“Remember the Ladies.” - Abigail Adams

Today, the Massachusetts Senate marked the first day of Women’s History month by unveiling a portrait of former First Lady Abigail Adams and putting out a public call for nominations for an influential woman to be the first honored with a permanent bust in the Senate Chamber.

The portrait of Adams, an early advocate for women’s rights, opposer of slavery, supporter of women’s education, and who advised the Founding Fathers to ‘remember

 the ladies’ as they debated the structure and governance of the fledgling United States, was unveiled by Senate President Karen E. Spilka at a public ceremony. The portrait will hang permanently in the Senate Lobby. 

She is the second woman with a permanent portrait in the Massachusetts Senate, following former Senate President Therese Murray, whose portrait hangs in the Senate Reading Room.