25 Utah Goldback

Description

Twenty-five Utah Goldback – Victoria (Victory)

The 25 Goldback Design features the dignified Lady Virtue Victoria, representing Victory, in a tribute to Women’s suffrage. This artwork stands out as the pioneering Goldback design and served as the artist’s entry piece for the entire series. Emblazoned on her banner is “Votes Counting Since 1870,” referencing Utah’s early embrace of women’s voting rights.

Although Utah can claim the honor of the first-ever vote by a woman, with Seraph Young casting her ballot, Wyoming as a state extended women’s suffrage slightly earlier; the design resonates with the pioneering achievements of Utah’s women, from their roles as spiritual leaders to Martha Hughes Cannon’s historic election as the first woman State Senator in 1911.

In the depiction, Victoria is not alone; a child accompanies her, symbolizing the generations of women who championed suffrage alongside their offspring. The child’s branch signifies the promise of future generations and their inheritance of today’s triumphs. With a rallying cry, the design beckons viewers to “Go on to Victory.”

Its backdrop, a picturesque mountain view from Alpine, Utah, is the very vista the artist saw from the workspace where the Goldback creations took shape. The flag in Victoria’s left hand is crowned with the Chi-Rho, an ancient symbol for Christ, acknowledging the divine support Utah’s women felt in their pursuit of rights. Her right-hand grasps sheaves of wheat, each grain a metaphor for individual triumphs that together create significant change.

A falcon graces the skies behind her, embodying steadfast commitment and a yearning to revisit and honor past triumphs that shaped the present. Victoria’s poised stance is along a direct path, flanked by a stone wall on one side—each stone signifying incremental progress—and by aspen trees on the other, symbolizing humanity’s shared lineage and the maternal legacy binding every individual.