The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery is pleased to present “Women of Our Time: Twentieth-Century Photographs.” The exhibition is a selection of 90 images, drawn exclusively from the Portrait Gallery’s collection, that celebrate women who have challenged and changed America over the past century. It will be on view through Feb. 1, 2009.

“‘Women of Our Time’ is at once a celebration of its subjects and the art of photographic portraiture,” said Martin Sullivan, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “Distinguished photographers capture the shifting roles of American women in the 20th century by creating visual biographies of remarkable women whose lives reflect this change.”

Through this collection of revealing works, the Portrait Gallery highlights women who have reached the summit of achievement in politics, business, the arts, sports and science. Many of the photographs capture moments that symbolize the person’s contribution to American history and culture: Margaret Wise Brown—the celebrated children’s author—is pictured by Philippe Halsman while writing with a quill pen; Amelia Earhart is perched in the unfinished fuselage of the Lockheed Electra that was being built for her final flight; Helen Keller is posed smelling a rose while reading a book written in Braille; Gertrude Stein is photographed while Jo Davidson creates a Buddha-like sculpture of her; Marilyn Monroe appears on stage entertaining American troops in Korea; Billie Holiday is captured in mid-song by Roy DeCarava; Althea Gibson is surrounded by young fans at the height of her tennis career in 1957; Virginia Apgar is pictured holding an infant—the Apgar Score that she developed was the first standardized method for assessing a newborn’s health; and a more recent Time magazine photograph of Susan Faludi and Gloria Steinem shows how the two represent younger and older generations of the feminist cause.

“Women of Our Time: Twentieth-Century Photographs,” features images by such distinguished 20th-century photographers as Berenice Abbott, Lotte Jacobi, Lisette Model, Robert Mapplethorpe, Hans Namuth, Irving Penn, Man Ray, Edward Steichen and Harry Warnecke, among others.

Two books accompany the exhibition—the softcover edition, “Women of Our Time: 75 Portraits of Remarkable Women,” and the cloth edition, “Women of Our Time: An Album of Twentieth-Century Photographs”—both published by Merrell/NPG. They are currently available in the museum’s store. Authored by former National Portrait Gallery senior historian Frederick S. Voss, the books open with a preface by Cokie Roberts and include full-page images and biographical information for many of the portraits in the exhibition.

“Women of Our Time: Twentieth-Century Photographs” previously traveled to five venues throughout the United States. This is the first time that the exhibition will appear in Washington, D.C.

The National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery tells the stories of America through the individuals who have shaped its culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains and actors and activists who speak American history.

The National Portrait Gallery opened to the public in 1968. The museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works includes paintings, sculpture, photographs, drawings and new media. Located at Eighth and F streets N.W., Washington, D.C., it is open every day from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Dec. 25. Smithsonian information: (202) 633-1000; (202) 633-5285 (TTY). Web site: www.npg.si.edu.

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Note to editors: Selected images for publicity may be downloaded from a password-protected FTP site. Call (202) 633-8295 for information to access the site.

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