This painting is a portrait of a seated woman, her body turned slightly to the right and her head looking towards us. She has a fair complexion, with round, rosy cheeks, pale eyebrows, large green eyes, and thin pink lips in a neutral expression. Her light blonde hair is styled in short curls close to her head and adorned with pearls and a clip or barrette in the shape of small leaves. She is dressed in a cream-colored dress with intricate embroidery in shades of brown, gold, and black. On top of the dress is a long black garment that flows over her shoulders and upper arms and has a high collar, decorative buttons, and more embroidery. Her gown is paired with a ruffled white collar and lace at her neckline and wrists. Long gold chains drape across her chest, and she wears a pearl necklace around her neck and two small golden rings on her fingers. In her left hand, our right, she holds a small book, while a lace handkerchief is in her right hand, our left. She wears pearl earrings, strands of pearl bracelets, and a decorative brooch in the shape of a white dog with a pink bow. The seat she sits on is wooden with dark red cushions decorated with golden tassels and embroidery, behind her on the left is a draped green cloth, and on the right, a table is covered with music sheets, a stringed instrument, books, and small blue and yellow ribbons. The wall behind the table is brown, and there is some gold lettering in the top right corner.
Lavinia Fontana, Lucia Bonasoni Garzoni, c. 1590, oil on canvas, Gift of Funds from Anonymous in memory of Montana Walker Strauss, and Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2022.38.1

Women Artists

Explore works by women artists spanning time, place, and media, ranging from 16th century portraitist Lavinia Fontana and 17th century Dutch still life painter Judith Leyster to 18th century American impressionist Mary Cassatt to modern art by Georgia O'Keeffe, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Zarina, Alma Thomas, Helen Frankenthaler, Ruth Asawa, Marisol, Lee Krasner, Louise Bourgeois, and more.

