Senate selects Abigail Adams, Elizabeth Freeman to be First Woman Busts in State House
Announcement comes as HERstory: Volume III unveiled in Senate President’s Office
BOSTON (3/27/2025) — Today, Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka announced that busts of women’s rights leader and presidential advisor Abigail Adams, as well as freedom fighter Elizabeth Freeman, the first enslaved woman to successfully sue for her freedom in the United States of America, will be commissioned and placed in the Massachusetts Senate Chamber.
Adams and Freeman will be the first permanent busts depicting women in the Massachusetts State House, and the first in the Senate Chamber’s collection of sculptures.
The announcement came alongside the unveiling of HERstory Volume III: Trailblazers and Disruptors, a photo exhibition in the Senate President’s office honoring women who have shaped Massachusetts.
“Whether by accident or design, the contributions of women who have shaped our Commonwealth and nation have too long been absent from State House art,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “Today we raise up Abigail Adams and Elizabeth Freeman as trailblazers and leaders who should rightfully be honored in the Senate Chamber. Their presence will help us send a clear message to every woman who walks our halls: you belong here. I am deeply grateful to Senator Cyr for his leadership, and to the Senate Art Committee members for lending their expertise to a Senate that strives for better representation.”
“Representation is not meant to be a crumb. The decision to place busts of two women in the Senate chamber is a meaningful testament to the extraordinary contributions of scores of women to our Commonwealth,” said Senator Julian Cyr (D-Cape and Islands), Chair of the Senate Art Committee. This marks an important step in our ongoing work to recognize the women and individuals who have shaped Massachusetts but have too often been overlooked in our history books. It has been an honor and a privilege to chair the Senate Art Committee through this spirited yet rigorous process, and I’m grateful for Senate President Spilka’s vision of a Senate that more closely reflects the diversity that has defined our Commonwealth.”
Elizabeth Freeman, born into slavery in New York around 1744, became the first African American woman to successfully sue for her freedom in Massachusetts. Inspired by the promise of liberty in the Massachusetts Constitution, her 1781 case, Brom and Bett v. Ashley, helped establish that slavery was incompatible with the state’s founding principles. After gaining her freedom, Freeman became a respected healer and midwife, later securing her place in history as a trailblazer for civil rights.
Abigail Adams, known for urging the Founding Fathers to “remember the ladies,” was an early advocate for women’s rights and education. As a trusted advisor to her husband, President John Adams, she managed their household and finances while influencing political discourse through her letters.
Adams and Freeman were the top two choices of the Senate, where members selected them from four finalists chosen by the Senate Art Committee out of a pool of over 300 nominations submitted by Massachusetts residents. Committee members selected the finalists following a series of public meetings.
The Art Committee will now select an artist to create the sculpture. It will be only the third piece of art in the Senate honoring a woman leader, joining portraits of Abigail Adams and former Senate President Therese Murray, and the twenty-second permanent piece of art honoring a woman in the State House.
Spilka unveils HERstory Volume III: Trailblazers and Disruptors
The selection was announced during an event unveiling volume three of the HERstory exhibit, which highlights the women who have shaped Massachusetts history by placing their photos on the walls of the Senate President’s ceremonial office, covering photos of past Senate Presidents.
Women included in the exhibit are Massachusetts’ trailblazers and disruptors—who have shattered glass ceilings and become leaders and role models for women who now follow in their footsteps—as a reminder that Massachusetts is a state of ‘firsts’ in so many ways.
Ninety-one women cover the photos of 91 prior Senate Presidents, and among others, include:
Phillis Wheatley, the first African American author of a published book of poetry and a strong supporter of America's fight for independence
Frances Perkins, workers' rights advocate and first woman to serve in a presidential Cabinet
Elberta Futrelle Copeland, first woman publisher of the State House News Service and first woman to step foot on the floor of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Kitty Dukakis, longest-serving First Lady of Massachusetts and advocate for mental health and Holocaust awareness
Margaret H. Marshall, anti-apartheid activist and first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The new art is the latest step in Senate President Spilka’s effort to expand representation in the State House and comes on the heels of last year’s installment of Frederick Douglass’ bust in the Senate Chamber, and the addition of a portrait of Abigail Adams in the Senate Lobby.
About the Senate Art Committee
The mission of the Senate Art Committee is to diversify the symbols of the Massachusetts Senate in order to make the chamber more representative of the diverse residents of the Commonwealth. Established in 1972 and subsequently dormant for many years, the committee was revitalized in 2025 by Senate President Karen E. Spilka. The newly re-formed committee’s inaugural task was to select the first woman to be honored with a bust in the Senate Chamber.
The committee is led by Senator Julian Cyr (D-Cape and Islands) and includes Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), Senator Lydia Edwards (D-East Boston), Senator Pavel Payano (D-Lawrence), Massachusetts Art Commission member L’Merchie Frazier, Lynda Roscoe Hartigan of the Peabody Essex Museum, Susan Cross of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, and Maggie Scott of the Museum of Fine Arts.
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