Suffragettes For Votes Maria Cowell Portrait Drawing Of Sylvia Pankhurst Circa.1905

"Suffragettes for Votes" Pencil Portrait Study of Sylvia Pankhurst by Maria Cowell. Circa.1905. Graphite on thin wove paper, pin holes to corners and some soft edge creasing to no real detriment. 25.5 by 36.8 cms.

All but nothing is known of the artist of this intriguing portrait of Sylvia Pankhurst. Maria Cowell does appear to have been active in the Suffrage movement and to have executed portraits of fellow Suffragists. Beyond that very little is known.

Pankhurst was one of the leading figures in the campaign to establish votes for women. She turned to a career in human rights after studying to be an artist. She took part in demonstrations and violent acts in support of the cause and was arrested eight times between 1913 and 1914. In prison, she went on hunger strike to reinforce her protest. Pankhurst was a leading anti-war campaigner during the First World War. During the 1930s she was active in the fight against fascism and helped Jewish refugees. She championed Ethiopian independence, and died in Addis Ababa, where she was accorded a state funeral.