S. Billie Mandle
Esther Lape (1881 - 1981) was an activist and educator who advocated for women’s suffrage, health care reform, labor rights and the anti-war movement. She was one of the founders of the League of Women Voters and a close friend to Eleanor Roosevelt.
In 1927, she and her life-partner, lawyer Elizabeth Read, built their home at Salt Meadows, Connecticut. In 1972 Lape donated the 147 acre property to the United States Department of the Interior as the first National Wildlife Refuge in Connecticut.
In 1987 Salt Meadows was renamed for U.S. Congressman Stewart B. McKinney.
Titles begin with: Esther Lape’s home at what is now the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge:
S. Billie Mandle approaches photography as a tool for observation and obstruction, looking at the intersection of power, histories and place. Mandle’s work is internationally exhibited and published including features in Aperture, Cabinet, Image and Wired. She earned a BA in biology and English from Williams College and an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Her monograph, Reconciliation, will be published in summer 2020.
instagram: @sbilliemandle