Selected works

  • This nearly abstract painting is created with flowing bands and triangular forms of mostly single colors in caramel brown, pine and spring green, apricot orange, plum purple, or fuchsia, with some bands of unpainted canvas in this horizontal painting. A wide, tan-colored band rises from the lower left corner toward the upper right. There are triangular forms in pumpkin orange to our left and another near the lower right. With the brown band, they recall hills along a valley. Pink, orange, deep purple, and fuchsia are painted in bands in the lower right corner and across the bottom. Above the tan band, a wide swath of spring and dark green may suggest hills beyond, with swirling yellow, black, pink, and blue under a patch of lavender purple that spans the top edge of the canvas, which could be the sky. The painting is signed and dated at the lower right corner, “Frankenthaler ’73.”
  • This black-and-white photograph depicts the upper body of a seated woman who faces the camera, with her hand on her chin. Her brow is furrowed and her lips are turned slightly downward as she looks off to our left. She has light skin and dark hair, and she wears collared shirt under a cloth jacket. On either side of her, two children are leaning on her with their faces buried behind her shoulders. The children both have light skin, tousled hair, and their clothing has some small holes. The background is gray, and there is a shadow on the left side.
  • The image shows several elongated rectangular shapes arranged vertically, with some overlapping. The composition features rectangles in black and brown tones with textures resembling wood grain. The pattern resembles vertical planks or slats of a fence or tree bark, creating an interplay between structure and randomness, suggesting a forest of standing wooden posts.
  • This painting features a scene with curved walls and arches. To the left of the painting, there is a person in maroon and grey attire hiding behind a curved wall. To the right, four elongated human figures in dark attire with top hats appear to be floating in midair to the left around a circular structure. One of the floating people turns toward us, while the other three face ahead. The walls are a dark yellow color, while the sky behind the curved structure is red with dark, branch-like shapes.
  • This is a sculpture of a rooster that is entirely colored in flat, vibrant blue. The material of the sculpture is smooth and solid. The blue rooster is in profile, facing the right, with the comb on its head sticking up and its tail feathers fanned out. In the background is a wall made of rectangular beige stone tiles. Below the rooster’s feet is a flat stone surface with geometric patterning.
  • This print features a complex network of swirling lines, arcs, and splatters across the pale blue canvas. The swirling lines and splashes are in shades of orange, yellow, pink, green, blue, and purple. There are also thin grids of black lines in the center from which many of the colorful swirls seem to emerge.
  • The painting depicts a rural scene with horse-drawn carriage a dirt path, facing a gray building on the right. One man stands in front of the horses, holding their reigns, while another stands by the back of the carriage. On the right, a large group of people are gathered in front of the big gray house. The house has a red chimney on its sloping roof and two white doors, one of which is partially open. The crowd in front includes children and adults, a few with white and gray hair. All of the people have pale skin, and they wear clothes in bright shades of red, yellow, green, blue, brown, and black. Near the carriage, one of the women with gray hair appears to hand two large bags to a boy in a brown suit. In the bottom left corner, a man and a dog stand on the green grass beside the path, watching the progression of the carriage. In the background, rolling hills in shades of green, pale yellow, and light blue lead up towards a distant cluster of buildings near the top left corner. The blue sky is filled with gray and white clouds.
  • The image is divided into two sections. On the right, a black and white photo shows the lower half of a person's body, focusing on their hands resting on their lap. The person is wearing a patterned shirt with paisley designs and a dark-colored skirt or pants. Their hands display aged skin and fingers with large, decorative rings featuring numerous stones. The left hand has a circular ring composed of multiple small oval gems, while the right hand features a larger ring with a central stone surrounded by smaller stones. The person appears to be seated, with the fabric of their clothing gathered in folds on their lap. On the left side of the image, there is a dark composition with red silhouettes of plant-like forms, including stems and leaves, against the dark background, creating a textured, atmospheric quality.
  • Printed with tones of black, gray, and smoky gray, two oversized hands reach out of an ocean and hold up a masted ship in this horizontal etching, aquatint, and drypoint. Closer to us, the black silhouette of a woman sinks under the surface of the water, face down with her arms thrust back and her mouth gaping open. Her features are exaggeratedly rounded to reference stereotypes historically connected with Black and African people. The wave surges to our left, and the giant hands lift the boat just left of center of the composition. Small in scale, two silhouetted people stand on a flat area to the left. One wears a brimmed, flat-topped hat, a coat with tails, and holds up a tool, perhaps a hoe. The other wears a spiky headdress and skirt and holds up a stalk of sugar cane. The sky is pale gray to either side of a plume of white and a black void with jagged edges, which spreads like a seeping stain down the middle of the sky. Under the image and across the bottom of the page, the artist wrote “A.P. VI/VIII” to the left and “KW 2010” to the right lightly in graphite.
  • The sculpture depicts a woman in a flowing robe holding a child. The woman has short, dark hair, rosy cheeks, and wears a serene expression. Her eyes are looking downward. She is dressed in richly patterned and colorful garments with a palette of gold, red, and dark green hues. One of her hands is extended outward, while the other holds a child. The child, dressed in a brown garment, looks directly ahead with wide eyes and a calm demeanor. The child has curly brown hair and extends one arm outward. At the base of the sculpture, four cherubic faces emerge from the bottom of the woman's robes. Two of them look upward, towards the woman, while the other two look off to the sides.
  • Six women are standing together on rocky terrain. They have varied hairstyles and are wearing traditional clothing with accessories. The background shows a landscape with hills and a clear sky.
  • This painting shows a man seated with one knee bent, his body turned to the right and his face turned slightly back toward us. He has brown skin, high cheekbones, a short, curly black beard, and short black hair. His facial expression is neutral, and he is gazing off into the distance, his brown eyes turned slightly upwards. The man is wearing a cream-colored shirt with short sleeves, red and white striped shorts that end above his knees, and a yellow sash around his waist. His hands are clasped together on his bent knee, the other leg hanging downwards. The background is a solid light blue color with visible brushstrokes, and the man appears to sit on a red object in the bottom left corner, with a piece of blue fabric hanging off of it or in front of it.
  • The sculpture features a human face within a black-framed box. The face is intricately detailed, with a nose, lips, and eyes. It is made of a semi-transparent grayish material with hints of yellow and amber. The face emerges from the back of the box, creating a contrast between the translucent features and the solid frame.
  • In this print, swirling lines and circular shapes create a dynamic composition. A large white silhouette of a person is in the center, turned on their side with their legs up to their chest and their back to us. The person appears to be clutching a fish-like object behind their back. They have no visible hair or clothing. Surrounding the silhouette is a background made up of swirling black and gray lines against a dark gray background. Upon closer inspection, several mask-like shapes that resemble faces or heads become visible, each surrounded by swirling ripples that suggest they are floating under water. Most of these shapes are a dark gray color similar to the background, but the one near the top left corner has white eyes and one white hand, and the one near the top right corner has white eyes and white skin with a dark flower-like shape on their forehead. The background also contains a faint pattern of overlapping scales.
  • In the center of this square print is a shape that looks like a sunburst or star-like shape with eight points. It is in the center of the paper and colored in a gradient of pink to yellow, with dark pink at the top fading into bright yellow at the bottom. From each point of the shape, a line of dark purple extends outward. This purple then fades into white until the next line of purple. The effect creates eight sections that look like the blades of a fan or windmill. Outside this square print is a border of off-white paper.
