You’ve seen her. The stern, profile-view woman with the tight bun and the lace collar. She looks like she’s never cracked a smile in her life. This image of Susan B. Anthony is basically burned into the American psyche, thanks to those silver dollar coins and history textbooks that love a good "serious" reformer.
But honestly, the photos of Susan B. Anthony we usually see are only half the story.
Most people think those photos were just accidental snapshots or simple studio visits. Not even close. Susan B. Anthony was a media genius before "media" was even a thing. She used her own face as a weapon for the suffrage movement. She knew exactly how to pose to look respectable enough to not get laughed at, but tough enough to show she wasn't backing down.
The "Official" Face of the Movement
When you look at late-career photos of Susan B. Anthony, you’re seeing a very deliberate brand. Take the 1905 portrait by James Ellery Hale. It’s arguably the most famous one. She’s old, she’s seated, and she looks like she could stare down a brick wall.
Hale actually gave the copyright for that photo to the Susan B. Anthony Memorial Association. They chose it as her "official" photograph. It wasn't just a nice picture; it was a political tool.
By the late 1800s, Anthony had a tradition: she’d get a new portrait taken on her birthday. It sounds like a cute grandma thing to do, right? It wasn't. It was about documenting her endurance. Every year she survived and kept fighting, she wanted a record of it.
Why the Profile View?
Ever notice how many photos of Susan B. Anthony show her from the side?
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There’s a reason for that. Susan had a "turned" eye—strabismus—that she was reportedly quite self-conscious about. In an era where the press was incredibly cruel, she didn't want to give them any ammunition.
Satirical cartoons of the time were brutal. They’d draw her looking like a "man-hater" or a "shrew." One famous illustration from The Daily Graphic in 1873 showed her wearing Uncle Sam's hat and boots, basically suggesting that if women got the vote, men would be stuck doing the laundry and childcare while women "played" at politics.
By insisting on profile shots, she controlled the narrative. She looked dignified. Intelligent. Like a statesman.
The Rare Finds and the Attic Treasures
For a long time, we thought we’d seen everything. Then 2020 happened. A guy named David Whitcomb bought an old building in Geneva, New York, for his law firm. He climbed into the attic, found a drop ceiling, and behind it? An abandoned photography studio.
Inside were over 1,000 antiques, including rare, original photos of Susan B. Anthony taken by James Ellery Hale himself.
These weren't just copies; they were the real deal. One of them was a massive 20-inch by 16-inch print from 1905, one of only four known to exist. It’s wild to think that for decades, some of the most important visual records of American history were just sitting behind some dusty drywall.
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The Evolution of the Image
If you go back to the early daguerreotypes from 1848, she looks completely different.
She was 28. She was the headmistress at Canajoharie Academy. In those early images, there’s a softness that disappears in the later years. You can see the weight of the movement start to settle into her features over the decades.
- 1848: Soft, youthful, looks like a schoolteacher.
- 1870s: The "Revolution" era. Sharp, intense, often pictured with Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
- 1890s: The "Grand Old Woman of Suffrage" phase. Lace collars, silk dresses, looking every bit the respectable Victorian lady.
This shift was tactical. To win the vote, she had to prove that suffragists weren't "gender-bending" radicals who wanted to destroy the family. She wore the fashionable puffed sleeves of 1895. She held books to show she was educated. She played the game.
The Internet's Favorite Fake Photo
There’s a specific photo that goes viral every few months. It shows a woman being tackled or beaten by police, and the caption usually claims it’s Susan B. Anthony being arrested for voting in 1872.
It’s fake. Well, the photo is real, but it’s not her.
The woman in that photo is actually Ada Wright, a British suffragette, and it was taken in 1910—four years after Anthony died.
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Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting in 1872. She was tried and convicted. But there are no photos of Susan B. Anthony being "beaten" during that arrest. The real story is that she walked into a polling place in Rochester, New York, and basically dared the inspectors to stop her. When they didn't, she voted. Then a US Marshal showed up at her house a few days later to arrest her. She famously asked him to handcuff her so it would look more "official." He refused.
Why the Photos Matter Now
We live in an age of Instagram filters and "personal branding," but Susan B. Anthony was the original influencer. She understood that if she wanted to change the law, she had to change how people saw her.
She wasn't just a face; she was a symbol.
She even used photography to honor her peers. She worked hard to make sure portraits of other reformers—like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth—were distributed too. They were all using the same playbook: if you can't get a fair shake in the newspapers, go directly to the people with a portrait that says, "I am a leader."
Actionable Insights for History Buffs
If you’re looking to find high-quality, authentic photos of Susan B. Anthony, don't just trust a Google Image search.
- Check the Library of Congress: They have the largest digital collection of her portraits, including the ones with her "turned" eye that weren't always meant for public consumption.
- Visit the Susan B. Anthony House: The museum in Rochester, NY, has original prints that show the texture and scale of these photos in a way a screen can't.
- Verify the Date: If you see a photo of her looking "modern" or in high-action, check the year. If it’s after 1906, it’s not her.
- Look for the Studio Mark: Most of her official portraits have the photographer's stamp—like "Kent" or "Hale"—on the bottom or back.
The next time you see that stern face on a coin or a poster, remember that you’re looking at a woman who spent fifty years making sure she looked exactly that way. She wanted you to see her as someone who couldn't be moved. And honestly? It worked.
To get a true sense of her life, compare a portrait from her 20s to one from her 80s. You’ll see the history of a movement written right there on her face.
Start by exploring the National Portrait Gallery's digital archives for the 1895 collodion prints—they offer the clearest look at the detail she put into her public persona.