Ruth Harvey Charity

In this 1970s folk painting, Ruth Harvey Charity holds a fictional book titled The Future of the Democratic Party. This painting is one of a collection of portraits called "Firsts" created by Frances Brand, a Charlottesville artist. In her work Brand honored people she admired, many of them pioneers in their fields such as Charity, who in 1972 was the first black woman from Virginia elected to the Democratic National Committee.