  • The sculpture is a large, circular ring with a jagged and uneven top edge. It is made of white and grey marble with grey veining. The sculpture is on a flat, neutral-toned floor, emphasizing its circular form. The height and scale of the sculpture make it a noticeable centerpiece in the space, with the top surface varying in height.
  • This painting shows a canyon landscape viewed from a high vantage point, with ridges and formations extending into the distance. The horizon is positioned high in the painting, with the light-blue sky featuring soft white clouds. The canyon displays vibrant shades of red, pink, and green, contrasting with shadowed areas in darker shades of blue and gray. In the bottom right corner of the painting, there are some geometric white and blue patterns overlayed on top of the canyon.
  • Shown from about the waist up, a woman with smooth, pale skin sits in a chair facing our right in front of a canvas on an easel in this vertical portrait. She leans onto her right elbow, which rests on the seat back. She turns her face to look at us, lips slightly parted. Her dress has a black bodice and a deep rose-pink skirt and sleeves. She wears a translucent white cap over her hair, which has been tightly pulled back. A stiff, white, plate-like ruff encircles her neck and reaches to her shoulders. She holds a paintbrush in her right hand and clutches about twenty brushes, a wooden paint palette, and a rag in her left hand, at the bottom right of the canvas. The painting behind her shows a man wearing robin's egg-blue and playing a violin.
  • This painting features lines and shapes creating an abstract representation of the American flag. Human figures overlap with the flag's design, with three standing people partially obscured by the striped pattern. The three people are linking arms. The person on the left holds a thin knife in one hand and has their other hand over their heart. This person has brown skin and black hair, while the other two people have peach skin and light-colored hair, although the colors of the flag overlap with and obscure the colors of the people. The red paint from the horizontal lines of the flag is dripping, giving the appearance of splattered paint or blood.
  • A small brown dog and a pale-skinned little girl wearing a white dress sit in matching celestial-blue armchairs in this horizontal painting. To our right, the girl sits with her legs angled to our left. She slumps back with her legs spread, and her left elbow, on our right, is bent so that hand rests behind her head. Her other elbow is draped over the armrest. Her dark brown hair appears to be pulled back, and tawny brown eyes under faint brows gaze down and to our left. She has a small nose set in a round face and a coral-pink mouth closed in a straight line. Her white dress has touches of gray, soft pink, and powder blue with a wide plaid sash around her waist. The pine-green, black, and sapphire-blue sash is accented with overlapping vertical and horizontal lines of burnt orange, light blue, and mustard yellow. Her socks match her sash and come up to mid-calf, over black shoes with silver buckles. The small dog has scruffy black fur and a russet-brown face. It lies curled in the chair opposite the girl, to our left, with its eyes closed and ears pricked up. The rounded backs of the upholstered chairs curve down to become the low arms. The vivid and light blue fabric of the chairs is scattered with loosely painted strokes of avocado and forest green, peach pink, cherry red, plum purple, and white. Beyond the chairs closest to us is another armchair and an armless loveseat, both covered with the same fabric. They sit at the back of the room, in a corner flooded with silvery light coming through four windows on the right side. The furniture is arranged on a peanut-brown floor. The artist signed in the lower left, “Mary Cassatt.”
  • The image depicts a woman sitting from the waist up, facing the camera with a neutral expression. Her hands are resting in her lap and her eyes are looking directly ahead. She has her hair pulled back, wearing a light-colored collared shirt under a darker sweater. Shirt cuffs are visible at her wrists, and she is wearing a watch on her left wrist. The background is dark, emphasizing her presence and providing a contrast to her clothing.
  • This painting features a large ornate vase overflowing with an arrangement of colorful flowers, including roses, peonies, and poppies. The color palette is vibrant and varied, with hues of red, pink, blue, purple, white, and green. Positioned in the center, the vase is adorned with gold embellishments, including a small carving of a person on its front. The vase stands on a marble surface that also holds a pineapple and peaches to the right. Several leaves and clusters of green grapes rest on the left side of the marble. The light source is at the upper left, illuminating the flowers and casting dark shadows behind them. The background of the painting is dark gray.
  • The spiraling whorls of a nearly round, pearl-white shell fills this square painting. The inner edges of the shell’s whorls are shaded with pale spring green, especially to our right, and the innermost spiral is pale pink. The outer lip, that is, the open end of the shell, faces down to our right. The shell sits against a stone-gray background and casts a shadow to our left.
  • In this print, three women are shown from the waist up, standing closely together. The central woman faces us with a slight smile, while the two women on either side are turned toward the center. The three women are holding hands, with the central woman's wrists crossed over her chest. All three women have brown skin and black hair, and wear garments with varying patterns in white and green. The woman on the left has short curly hair and wears a green garment with round, white, mandala-like shapes, and she has a small gold earring in her ear. The woman in the center has straight hair that falls around her ears and wears a V-neck garment with thin green and white crosshatched lines and white flower patterns. The woman on the right has her hair in a bun on the top of her head, with short, straight bangs across her forehead. She wears a green garment with white rings and flowers and has a large, round, golden earring in her ear. Behind the women, the background is gold, and at the top of the print is a line of layered green leaves.
  • The painting features a valley with purple and brown mountains in the distance, surrounding a reflective body of water with a small rowboat floating on it. Closer to us, there are gray rocks, brown tree trunks and branches, and lush green vegetation at the edge of the water. The sky above is painted in warm shades of yellow, peach, and orange, which transition to pale greenish-blue at the top. The water below reflects these colors, as well as those of the distant mountain and surrounding trees.
  • This print shows the outlines of several fern leaves in a light blue color against a dark blue background. Some of the ferns are the length of the whole page, while other shorter ones are stacked together. The words "Ferns" and "Specimen of Cyanotype" are written on the bottom edge of the print.
  • The image includes plates of food, featuring sandwiches, sliced avocados, and various desserts on a table. The slices of melon are prominent on the far right, with sandwiches in the foreground. The color palette consists of pastels and soft hues - light pinks, creams, greens, and browns against a light blue tabletop. Avocado salads, tomato slices, sandwiches, cakes, puddings, and melon slices are positioned across the table.
  • This abstract painting showcases bold and dynamic lines and shapes, with sweeping arcs and angular intersections. The shapes are in shades of blue, black, white, and purple, with hints of dark green and brown. The different shapes and colors bleed into each other, paint dripping vertically and horizontally.
  • A grainy black and white photograph showing a close-up of a woman’s profile is overlaid with three horizontal red bands with white text at the top, center, and bottom edges of this horizontal composition. The woman seems to lie down and look up at a metal instrument, perhaps a piece of medical equipment, with a long, eye-dropper-like tube extending close to her face. Her cheeks and profile appear between the central and bottom bands of text. Lit from our left, she has dark eyebrows and eyelashes, a straight nose, and her lips are closed. She seems to have pale skin and her hair is covered by a fold of fabric, perhaps a hat. The eye we see is open and the metal instrument points to the bridge of her nose, seeming to close in on her right eye. Light colored fabric behind her could be the uniform of a person standing opposite us. The red bands have white lettering saying, “Know nothing” across the top; “Believe anything” across the center; and “Forget everything” across the bottom.

