Collections

The Smithsonian’s collections include iconic objects that tell the stories of American women, their struggles, and their accomplishments. Explore collection highlights and stories related to women and girls, or search our digital records.

Mary McLeod Bethune stands in front of a painting of a house and palm trees.
Collection Item
Mary McLeod Bethune
Two busts of self-portrait of artist Janine Antoni - one made of white soap, one made of chocolate. Her features have been worn down by bathing the soap and licking the chocolate.
Collection Item
"Lick and Lather" by Janine Antoni, 1993–1994
Papier-mache version of the Statue of Liberty. Liberty is Latina and carries a cornucopia of tomatoes instead of a tablet. Instead of a torch, she holds a tomato aloft in her hand.
Collection Item
Immokalee Statue of Liberty by Kat Rodriguez
Green book cover and white text reading "SILENT SPRING."
Collection Item
Rachel Carson
Teal electric corn grinder.
Collection Item
Concepción “Concha” Sanchez's Molino
Toy scale with numbers that can be hung on each end, and a box for the toy
Add-A-Count Scale from the 1950s
National Museum of American History

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Cloth doll of a young woman with long braids, an apron over her dress, and a matching headscarf. She carries a baby on her back in a sling.
Cloth Doll and Baby from between 1960 and 1980

National Museum of the American Indian

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Spooky artwork of Medusa with snakes in her hair. She is breaking through stone.
"Medusa" by Laura Dreyfus Barney
Smithsonian American Art Museum

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Collage of young Indigenous girl holding a basket in one hand and grasping what might be smoke in her other
"Moontime: The Cycles of Life, The Four Directions" by Shan Goshorn (Eastern Band of Cherokee)
National Museum of the American Indian

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