Young Lady Graduates, Oberlin College, 1855

Native New York artist and feminist Suzanne Benton creates artwork that highlights female empowerment. This print celebrates the academic success of seventeen women graduates from the class of 1855. In executing her colorful monotype, Benton used a photograph from the Oberlin College Archives and integrated the image directly into her printed composition. Formally recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, Oberlin was the first college in the United States to adopt a policy to admit students regardless of race (1835). Another first came in 1837, when Oberlin enrolled four female full-time students in a baccalaureate program of study alongside male students. Benton’s personal experience with social and economic inequalities faced by women throughout the mid-20th century motivated her to join the second wave of the global feminist movement. In 1970, she founded the Connecticut chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). Today, Benton is still active as a professional artist and her work remains deeply intertwined with feminist activism as she seeks to raise awareness of the ongoing injustices women encounter in their daily lives.