4 minute read
Honoring Idaho Women Past, Present, and Future
BY JANET GALLIMORE, Executive Director of the Idaho State Historical Society
Through the 2020 partnership between Idaho Women in Leadership and the Idaho State Historical Society, the Idaho Women 100 Campaign commemorated the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted national suffrage to 26 million American women on August 18, 1920. During the Idaho Women 100 Initiative, organizations around the state collectively recognized and celebrated the influence of women in Idaho over the past 100 years and their contributions to political, cultural, economic, academic, social, and civic fields. Idaho can be proud that its courageous past made it the 4th state in our country to give most women in our state the right to vote. By a vote of nearly two-to-one in favor, Idaho granted women’s suffrage on November 3, 1896 via Senate Joint Resolution 2.
PHOTO COURTESY OF IDAHO STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The Idaho State Historical Society and the Foundation for Idaho History are currently working to privately fundraise for a legacy piece that was inspired by this year-long commemoration. The Idaho State Historical Society commissioned local sculptor Irene Deely to develop the Idaho Women’s Suffrage Commemorative Sculpture, which embodies the spirit and legacy of the women’s suffrage movement and universally represents Idaho women through time. Inspired in part by the Idaho State Seal, the only known state seal in America to be designed by a woman, this nameless woman walks metaphorically in the footsteps of those who came before her and then hands off her shoe to those in the future. The sculpture’s placement on the grounds of the People’s House is a statement of the importance of women to our state.
As Deely noted, “the classical Greek style will inform the dynamic movement of a graceful, strong feminine spirit as she moves through Idaho’s historical women since time immemorial. 14 unique styles of shoes spanning ten decades represent women through history, with a single shoe being handed off for subsequent generations to fill.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF IDAHO STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Each historical pair of shoes is showcased on individual stone pedestals that ascend to the apex, where the seven-foot statue stands to hand off the next shoe to future generations of women. Furthermore, the shoes featured were all scanned in 3D and cast from those in the Idaho State Museum’s permanent collection.
It is also interesting to note that Deely modeled the figure’s hair after the woman featured in Idaho’s state seal design, who had a classic Grecian style. These subtle nods to Idaho’s women in history and purposeful details make this project a perfect symbol of women’s history in our state for posterity.
The Idaho Women’s Suffrage Commemorative Sculpture will be cast in bronze using the traditional lost-wax method. This method dates back almost 6,500 years and is an intricate process with several steps, from model-making to metal-chasing, which involves removing all the imperfections from the casting process. The heroic scale sculpture will be 1 ¼ times life scale, which will undoubtedly have a commanding presence at the Idaho State Capitol.
The Idaho Capitol Commission approved the sculpture placement on May 8, 2020 and the sculpture is currently in the final stages of development. This fall, the Idaho State Historical Society will proudly unveil the Idaho Women’s Suffrage Commemorative Sculpture that will celebrate the story of Idaho women past, present, and future and their impacts in Idaho. This new symbol of the strength and significance of Idaho women will be the only female figure featured on the exterior capitol grounds.