Stories

Hung Liu sitting in front of Branches (Wong Family) 1988

Hung Liu during her artist residency at Capp Street Project in front of the triptych Branches (Wong Family) 1988, San Francisco, 1988. Capp Street Project Archive at California College of the Arts Libraries, San Francisco, Calif. Photographed by Ben Blackwell. 

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The image depicts a woman sitting on the ground. She is turned slightly towards the camera, with her right arm resting on her bent knee. She has short, wavy dark hair, a soft facial expression, and is wearing a chunky sweater over a white skirt. Artist supplies such as a palette, an open book or sketchpad, and a glass of liquid are nearby. The background shows a pathway beside a brick structure partially covered by greenery, with plants growing next to where she is seated.

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A woman with pale skin and dressed in white sits on a couch gazing into the distance to our left as she raises one arm to stroke a black cat perched on her shoulder in this vertical portrait. Shown from the lap up, the woman’s dress has voluminous, puffed, elbow-length sleeves and a high collar, and her narrow waist is cinched with a white sash. Her dark brown hair is parted down the middle and tied back, and she has pale blue eyes and pink lips. She reaches up to the cat with her left hand, on our right, and her other hand, farther from us, rests flat in her lap. The black cat looks at us with greenish-yellow eyes as it almost disappears into the dark brown background above the white couch, which is decorated with a blue pattern. The artist signed the work with dark letters in the lower left corner: “Cecilia Beaux.”

