Fearless Portraits

“I smiled in the face of bigotry.”

Shaymaa Ismaa’eel

Muslim who stood up to Islamophobia with joy

The Art:

Ink drawing of Shaymaa Ismaa’eel flashing a bright smile and peace sign while wearing an orange hijab. She’s drawn on a map of Washington, DC, where she encountered the anti-Muslim protestors that inspired her smile. 

The Story:

It was a warm spring day in Washington, DC and Shaymaa Ismaa...

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

Anne Frank

Author 

The Art:

Ink drawing on a map of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The rooms where Anne Frank and her family and the others spent 25 months hiding from the Nazis are now a museum and it is located to the left of her eyes. 

The Story:

Born in 1929 in Germany, Anne Frank and her family moved to the Net...

“I contemplated how sorrow, frustration, and anger wove together with courage, resiliency, and hope, and how the art might speak to this gravity.”

Michaela Goade

First Native American illustrator to win the Caldecott Medal

The Artwork:

Ink drawing of Michaela Goade on a map of southeastern Alaska. She is holding an open copy of We Are Water Protectors. Sitka, the ancestral home of her people and where she currently li...

“Redemption! I was grabbing the air, I got so excited I was afraid I might die or something.”

Dr. Katalin Karikó

Biochemist who pioneered mRNA, the technology behind the successful COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. 

The Artwork:

Ink drawing on a map of Philadelphia, PA. The University of Pennsylvania where she did much of her research is located near her chin. 

The Story:

Doubted and the...

“I interested Miss Alice Ball… in the chemical problem of obtaining… the active agents in the oil of chaulmoogra. After a great deal of experimental work, Miss Ball solved the problem.”

Dr. Harry Hollmann 

Writing about chemist Alice Ball and her groundbreaking cure for leprosy in a scientific journal

The Artwork:

Ball’s portrait in the Fearless Portraits project consists of an Ink drawing o...

“It’s definitely an old boys’ club, and so obviously for us coming in as opposite, we definitely were looked at as not just not belonging, but really incapable of being successful.”

Robin McBride

Co-founded McBride Sisters Wine Company with Andréa McBride, the largest Black-owned wine company in the US

The Artwork:

The McBride’s portrait in the Fearless Portrait project consists of an ink drawing of...

“It is never a waste to try something and fail.”

Masako “Ma-chan” Wakamiya (若宮正子)

Octogenarian app developer

The Artwork:

Ma-chan’s portrait in the Fearless Portraits project consists of an Ink drawing on a map of Kanagawa, the prefecture she lives in, just south of Tokyo. She’s seated on the floor next to a traditional Japanese short-legged table with a laptop open on it. 

The Story:

Mas...

“I do not like that the front pockets of girls jeans are fake.”

Kamryn Gardner

First grader who asked Old Navy to make jeans with pockets

The Artwork:

Gardner’s portrait in the Fearless Portraits project consists of an Ink drawing of her holding her new pocketed jeans on a map of northern Arkansas. Bentonville, where she lives is located just over her head and the left.

The Story:

Seven-year-old Kamryn Garde...

“There is only one thing worse than coming from the lab to a sink full of dirty dishes and that is not going to the lab at all.”

Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu (吳健雄)

Experimental physicist, known as the “First Lady of Physics”

The Artwork:

Wu’s portrait in the Fearless Portraits project consists of an Ink drawing on a map of Manhattan, New York City. Columbia University, where she worked, is located in the col...

“Economics should be about caring for real people.”

Janet Yellen

First female Secretary of the Treasury

First female Chair of the Federal Reserve

Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors

First person to hold all three roles

The Artwork:

Yellen’s portrait in the Fearless Portraits project consists of an Ink and colored pencil drawing on a map of San Francisco. She’s wearing a purple blazer with her tradema...

“If you are independent, you will never be afraid to be alone or to leave a job.” 

Brenda Landau

Businesswoman

The Art:

Brenda’s portrait in the Fearless Portrait project consists of an ink drawing of her, on a map of Guatemala. Her hometown of Salama, Baja Verapaz, is visible on her neck.

The Story: 

The day after New Year’s, 2021, Brenda Landau went out for a long run.

It’s just her. Fe...

“Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.”

Maggie Kuhn

Elder rights activist & founder of the Gray Panthers

The Artwork:

Maggie Kuhn’s portrait in the Fearless Portrait project consists of an ink drawing of her Ink drawing on a map of Philadelphia, PA, where she lived and worked.

The Story:

In 1970, Maggie Kuhn was working a job she loved at the Presbyterian Church when she was forced to retire due to th...

“I classify my research as where equity meets science. The people who are really going to need [smart sutures] will not be able to afford them. So, I decided to make something cost-effective.”

Dasia Taylor

Inventor

The artwork

Dasia Taylor’s portrait in the Fearless Portrait Project consists of an ink drawing on a map of Iowa. Her hometown of Iowa City is located on the right side, where her neck meets her shoul...

“My office hours are any and all hours of the day and night.”

Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte

First Native American to earn a medical degree

The Artwork:

Picotte’s portrait in the Fearless Portrait project consists of an Ink drawing of her n an 1886 map of Nebraska; the Omaha Reservation is marked on top right side of her head. The portrait is based on one of the few photographs that exist of Picotte. 

The...

“When you have a diverse team, you get different perspectives that help you succeed. It’s about having a team that has lots of ideas and grabbing the best one—that’s what diversity brings you.”

Admiral Michelle Howard

Highest ranking female officer in US Navy history

The artwork:

Howard’s portrait in the Fearless Portrait project consists of an Ink  drawing on a map of Washington, D.C. The...

“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”

Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom

Member of the Dutch resistance, evangelist, and author

Artwork:

Ten Boom’s portrait in the Fearless Portrait project consists of an ink drawing of her on a map of the Dutch city of Haarlem. There is a red dot near her nose to mark the location of The Hiding Place, that...

“If you’re so proud of America’s history, look at the downsides too. Own it just like you own how we won the Revolutionary War.”

Iris Haq-Lukolyo

Fifth grade student

The artwork:

Iris Haq-Lukolyo’s portrait in the Fearless Portrait project consists of an ink drawing of her holding a copy of the magazine with her article in it, while wearing a T-shirt that with Kamala Harris’ “I’m S...