Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: The Canfield Temperance Case

The straw case pictured here was created by Cordelia Canfield in 1844. Cordelia was the wife of William Canfield, a noted local historian and surveyor of the Baraboo, WI area. Canfield’s case is approximately 1 foot long with its cap on and…

Comments Off

October 4, 2022

Art & Design / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Madison / Dane County / Related Stories / Society & Religion / 1918-1945 / 1945-1965 / Region 7 - South Center / Frank Lloyd Wright Pew/Bench

Unitarianism and the Madison Meeting House

Once enjoying unobstructed views of Lake Mendota and sharing its land with the University of Wisconsin’s experimental fields, the First Unitarian Society Meeting House now sits on UW-Madison’s Medical campus. Designed in 1947 by Frank Lloyd Wright to embody the mission of…

0 Comments

August 19, 2021

Read more about the article Marge Engelman and Equal Opportunity at UW-Green Bay

Engelman talks with peers at the University of Green Bay. Courtesy of UW-Green Bay Archives.

Art & Design / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Green Bay / Brown County / Education / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Politics & Government / Society & Religion / Region 5 - Center East / 1965-1987 / The Land of the Freed-up Woman

Marge Engelman and Equal Opportunity at UW-Green Bay

In the 1940s, it was rare for young women like Marge Engelman to pursue higher education. Having grown up in Illinois on her parents’ farm, Engelman was pressured by her father to stay on the family farm and to marry a farmer. In…

0 Comments

August 19, 2021

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: The Land of the Freed-up Woman

Marge Engelman, "The Land of the Freed-up Woman," 1971. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, object 2000.79.1

Art & Design / Green Bay / Brown County / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Society & Religion / 1965-1987 / Region 5 - Center East / The Land of the Freed-up Woman

OBJECT HISTORY: The Land of the Freed-up Woman

Marge Engelman’s The Land of the Freed-Up Woman embodies the progressive thinking of the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970s. Engelman’s decision to use two symbols of womanhood—birth control pills and bras—as the medium for her artwork transformed the recognizable flag into a message…

0 Comments

August 19, 2021

Read more about the article Wisconsin’s Feminist Leaders and the National Organization for Women

A group of women are standing outdoors holding signs. One sign reads: "Fights Discrimination." Other signs read: "Kenosha Wis. NOW" and "ERA Wisconsin Women Say YES," c. 1973-1987. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Image 147430

Dane County / Madison / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Society & Religion / 1965-1987 / Region 7 - South Center / The Land of the Freed-up Woman

Wisconsin’s Feminist Leaders and the National Organization for Women

In the early nineteen sixties, American women organized in pursuit of socio-political change and gender equality. In Wisconsin, women challenged inequitable policies and societal norms by organizing the Wisconsin Commission on the Status for Women and participating in the National Organization for Women…

0 Comments

August 19, 2021

Art & Design / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Dane County / Madison / Society & Religion / 1945-1965 / Region 7 - South Center / Frank Lloyd Wright Pew/Bench

OBJECT HISTORY: Frank Lloyd Wright Pew/Bench

For over a century, the First Unitarian Society of Madison has been a center for like-minded individuals to share ideas and connect. The Society’s Meeting House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and stands as a one of his most representative works,…

0 Comments

August 16, 2021