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Greg Weight, Emily Kngwarreye, 1994, gelatin silver photograph on paper, National Portrait Gallery of Australia, Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program. © Gregory Weight/Copyright Agency, 2024

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The image depicts a seated woman wearing a large coat and skirt. She is seated with her body angled to the side, head turned slightly towards the viewer. The woman has delicate facial features, with her hair covered by a fluffy hat. Her hands are resting in her lap as she sits on a wide chair. She is not wearing any visible jewelry or holding any objects. The background features simple vertical lines resembling a plain interior wall, creating a minimalist setting.

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Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett in Her Studio, 1942, Courtesy of The Charles White Archives.

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Shown from about the waist up, a woman with smooth, pale skin sits in a chair facing our right in front of a canvas on an easel in this vertical portrait. She leans onto her right elbow, which rests on the seat back. She turns her face to look at us, lips slightly parted. Her dress has a black bodice and a deep rose-pink skirt and sleeves. She wears a translucent white cap over her hair, which has been tightly pulled back. A stiff, white, plate-like ruff encircles her neck and reaches to her shoulders. She holds a paintbrush in her right hand and clutches about twenty brushes, a wooden paint palette, and a rag in her left hand, at the bottom right of the canvas. The painting behind her shows a man wearing robin's egg-blue and playing a violin.

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In this black-and-white photograph, five children sit closely together on a couch, reading different comic books and magazines. The comic books obscure the faces of the five children, and they appear absorbed in their reading. A sixth child who appears to be a young boy sits on the ground in front of the couch next to a coffee table piled high with dirty dishes and more comic books. His face is partially visible; he has light skin and dark hair, and he looks over his shoulder to the right. The children wear a variety of clothing with different patterns, including long-sleeved shirts, dresses, belts, and long pants. The wall behind the couch is light gray, with the edge of a framed photo visible at the top.

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Shown from the shins up, two elegantly dressed women and two young boys, all with light skin, sit together on a bench in front of a stone balustrade with a forest landscape beyond in this horizontal portrait painting. The people are brightly lit from our left but the darkened sky suggests dusk. The boys lean onto the woman at the center of the composition, and the second woman sits to her right, our left. All of the people have pale skin, rosy cheeks, delicate noses, and their pink lips all turn up in slight smiles. The woman on our left sits with her body angled toward her friend but she turns her face to look at us with brown eyes under curving brows. Her wavy, flint-gray hair is loosely bound up so it frames the sides of her face and curls over her shoulders. Her swirling, white head covering is edged in gold and tied in a bow over her left ear, on our right. Her long-sleeved dress has a tight-fitting bodice and a low, scooped neckline lined with pleated white fabric. Her dress shimmers from sapphire blue to dusky pink, suggesting it is iridescent taffeta. Large pearls hang off the end of round, gold, hoop earrings, and a glimmering gold sash is tied around her waist. She sits with her left hand resting on her friend’s right shoulder, closer to her, and she gestures toward one of the young boys leaning on the friend’s lap with her other hand. The second woman sits with her body facing us, and she looks off to our left with gray-blue eyes. Her silvery gray, upswept hair is covered with a long piece of white fabric with pink stripes, twisted loosely into a turban-like head covering. She wears dangling gold earrings, and her dress is striped with parchment white and rust red. Her right hand, on our left, rests on her friend’s knee, and her other arm is wrapped around the older boy. He kneels on the bench and leans forward, wrapping the arm we can see around her torso. His face near hers, he looks up at her from under his lashes. A dimple marks the flushed cheek we can see. His chestnut-brown hair falls around his shoulders, and he wears a gingerbread-brown suit. The smaller and younger of the two boys rests his head on his crossed hands on her thigh, and looks out at us. He wears a white garment with a lilac-purple sash tied in a bow around his waist. There is a pale pink rosebush in the lower right corner of the painting, near the kneeling boy’s foot. The landscape beyond the balustrade is filled with dark green trees against a slate-blue sky. The painting is created with blended brushstrokes, giving it a soft look.

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A single black line swells and tapers as it curves from the upper left corner of this white canvas across to the right edge, and back to near the lower left corner in this abstract painting. The line makes a short, bracket-like form at the upper left before the large curve, like the belly of a capital D, spans the rest of the height of the canvas.  

Interactive Article:  A Moment of Distance

Immerse yourself in the vastness of O’Keeffe’s minimal painting.

Video:  How Artist Chakaia Booker Turns Car Tires Into Transcendence

Examine how Chakaia Booker’s artistic practice serves as a metaphor for Black American experiences of struggle, strength, and survival.

