Cannon (1857-1932) was a physician, women's suffrage leader and orator, public health advocate, and first woman elected to a state senate in the United States.
Utah gave this statue of Dr. Martha Maria "Mattie" Hughes Cannon to the National Statuary Hall Collection in 2024.
The statue depicts Cannon as she appeared during her term as Utah state senator in the late 1890s, around age 40. Cannon stands on her left leg, with the toes of her right foot just visible at the front of her dress. She appears composed, suggesting both serenity and determination. She clasps her hands in front of her, holding a book. The attention to detail in the muscles, tendons and bones in her hands emphasizes the strength Cannon exhibited throughout a life that included childhood emigration from Wales and self-imposed exile in other U.S. states and Europe. Her family moved to Utah in 1861 after converting to Mormonism.
The book in Cannon's hands does not represent a specific volume. It references her determined pursuit of knowledge, which included bachelor of science degrees from the University of Deseret (now the University of Utah, chemistry) and the University of Pennsylvania (pharmacy, part of her graduate work), an MD from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor of oratory from the National School of Elocution and Oratory in Philadelphia, all earned by the time she was 25 years old. After completing her studies, she returned to Salt Lake City, Utah, established a medical practice, and was named resident physician at Deseret Hospital.
The book also suggests her journaling practice and the letters she wrote, especially while living outside Utah—many of which were destroyed at her request. The letters that remain demonstrate the importance of her faith, including the practice of polygamy; she became the fourth wife of Church of Latter-day Saints leader Angus Cannon in 1884. Because federal laws outlawed the practice and Church teachings also evolved to forbid it, Cannon lived in hiding or left Utah for extended periods to avoid testifying in court about her marriage and medical work with other plural wives.
Cannon's full skirt seems to billow about her. The fabric's dynamism reflects Cannon's own activity and her many accomplishments in medicine, public health, suffrage activism and state government. Cannon had been involved in the successful effort to re-establish women's suffrage in Utah through the new state's constitution. When she won election to Utah's first state senate in 1896, she became the first woman state senator in the United States. One of her key accomplishments there was legislation establishing the Utah Board of Health, and she then served on the Board of Health until 1903. Her suffrage activities included speeches in Utah, at the Women's Congress at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, and in Washington, D.C. on the 50th anniversary of the Seneca Falls convention advocating for women's rights. She testified on the positive effects of women's suffrage in Utah before the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary in 1898.
Cannon's attire adds volume to her smaller frame and abounds with period details: puffed sleeves and large buttons on her jacket, a cascade frill from neckline to waist, a figured belt and an A-line skirt of textured fabric. Her bangs are curled above her forehead with the rest of her hair swept up at the back of her head. Cannon preferred stylish clothing and considered it an important part of her self-presentation. In particular, she wanted a sophisticated appearance to complement the women's suffrage orations she delivered.
The black granite pedestal is inscribed
DR. MARTHA HUGHES CANNON
1857-1932
First Female State Senator, 1896
Physician Suffragist
UTAH
Although Cannon was only about five feet tall, this statue, like most in the collection, is of monumental scale. The pedestal and statue combined stand 10 feet 10 inches tall. The bronze was cast in early 2020 using the lost-wax process.
Artist
Sculptor Ben Hammond was born in 1977 and raised in the rural town of Pingree, Idaho. Pursuing his love for art, he earned a degree in illustration from Ricks College. He informally apprenticed or studied with sculptors working in monumental bronzes, including Blair Buswell. His sculptures are included in private and public collections throughout the United States, including a number of portrait busts at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he has received numerous awards from local and national organizations, including the National Sculpture Society. Among his most recent works are five large sculptures for a women's hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. He has also conducted sculpture workshops throughout the county and has been elected to the National Sculpture Society and the California Art Club. He lives in Utah.
Hammond began this work by examining photographs of Cannon at the right age, much as he did when working on portrait busts for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. However, he employed live models to "breathe life into the work."1 He involved Cannon's descendants in the process; two of her great-granddaughters, who share some likenesses with Cannon, sat for him as he sculpted. He also worked with a model wearing a recreated period suit and hairstyle. The committee, who appreciated his sculptures of female figures, selected Hammond from among five finalists for the commission.
1. AOC Curator interview with Ben Hammond, March 29, 2022