Abstract
Lillian Russell makes a fitting cover subject for this issue. Out of more than 100 individuals with Western Pennsylvania connections who have become part of the National PortraitGallery’s collection over the years, Russellwas the fi rst woman to be included in thenew museum’s opening exhibition in 1968.To audiences unfamiliar with Russell today,that fact might be surprising, but it refl ects her position as one of the most famousstage performers of late 19th and early 20th century America, a woman who later turned her attention to other social causes, including women’s suffrage, and whose life epitomizes the National Portrait Gallery’s mission to “tell the story of America by portraying the people who shape the nation’s history, development, and culture.”