From an elevated perspective, we look slightly down on a tan tepee and two shed-like structures on sandy ground overlooking a glistening sea in this almost square, loosely painted landscape. In the left third of the composition, the tall, pyramidal tepee has thin, dark brown horizontal stripes that divide the sides facing us into sections with blended bands of sage green, pale blue, pink, and mustard yellow. A window in the side of the tepee opens onto unidentifiable brown and cream-white shapes, perhaps objects on a table. One shed is near the tepee and the other is near the right edge of the canvas. Openings and awnings in both face each other. Two people inside the left-hand shed have brown skin, black hair, and wear pink or blue. Beyond the structures, the sandy ground gives way to grassy dunes painted with visible strokes of emerald and avocado green. A sailboat floats on the sparkling, topaz-blue water, which reaches back to the horizon. In the top fifth of the painting, the sun lights a bank of clouds to cream white and pale peach. The artist signed and dated the lower right corner, “Lois M. Jones '40.”

Article:  Out of the Shadows, A Black Painter Finds Her Place in the Sun

American painter Lois Mailou Jones had to conceal her identity to exhibit this idyllic landscape — and achieved recognition on her own terms.

Video:  Anne Vallayer-Coster's Painting Was Missing for Centuries, Until Now

Learn more about Anne Vallayer-Coster's Still Life with Flowers in an Alabaster Vase and Fruit, a 1783 painting that resurfaced after disappearing for centuries. 

Article:  Lindsay Adams’s Intimate Paintings Explore Place, the Self, and Memory

In her figurative and floral canvases, the Chicago-based painter explores her intersections.

This painting features a large ornate vase overflowing with an arrangement of colorful flowers, including roses, peonies, and poppies. The color palette is vibrant and varied, with hues of red, pink, blue, purple, white, and green. Positioned in the center, the vase is adorned with gold embellishments, including a small carving of a person on its front. The vase stands on a marble surface that also holds a pineapple and peaches to the right. Several leaves and clusters of green grapes rest on the left side of the marble. The light source is at the upper left, illuminating the flowers and casting dark shadows behind them. The background of the painting is dark gray.

Article:  Anne Vallayer-Coster Painting, Missing for Centuries, Now at the National Gallery

The 18th-century French still life painter considered it one of her best paintings.

Article:  Outside the Frame: How Dorothea Lange Created Her Iconic Photographs

Learn about the documentary photographer’s techniques by tracing the process of creating some of her compelling images.

Article:  The Real Lives of People in Dorothea Lange's Portraits

Four everyday Americans were the subject of her famous photographs. Discover the heartbreak and suffering they faced at crucial points in American history.

Article:  Who Is Dorothea Lange? 6 Things to Know

Learn how the documentary photographer got her start and why she dedicated her life to the medium.

Article:  Bianca Nemelc Paints the Spiritual Bonds Between Womanhood and Nature

The New York–based Latina artist finds deep connections between rest, nature, and womanhood in her vibrant paintings.

Article:  Who Is Marisol? 7 Things to Know

The Venezuelan American artist was wildly famous in the 1960s and ’70s for sculptures that have many sources, but defy categories.

Video:  D.I.Y. Art: Wire Sculptures Inspired by Louise Bourgeois

Watch and learn how to make wire sculptures inspired by Louise Bourgeois's 1996/1997 work, Spider.

Video:  D.I.Y. Art: Mosaics Inspired by Alma Thomas

Watch and learn how to make mosaics inspired by Alma Thomas's 1969 work Pansies in Washington.

This print shows a network of interlocking pink lines radiating from a central red point to form a circular pattern. The shapes resemble a vibrant, stylized flower or mandala against a white background. The branching lines get smaller and smaller as they reach the edge of the circle, and from slightly before then to the edge of the print the background is a bright, vibrant yellow.

Article:  Ruth Asawa’s Little-Known Experiment with Printmaking

Memorialized in stamps for her wire sculptures, the artist’s experiments with printmaking have been largely forgotten.

Video:  D.I.Y. Art: Paper Flowers Inspired by Berthe Morisot

Watch and learn how to make paper flowers inspired by Berthe Morisot's 1869 work, Peonies.

Article:  Three Women Artists You May Not Have Heard Of

Meet the 17th-century painters Fede Galizia and Gesina Ter Borch. And see the only known work by Caterina Angela Pierozzi.

Article:  Quilts That Embody the Legacy of Black America

The artisans from the tiny town of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, have been making a global impact for generations.

