Belva Lockwood

Jill Kerttula  

43 x 33 inches

2019

ARTIST STATEMENT

During Hillary Clinton’s run for president in 2016, I saw a mention that she was not actually the first woman to run for president. In 1884 at age 53, before women had the right to vote, Belva Lockwood ran a nationwide campaign as a presidential candidate for the Equal Rights Party. As she said in one interview, “I cannot vote, but I can be voted for.” As the first woman allowed to practice at the bar of the Supreme Court, she knew the constitutionality of her endeavor. There had been other fledgling campaigns supported by suffragist and prohibition groups, but none with the reach, support, and credibility of Belva Lockwood.

Photo by the artist