Women | Page 20 | MNopedia

Elsie Hill in St. Paul

Elsie Hill, a national organizer for the National Woman's Party, gives a speech about women’s suffrage during a convention in St. Paul, 1916. Records of the National Woman’s Party, Library of Congress.

National Woman’s Party in Minnesota

The National Woman’s Party (NWP) was a suffrage organization that emphasized civil disobedience and direct action in its fight for the right to vote. St. Paul nurse Sarah Colvin established its Minnesota chapter in 1916. Though its forceful approach frustrated some, the NWP lent a transformative sense of urgency and focus to Minnesota’s suffrage movement.

Painting of a "Miss Pearce"

A reproduction of a painting of a "Miss Pearce" previously thought to have been painted by Thomas Sully around 1840. An identical one hung in the Minnesota Club and was thought to be of Nina Clifford, despite the fact that Clifford was not born until 1851. Photograph by Midge Frazel, undated.

Clifford, Nina (1851–1929)

Nina Clifford, a child of immigrants who evolved into the “richest woman of the underworld,” made a name for herself as an affluent sex worker who contributed to the buildup of St. Paul’s downtown Red Light District in the late 1800s. She invited other women to establish their businesses nearby while police sanctioned an environment in which vice could thrive. In spite of a lack of preserved records, standing buildings, and extant photographs related to her business, Nina Clifford remains a legendary madam of St. Paul.

Students and teacher in home economics class

Students and their teacher in a home economics class, Daytona Beach Florida. Photograph by Gordon Parks, 1943. Wikimedia Commons via Library of Congress. Public domain.

“American Gothic”

“American Gothic,” a photograph of government janitorial worker Ella Watson by Gordon Parks, Washington, DC, 1942. Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Members of WARM

Members of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (WARM) gather on the fifth anniversary of the opening of WARM Gallery. Photograph by Judy Stone Nunnelly, 1981. From box 5 (152.F.1.1B) of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (WARM) organizational records. Manuscripts Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Women Invite Women catalog

The catalog of Women Invite Women, an invitational exhibition presented at WARM Gallery between 1977 and 1978. From box 5 (152.F.1.1B) of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (WARM) organizational records. Manuscripts Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Harriet Bart and Hazel Belvo outside WARM gallery

Artists Harriet Bart (left) and Hazel Belvo (right) outside WARM gallery during its presentation of the exhibition Barto and Belvo, 1978. From box 5 (152.F.1.1B) of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (WARM) organizational records, Manuscripts Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

WARM Gallery poster

Poster produced by WARM Gallery, undated. From box 5 (152.F.1.1B) of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (WARM) organizational records. Manuscripts Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Gale Family Library