, and beyond. This selection of portraits seeks to inspire learning and inquiry through the celebration of women, whose stories are often unsung or missing from the written record. The wide-ranging social and political activities of these notable figures speak to the wider struggles and achievements of women over the last 150 years.

Born Sarah Breedlove, Madam C. J. Walker created a line of popular hair care and beauty products that fueled a business empire. In 1905, she began marketing her products and beauty regimen to the Black community. During a troubled period in the history of race relations in America, Walker built a lucrative enterprise that employed thousands in the manufacture and sale of her beauty aids. By the time of her death, she was reputed to be the first female African American millionaire.

Indra Nooyi is an internationally recognized business executive who served as chairman and CEO of PepsiCo for over a decade. During her tenure (2006–18) PepsiCo was guided by “Performance with Purpose,” a philosophy focused on consumers, employees, the communities PepsiCo serves, and the planet. Under her leadership, the company transformed its portfolio by reducing the sugar, fat, and salt content of its products. She emphasized diversity and inclusion while spearheading the creation of programs to facilitate work-life balance for employees.

Grace Murray Hopper is an important figure in the creation of modern computer science. She entered the Navy Reserve during World War II and joined the Bureau of Ships Computation Project at Harvard University, where she helped program the Mark I, a significant precursor to the modern computer. In 1952, she led the team that created the first compiler, software that helps make computer programming more efficient and accessible. In this portrait, Hopper, who rose to the rank of rear admiral, stands in her office at the Pentagon in front of a 16-bit minicomputer with hard drives and data storage.

Julie Packard has dedicated her career to preserving ocean life. In 1984, she helped transform a fishing cannery into the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium in Northern California. The aquarium now draws millions of visitors each year and Packard continues to work as executive director. She also chairs the board of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, which, in her words, aims to give “voice to the ocean, [to] have people realize our lives truly depend on the future of the sea.”

Anna May Wong is the first Chinese American film actress to gain widespread fame, but like many other actors of color, was unable to escape the impact of racism in Hollywood. After her first major role in The Thief of Bagdad (1924), she was relegated to minor parts in movies featuring unsympathetic portrayals of Asian characters. She left Hollywood for Europe in 1928, where she received leading film and stage roles. Back in the United States, she surpassed another milestone and became the first Asian American actor to star in a television series, The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong (1951).

A pioneering painter in the field of geometric abstraction, Carmen Herrera’s career has spanned more than eight decades. Having settled permanently in New York City in 1954, she began creating her signature shaped canvases, with crisp lines and bold planes of color. However, prejudices about her gender and Cuban nationality curtailed her mainstream success in the art world and she did not sell her first painting until 2004, when she was eighty-nine. In 2016, Herrera was featured in a major retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art and her work is now represented in major museum collections.

Born on the Osage reservation in Oklahoma, Maria Tallchief studied with renowned dancer Bronislava Nijinksa after her family moved to Los Angeles. Tallchief, known for her precise footwork and dazzling athleticism, became the first American ballerina to receive international fame. In the 1940s, she performed with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the New York City Ballet. Her legendary performances include leading roles in The Firebird, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. Tallchief joined the American Ballet Theatre in 1960 and later founded the Chicago City Ballet in 1974.

In 1955, Althea Gibson contemplated retiring from competitive tennis. Had she done so, she would have denied herself her greatest moment. Two years later, she won the women’s singles and doubles titles at the prestigious Wimbledon championships. Within another two months, she had won the U.S. women’s singles crown at Forest Hills, New York. At the time, tennis was not generally a popular sport in African American communities. But after Gibson reached the top ranks, that began to change. As one of her fans later recalled, “everyone went out and bought a new racquet.”

As a three-time Women's National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player and Olympic gold medal winner, athlete Sheryl Swoopes led a dazzling career. In 1995, her own signature shoe, the Nike Air Swoopes, was released. She made history in 1997 when she became the first player to sign a contract for the newly formed Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). During her induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Swoopes remarked, “it's important that I continue to be that light that little girls can look at and say, ‘Look at where she came from and look at where she’s been and look at where she’s going.’”

Founded in 1896, the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) tackled a range of social and political issues. Members hailed from varied backgrounds and included artist Laura Wheeler Waring and the subject of this painting, the activist, poet, and journalist Alice Dunbar Nelson. This portrait, therefore, represents the friendship between two prominent African American women who came together to combat negative stereotypes and fight for basic rights.

Leonora O’Reilly was an orator, suffragist, and trade union organizer who fought tirelessly for women’s rights in the workplace. O’Reilly left school at a very young age to provide for her family. Her experiences as a factory worker would inspire her to create advocacy groups and support trade unions that fought for safe and fair working conditions for women. A founding member of the Women’s Trade Union League and a leader in the Woman Suffrage Party, she would go on to create the Wage Earners’ League for Woman Suffrage (Wage Earner’s Suffrage League) in New York City in 1911.

We invite you to explore more untold stories with the Smithsonian Women’s History Initiative. #BecauseOfHerStory