The Fall and Rise of a First Lady
'Though my first portrait goes as far back as the late 18C, I gained lasting fame in 1872 , when John Gast created me out of paint tubes and brushstrokes, naming my completed portrait, American Progress. Having the weight of an entire nation on my shoulders was indeed a heavy burden and a great responsibility, though with divine light on my brow, the book of knowledge in one hand and a telegraph wire in the other, I led the way westward to enlightenment and progress. Thus, was I born as an allegorical tale on the modernisation of this nation, becoming its first famous female incarnation as well. That honour has long gone to a kindred spirit, Lady Liberty, whom I do not begrudge the throne since she is a soaringly majestic statue who remains true through time, and I am not. Still, under 'manifest destiny' it seems, I was revived in the early 20C through the might of the "Seventh Art", and I live on in my various guises. Hear my story':