Article:  How Photographer Christina Fernandez Makes Invisible Labor Visible

See her photograph's ties to Edward Hopper and Dorothea Lange.

Article:  Alice Neel Painted People, Even in Their Absence

Author and art historian Katy Hessel on the American artist's portraits of her family.

A small brown dog and a pale-skinned little girl wearing a white dress sit in matching celestial-blue armchairs in this horizontal painting. To our right, the girl sits with her legs angled to our left. She slumps back with her legs spread, and her left elbow, on our right, is bent so that hand rests behind her head. Her other elbow is draped over the armrest. Her dark brown hair appears to be pulled back, and tawny brown eyes under faint brows gaze down and to our left. She has a small nose set in a round face and a coral-pink mouth closed in a straight line. Her white dress has touches of gray, soft pink, and powder blue with a wide plaid sash around her waist. The pine-green, black, and sapphire-blue sash is accented with overlapping vertical and horizontal lines of burnt orange, light blue, and mustard yellow. Her socks match her sash and come up to mid-calf, over black shoes with silver buckles. The small dog has scruffy black fur and a russet-brown face. It lies curled in the chair opposite the girl, to our left, with its eyes closed and ears pricked up. The rounded backs of the upholstered chairs curve down to become the low arms. The vivid and light blue fabric of the chairs is scattered with loosely painted strokes of avocado and forest green, peach pink, cherry red, plum purple, and white. Beyond the chairs closest to us is another armchair and an armless loveseat, both covered with the same fabric. They sit at the back of the room, in a corner flooded with silvery light coming through four windows on the right side. The furniture is arranged on a peanut-brown floor. The artist signed in the lower left, “Mary Cassatt.”

Article:  Mary Cassatt Brings Girls and Women into the Museum

Author and art historian Katy Hessel on the impressionist's iconic painting.

Article:  Lavinia Fontana and Lucia Bonasoni Garzoni: Talented 16th-Century Women

Author and art historian Katy Hessel tells the story of these Great Women Artists.

Article:  Carrie Mae Weems on the Everyday Experiences of Black Women at the Kitchen Table

Author and art historian Katy Hessel explores the photographer's renowned series.

Article:  Alma Thomas’s Tiptoe Through the Tulips in Living Color

Author and art historian Katy Hessel on the abstract artist's love for flowers.

Video:  Two-Minute Tour: The Double

Join us on a two-minute tour of The Double: Identity and Difference in Art since 1900, an exhibition that flips reality, splits time, and causes us to see ourselves seeing.

Video:  Teresita Fernández’s Stacked Landscapes

Teresita Fernández invited us to be the first to film her renovated Brooklyn studio and the installation of Paradise Parados, her site-specific, monumental sculpture at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Video:  María Magdalena Campos-Pons’s "When We Gather"

Join María Magdalena Campos-Pons and her gathering of women artists as they celebrate the roles women have played in the progress of the United States and perform a “cleansing gesture” for future generations. 

Video:  How to Create an Alma Thomas Collage for Kids

Learn how to create an Alma Thomas-inspired collage for kids.

Video:  The New Woman Behind the Camera

Meet eight pioneering women photographers, including Dorothea Lange, Tsuneko Sasamoto, and Homai Vyarawalla, who made significant contributions to modern photography and were featured in The New Woman Behind the Camera.

Exhibitions

The artwork is a color photograph with a landscape orientation depicting a roadside scene. In the foreground, a woman wearing a pink dress and black shoes stands with her arms crossed near a white vintage car with an open trunk and hood. The car is parked on a paved area adjacent to a highway, with another car visible further back. To the right, part of a large blue sign with red neon lettering can be seen, partially displaying the word "Rest." The background features a highway with sparse traffic and a line of leafless trees. The scene is set under a clear, bright sky, creating a contrast with the muted tones of the road and surrounding landscape.

Exhibition:  The ’70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography

Three women's faces standing side-by-side. The two on either side are face each other and the middle one is facing straight ahead.

Exhibition:  Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist

Exhibition:  In the Tower: Chakaia Booker

The image shows a young woman leaning against the rear of a classic car on a street. She rests her elbow on the car's trunk, supporting her chin with her hand. The woman's face is turned towards the camera, showing her dark eyes and short, voluminous black hair. She wears a long-sleeved dress with swirling green and pink colors, a white bracelet on her right wrist, and a circular pendant necklace. The background includes a tree-lined street with parked cars and blurred traffic.

