Marjory Stoneman Douglas

This portrait of  Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890-1998) by Menden Hall hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

By the time she was fifty, Marjory Stoneman Douglas could look back on a career that included working as a reporter, columnist, and editor for the Miami Herald and as a successful short-story writer. But her most significant work began in the mid-1940s, when she wrote a transformational book on the Florida Everglades. The Everglades: River of Grass (1947) became an instant best-seller, calling attention to the ecological importance of this vast expanse of water and wildlife, and the irresponsibility of those who wanted to destroy it. Years later, Douglas's passion for saving the Everglades also led her to found the Friends of the Everglades, which grew into a major force in the campaign to protect the area's natural integrity against a host of human-created abuses. In 1993, President Bill Clinton awarded Douglas the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This portrait was painted in her cottage in Coconut Grove. -- National Portrait Gallery

Menden Hall