Women in the Arts Winter/Spring 2015 by Women in the Arts

WINTER/SPRING 2015

DIRECTOR’S LETTER

Dear Members and Friends, As Susan Stamberg reported in a recent NPR segment, the images “glow” with artistic brilliance on the walls of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Against a backdrop of saturated blues, reds, and greens, Mary’s roles as Woman, Mother, and Idea are portrayed by Gentileschi, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Dürer, and Rembrandt, as well as other major and lesser-known artists from the Renaissance and Baroque. We at NMWA are very proud to have wonderful works on view from top museums including the Vatican, Musée du Louvre, Galleria degli Uffizi, and Palazzo Pitti, as well as public and private collections such as churches, where the image of Mary served both sacred and social functions. The sheer diversity of the mediums—paintings, sculptures, textiles, and other objects—demonstrates the wide range of forms artists used to express their views of Mary and the many different levels of devotion to her. This is the latest in a series of exhibitions and programs developed by NMWA about feminine identity and women’s broader contributions to culture. Picturing Mary extends the humanist focus of Divine and Human: Women in Ancient Mexico and Peru (2006). It offers insight into the manner in which both female and male artists conceptualized their images of Mary and includes varied ways in which women artists defied convention through their interpretations of the subject. In this issue of Women in the Arts, you will have the opportunity to learn more about Mary’s function, both sacred and social, through the eyes of guest curator Timothy Verdon. The iconography of Mary selected for the exhibition provides an unparalleled opportunity to see the rich and varied nature of the work she inspired—both grand and humble—all made to offer a thoughtful and often transcendent experience. To extend the project’s scope, the catalogue, education, and online programming focus on contemporary women scholars’ and artists’ interpretations of Mary as well as images of the Virgin from around the globe. I encourage you to visit http://nmwa.org/picturing-mary and NMWA’s Broad Strokes blog for a rich array of online content developed in conjunction with the exhibition. Picturing Mary will be on view through April 12, 2015. Please visit us at NMWA or online and experience this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

The National Museum of Women in the Arts brings recognition to the achievements of women artists of all periods and nationalities by exhibiting, preserving, acquiring, and researching art by women and by teaching the public about their accomplishments. MUSEUM INFORMATION Location: 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005 Public transportation: Take metrorail to Metro Center station, 13th Street exit; walk two blocks north to corner of New York Avenue and 13th Street Website: http://nmwa.org Blog: broadstrokes.org Main: 202-783-5000 Toll free: 800-222-7270 Member Services: 866-875-4627 Shop: 877-226-5294 Tours: 202-783-7996 Mezzanine Café: 202-628-1068 Library and Research Center: 202-783-7365 Magazine subscriptions: 866-875-4627 Hours: Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, noon–5 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day Admission: NMWA Members free, Adults $10, Visitors over 65 $8, Students $8, Youth under 18 free. Free Community Day is the first Sunday of every month. Admission for special exhibitions may vary; for information check http://nmwa.org.

Women in the Arts Winter/Spring 2015 (Volume 33, no. 1) Women in the Arts is a publication of the NATIONAL MUSEUM of WOMEN in the ARTS® Director | Susan Fisher Sterling Editor | Elizabeth Lynch Editorial Intern | Caitlin Hoerr Design | Studio A, Alexandria, Virginia For advertising rates and information, call 202-266-2814 or email elynch@nmwa.org.

Women in the Arts is published three times a year as a benefit for museum members by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005-3970. Copyright © 2014 National Museum of Women in the Arts. National Museum of Women in the Arts®, The Women’s Museum®, and Women in the Arts® are registered trademarks of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

On the cover: Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino), ca. 1466–69; Tempera on wood panel, 45 ¼ × 28 in.; Provincia di Firenze, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence

Susan Fisher Sterling Alice West Director, NMWA

Director’s photograph: Michele Mattei

Cover Story

Features

Departments

Arts News

Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea

Building Content and Community: Art+Feminism

Culture Watch

Renaissance and Baroque artists presented the Virgin Mary in varied ways, reflecting her social and sacred functions. She was shown as a daughter, cousin, and wife; a bereaved mother; the protagonist in a rich life story; and a link between heaven and earth for the faithful. Timothy Verdon

Art+Feminism edit-a-thons spur new Wikipedia content on women artists, while encouraging more women editors to get involved. Si창n Evans, Jacqueline Mabey, and Michael Mandiberg

Fall Report

Dedicated Donor Ruthanna Weber

27 Museum News and Events

Etching a Legacy: Elisabetta Sirani

32 Supporting Roles

In her short but prolific career, Sirani created hundreds of artworks, including etchings, an unusual medium for a woman of her era. Virginia Treanor

16 Calendar

33 Museum Shop

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

Setting Records and Challenging Expectations In November, Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (1932) sold for $44.4 million, setting a new record for the highest-selling artwork by a woman at auction. The painting, which shows an enlarged, detailed flower, one of the artist’s signature subjects, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The proceeds will benefit the museum’s art acquisition budget. The sale decisively broke the previous record, set in May 2014, when an untitled work by Joan Mitchell garnered $11.9 million. Despite the good news that art by women is rising in value, the highest-selling artwork at auction is currently Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969), which sold in 2013 for $142.4 million.

