A painting by a Manhattan artist is going down in Kansas history.
Phyllis Garibay-Coon, the first woman to have a painting hung in the Kansas Statehouse, unveiled her painting, “Rebel Women,” in a Kansas Day ceremony on Jan. 29.
The mural, which took eight months of work, commemorates the 19th Amendment’s centennial anniversary and the Kansas women who fought for their right to vote.
“It’s a huge honor, and it was a great day,” Garibay-Coon said. “There were about 500 people in the rotunda, and a choir sang, and it was a great dedication.”
Since the dedication ceremony, Garibay-Coon has been adding finishing touches to the 8-foot-by-19-foot mural, completing the people at the bottom. The painting, commissioned by the League of Women Voters, features 13 Kansas women who fought for women’s suffrage, including Lutie Lytle, Laura M. Johns, Jane L. Brooks and Clarina I. H. Nichols.
“It’s nice to have it in the space, to look at it and step back with the lighting there and adjust some of the details on it,” Garibay-Coon said. “Besides me being the first woman to have a painting there, it’s about 13 Kansas women who helped to get the vote in Kansas but also had an impact nationwide with the whole movement. They are real people who existed in Kansas.”
Garibay-Coon said the mural can provide an educational opportunity for those who visit the capitol. It has a key below naming each historical figure in the mural and where in Kansas they are from.
“It’s painted by a Kansan for Kansans, and it’s at the Statehouse,” Garibay-Coon said.
On the day of the unveiling, Garibay-Coon said people supported her art and how she decided to tell the suffragists’ story visually.
“It was amazing, all of the people showed up to dedicate the painting,” Garibay-Coon said. “It was covered with the suffragist flag. And since it was Kansas Day, and that was going on there, the League of Women Voters had a celebration.”
Garibay-Coon’s family and friends from Manhattan were present at the Kansas Day unveiling.
“There was a lot of support from the community and celebrating women and Kansas history that we don’t hear about,” Garibay-Coon said. “I hope it spurs more conversation about more of the history of Kansas that we didn’t get in school.”
