Judy Chicago (American, born 1939). <em>Susan B. Anthony Place Setting</em>, 1974–1979. Runner: White silk satin, cotton/linen fabric, felt, muslin, cotton twill tape, silk, synthetic gold cord, velvet, appliquéd quilting, silk, fringe, metal pins, silk thread, ribbon, metallic cords
Plate: Porcelain (may be stoneware), overglaze enamel (China paint), Runner: 53 3/8 x 29 3/4 in. (135.6 x 75.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of The Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10-PS-32. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2002.10-PS-32_plate_view1_PS1.jpg)

Judy Chicago (American, born 1939). Susan B. Anthony Place Setting, 1974–1979. Runner: White silk satin, cotton/linen fabric, felt, muslin, cotton twill tape, silk, synthetic gold cord, velvet, appliquéd quilting, silk, fringe, metal pins, silk thread, ribbon, metallic cords Plate: Porcelain (may be stoneware), overglaze enamel (China paint), Runner: 53 3/8 x 29 3/4 in. (135.6 x 75.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of The Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10-PS-32. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2002.10-PS-32_plate_view1_PS1.jpg)

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Why this place setting for Susan B Anthony?

Chicago designed each plate and runner to represent the woman it is dedicated to. In the case of Susan B. Anthony, the very sculptural nature of the plate can be related to Anthony's political activism and public visibility. According to Chicago, it “lifts up from the surface with great force in a vain effort to escape its confines.”

This runner honors not only Anthony, but her fellow activists, naming other leaders of the Suffragette Movement in a radiant pattern. The quilting is direct reference to the popularity of quilting during Anthony's lifetime.

Hi there, can you tell us more about this setting?

Sure! You're looking at the place setting for Susan B. Anthony, a suffragist, abolitionist, and speaker who lived from 1820–1906.

You may notice that she has an axe in the S in her name, this is a reference to the axes in the Amazon runner earlier in the table.

The runner design overall, meanwhile, is meant to resemble a quilt, as Susan B. Anthony gave her first lectures as quilting bees.

Thank you!

Can you tell me about this?

The plate that you're looking at belongs to Susan B. Anthony. Anthony was a suffragist, abolitionist, author and speaker. According to Chicago, this plate "lifts up from the surface with great force in a vain effort to escape its confines", representing the suffragist's struggle for freedom.

I wonder what shapes the design of Susan Anthony's plate?

The three-dimensional form of Susan B Anthony's plate literally "lifts up from the surface with great force in a vain effort to escape its confines", as Judy Chicago described it, representing the suffragist's struggle for freedom-- a struggle Anthony did not win in her lifetime. The form was quite a challenge for the artists creating it.

Chicago said: "Her plate is one of the most active, struggling, and angry forms."

Susan B. Anthony Place Setting

Judy Chicago

Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

On View: Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, 4th Floor

ARTIST Judy Chicago, American, born 1939

MEDIUM Runner: White silk satin, cotton/linen fabric, felt, muslin, cotton twill tape, silk, synthetic gold cord, velvet, appliquéd quilting, silk, fringe, metal pins, silk thread, ribbon, metallic cords Plate: Porcelain (may be stoneware), overglaze enamel (China paint)

DATES 1974–1979

DIMENSIONS Runner: 53 3/8 x 29 3/4 in. (135.6 x 75.6 cm) Plate:14 1/4 x 15 x 4 1/4 in. (36.2 x 38.1 x 10.8 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2002.10-PS-32

CREDIT LINE Gift of The Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, 4th Floor

CAPTION Judy Chicago (American, born 1939). Susan B. Anthony Place Setting, 1974–1979. Runner: White silk satin, cotton/linen fabric, felt, muslin, cotton twill tape, silk, synthetic gold cord, velvet, appliquéd quilting, silk, fringe, metal pins, silk thread, ribbon, metallic cords Plate: Porcelain (may be stoneware), overglaze enamel (China paint), Runner: 53 3/8 x 29 3/4 in. (135.6 x 75.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of The Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10-PS-32. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 2002.10-PS-32_plate_view1_PS1.jpg)

IMAGE 2002.10-PS-32_plate_view1_PS1.jpg.

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