Exhibition:  Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985

Exhibition:  The Stars We Do Not See

We look slightly down onto a woman dressed in golden yellows, sitting in a pale green chair, with a nude child sitting in her lap as they both gaze into a mirror in this vertical portrait painting. Both the people have pale, peachy skin. The chair is angled to our left so the woman’s knees and child cant down toward the lower left corner of the composition, and the woman leans onto the arm closer to us. The chair is painted mint green and the rose-pink upholstery is visible on the seat and a corner behind the woman’s shoulder. To our right, the woman’s vibrant, copper-colored hair is pulled loosely to the back of her head. She has a rounded nose, flushed cheeks, and her full, coral-pink lips are closed. Her long dress has a low, U-shaped neckline. The fabric shimmers from pale, cucumber green to light sunshine yellow. The sleeves of the dress split over the shoulder and a second long, goldenrod-yellow sleeve falls from her elbow off the bottom edge of the canvas. An oversized sunflower, larger than the woman’s face, is affixed to her dress near her left shoulder, closer to us. She looks with dark eyes down toward the small, gold-rimmed mirror she holds in her right hand, farther from us. The child also holds the handle of the mirror with both hands, and in the reflection, the child looks back at us with dark eyes, a button nose, and pink lips. The child’s hair in the reflection is the same copper color as the woman’s, but the child on her lap has blond, shoulder-length hair. The woman rests one hand on the child’s left shoulder, closer to us. The child has a rounded belly and smooth, rosy limbs. The woman and child are reflected in a second mirror hanging on the wall alongside them, opposite us. Their reflections are very loosely painted. The wall behind the pair is sage green across the top and it shifts to fawn brown across the bottom. Brushstrokes are visible throughout, especially in the woman’s dress and hair, and are more blended in the bodies and faces. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “Mary Cassatt.”

Exhibition:  Mary Cassatt

The image displays geometric shapes, including hexagons and triangles, arranged in a pattern. It combines shapes with colors and patterns. The repeated use of hexagons and triangles creates a patchwork design.

Exhibition:  Women and the Index of American Design

Events

A man and a woman standing side-by-side and smiling.

Still from Juan Mora Catlett’s Betty y Pancho (1998) courtesy of Juan Mora Catlett

Films:  Betty y Pancho

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Firmas para la Paz, Elizabeth Catlett lino cut; 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Firmas para la Paz, Elizabeth Catlett lino cut; 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Firmas para la Paz, Elizabeth Catlett lino cut; 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Films:  Standing Strong: Elizabeth Catlett

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Three different images of the same woman from different perspectives.

Still from Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1989) courtesy of the artist

Still from Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1989) courtesy of the artist

Films:  Surname Viet Given Name Nam

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A woman wearing a hat with a circular brim and round sunglasses.

Still from Violet Columbus and Ben Klein’s The Exiles (2022) courtesy of Gravitas Ventures

Still from Violet Columbus and Ben Klein’s The Exiles (2022) courtesy of Gravitas Ventures

Films:  The Exiles (featuring Christine Choy)

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The grounds of an Asian temple.

Still from What About China? (2022) courtesy of the artist

Still from What About China? (2022) courtesy of the artist

Films:  What About China?

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An older woman looking through tall blades of grass.

Still from Rea Tajiri’s Wisdom Gone Wild (2023) courtesy of Rea Tajiri

Still from Rea Tajiri’s Wisdom Gone Wild (2023) courtesy of Rea Tajiri

Films:  Wisdom Gone Wild

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The image shows an upper body view of a person, primarily focusing on their shoulders and head. The person is sitting, with their eyes closed and face tilted slightly upward. Their facial features are calm and relaxed, with smooth skin. They have hair styled in curlers, which are evenly placed around their head. The person appears to be unclothed above the shoulders, but they are holding a pillow with a floral pattern, featuring large daisy-like flowers. The pillow is held against their chest, partially covering them. The background is a plain, soft-toned surface, with no distinguishing features visible.

Talks & Conversations:  Artist Talk: Carla Williams in Conversation with Deborah Willis

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A man and a woman standing side-by-side and smiling.

Still from Juan Mora Catlett’s Betty y Pancho (1998) courtesy of Juan Mora Catlett

Films:  Betty y Pancho

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A man and a woman standing side-by-side and smiling.

Still from Juan Mora Catlett’s Betty y Pancho (1998) courtesy of Juan Mora Catlett

Films:  Betty y Pancho

–
A man and a woman standing side-by-side and smiling.

Still from Juan Mora Catlett’s Betty y Pancho (1998) courtesy of Juan Mora Catlett

Films:  Betty y Pancho

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