Artwork in the Reading Room

Sculpture

The wooden sculpture on the far left side of the room was made by Phlyssa Koshland. Koshland is a Radcliffe College alum.

Busts

Helen Keller by Jo Davidson  

World renowned humanitarian and author Helen Keller (1880-1968) became blind, deaf and mute at 19 months old as the result of "acute congestion of the stomach and brain," which was possibly either scarlet fever or meningitis. She was the first deaf and blind woman to receive a college degree (B.A. from Radcliffe in 1904) and the first woman to receive a Harvard honorary degree (1955). The Schlesinger Library holds the papers of Helen Keller.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman by her daughter Katharine Beecher Stetson in 1917 

A socialist and deist, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 - 1935) was an independent thinker, author, and lecturer who was an intellectual leader of the woman’s movement from the late 1890s through the mid-1920s. The Schlesinger Library holds the papers of Charlotte Perkins Gilman. 

Margaret Lambie by Louise K. Sparrow 

Margaret Lambie, a Vassar graduate (1907), was a Washington attorney who practiced international law. Louise K. Sparrow (1884-1979) was a sculptor, author and poet. She was a graduate of Emerson College and was a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. The Schlesinger Library holds the papers of Louise K. Sparrow. 

Dorothy Adlow by George Aarons 

Dorothy Adlow (1901-1964) earned both her A.B. and A.M. degrees from Radcliffe College (1922/1923) and was art critic for the Christian Science Monitor for 41 years. The Schlesinger Library holds the papers of Dorothy Adlow. 

Evelyn Perkins Ames by I.L. Hamar 

Author and poet Evelyn (Perkins) Ames (1908 -1990) studied at Vassar College (1926-1929). She was a wildlife expert, travel writer and environmentalist. The Schlesinger Library holds the papers of Evelyn Perkins Ames. 

Maud Cuney Hare by Meta Warrick Fuller 

Maud Cuney Hare (1874 - 1936) was a pianist, lecturer, composer, playwright, biographer, poetry editor, folklorist, Black music historian and collector, and founder and director of the Allied Arts Centre in Boston. She attended the New England Conservatory of Music. As one of only two African American students, she faced discrimination from the institution and the students. When asked to leave the dormitories to live in off-campus housing, she refused.

Portraits

Ruth Whitman (1922-1999) 

Ruth Whitman received a BA in Greek and English from Radcliffe College 1944 and a MA in Classics from Harvard in 1947. She was a poet and teacher/lecturer for the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and Radcliffe Seminars, as well as poet-in-residence at Tufts, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and UMass. Whitman was also the founder and president of Poets Who Teach, Inc. The Schlesinger Library holds her papers.

Anna Chennault (1925-2018) 

Anna Chennault was an author, lecturer, business consultant & citizen-diplomat. She was the widow of General Claire Chennault and was an active member in the Republican Party. Chennault served as vice-president of international affairs for Flying Tiger Air Lines and was a consultant to various aviation companies and other businesses. The Schlesinger Library holds the papers of Anna Chennault.

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot (b. 1944)

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot is a sociologist who examines the culture of schools, the broad ecology of education, and the relationship between human development and social change. Upon her retirement, the Emily Hargroves Fisher Endowed Chair will become the Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot Chair, making Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot the first African-American woman in Harvard's history to have an endowed professorship named in her honor.

Pauli Murray (1910-1985) 

Pauli Murray was a writer, poet, and civil and human rights activist. She was also a lawyer and practiced in the U.S. and Ghana. In 1977, Murray became the first African American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest. The Schlesinger Library holds the papers of Pauli Murray.

Dorothy West (1907-1998) 

Dorothy West was a Harlem Renaissance writer, journalist, and editor. Her first novel, The Living Is Easy (1948), was about upper class African Americans in Boston. Her cousin, Helene Johnson, was also a Harlem Renaissance poet. The Schlesinger Library holds the papers of Dorothy West.