Author Description

Over seventy objects, chosen from the extensive holdings of the museum for their quality and topical interest, demonstrate the development and diversity of art by women in America from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Included are works by Sarah Miriam Peale, Lilly Martin Spencer, Mary Cassatt, Elizabeth Nourse, Georgia O'Keeffe, Isabel Bishop, Louise Nevelson, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Elizabeth Catlett, and others. The exhibition explores portraits, nudes, abstraction, modernity and the city, nature, identity, narrative, and written signs. Essays consider pertinent issues in each theme for art produced by women. The book also contains two essays tracing the history of women artists in America and sixteen object entries illuminating a selection of significant pieces. Catalog complements the exhibit at the New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, between Dec. 18, 2010-Mar. 20, 2011