Maya Lin: Making and Measuring Impacts

In Memoriam New York-based painter Jane Freilicher died December 9 at age 90. Freilicher became well known as a member of an influential group of painters and poets in New York beginning in the 1950s. She was a friend of artists Helen Frankenthaler, Grace Hartigan, and Joan Mitchell, among others, as well as poets including John Ashbery, Kenneth Koch, Frank O’Hara, and James Schuyler. Although most artists in her circle, the New York School, created Abstract Expressionist work, she painted primarily representational still lifes and bucolic and urban landscapes. A 2013

PHOTOGRAPH LOIS RAIMONDO/THE WASHINGTON POST/GETTY IMAGES, 2009

Maya Lin, who first gained fame as the designer of the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in D.C. and has maintained an innovative

career in sculpture and environmental art, won the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, which brings a $300,000 cash award. She received the prize, given annually to a “man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life,” during a November ceremony at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Recipients of the prize, which is in its twentyfirst year, have recently included actor-writer Anna Deveare Smith and dancer-choreographer Trisha Brown. For the 2014 prize, Lin was chosen from a group of one hundred nominated artists across all fields. Her current work addresses environmental issues—she has focused on a multisite work called What is Missing?, which tracks animal extinctions due to habitat loss or degradation. For the ongoing project, Lin uses an interactive website, sculpture, and installation work to reach and engage a wide audience. Playwright David Henry Hwang, the chair of the selection committee, praised her “singular vision which has come to embrace her passionate concern for the environment.”

PHOTOGRAPH SUSAN WOOD/GETTY IMAGES

ARTS NEWS

Arts News

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

COURTESY OF THE JOHN D. & CATHERINE T. MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

exhibition at her longtime gallery, Tibor de Nagy, Jane Freilicher: Painter Among Poets, highlighted her work and her role collaborating with and inspiring friends. She received many awards over her long career, including an American Association of University Women Fellowship in 1974, a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of the Arts in 1996, and a 2005 medal for painting from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

An Artist to Watch Out For

USA Fellows Awarded In the fall, awards were announced by United States Artists, a nonprofit that awards $50,000 grants annually to outstanding artists across a range of fields: visual arts, literature, crafts and traditional arts, architecture and design, music, dance, theater, and media. Sixteen of the thirty-two winners were women, including

Alison Bechdel, winner of a MacArthur Fellowship

visual artists LaToya Ruby Frazier, Mary Heilmann, Leslie Hewitt, and Wangechi Mutu, as well as creators as wide-ranging as kinetic architect Doris Sung, banjo player Alison Brown, playwright Kia Corthron, and writer Achy Obejas.

as the artist, a painter whose portraits feature haunting stares from large-eyed, doll-like subjects. Christoph Waltz plays Walter, a bullying figure who, for a time, sold her paintings and prints as his own. © 2014 THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Cartoonist and writer Alison Bechdel was a recipient of a 2014 MacArthur Fellowship. Bechdel’s body of work has included the longrunning comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, which examines gender and sexual identity, as well as the autobiographical graphic novels Fun Home and Are You My Mother?, focusing on her parents and her relationships with them. Within her comic strip, she originated the so-called “Bechdel test,” a tool for examining films that asks whether a given movie includes two female characters and whether those characters speak to each other about anything other than a man. The prestigious fellowship, awarded on past achievement as well as future potential, comes with a stipend of $625,000 over five years.

Women in Film—Big Eyes Released in theaters on December 25, the film Big Eyes (Weinstein Company, PG-13) centers on the true story of artist Margaret Keane (b. 1927), whose husband from 1955 to 1965 was Walter Keane, a con artist who took credit for her work. Margaret Keane’s art—which she eventually reclaimed via a lawsuit—developed a cult following and drew the attention of Tim Burton, the film’s director. Amy Adams stars

Margaret Keane and Amy Adams on the set of Big Eyes

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

California

Photographer Angela Strassheim captures transitional moments in the lives of her subjects—she has often focused on fleeting phases during the youth and adolescence of her relatives. The museum showcases a collection of large prints (many never seen before), hung salon-style to be visible from three floors.

Hammer Projects: Lily van der Stokker Hammer Museum, Los Angeles February 7–May 17, 2015

Colorful, large-scale wall paintings by Dutch artist Lily van der Stokker provoke pleasure with soft, bright patterns and amorphous forms. Their additional texts and references reveal layers of meaning bubbling beneath the decorative surfaces: her work juxtaposes beauty and intellect, playfulness and criticality.

Florida Project Atrium: Angela Strassheim Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville On view through March 1, 2015 COURTESY THE ARTIST AND ANDREA MEISLIN GALLERY

Angela Strassheim, Untitled (Headlights), 2005; On view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville

Teresita Fernández: As Above So Below MASS MoCA, North Adams On view through March 2015

Illinois Doris Salcedo Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago February 21–May 24, 2015 Doris Salcedo, Untitled (detail), 1989–90; On view at MCA Chicago

REPRODUCED COURTESY THE ARTIST; ALEXANDER AND BONIN, NEW YORK; AND WHITE CUBE

COURTESY THE ARTIST AND KOENIG & CLINTON, NEW YORK; PHOTOGRAPH JEFFREY STURGES

Lily van der Stokker, Huh, 2014; On view at the Hammer Museum

Massachusetts

IMAGE COURTESY THE ARTIST AND LEHMANN MAUPIN GALLERY, NEW YORK AND HONG KONG; PHOTOGRAPH ELIZABETH BERNSTEIN

C U LT U R E WAT C H

Culture Watch | Exhibitions

The first retrospective of Colombian sculptor Salcedo features art from throughout the artist’s thirty-year career and debuts new work. Her art is rooted in her country’s social and political landscape, addressing conflicts with elegance and a poetic sensibility that balances the gravitas of her subjects.

Teresita Fernández, Golden (Odyssey), 2014; On view at MASS MoCA

A series of immersive, interconnected installations demonstrate Fernández’s ability to transform materials and their surrounding architecture into an enveloping perceptual experience. In new work for this exhibition, the artist combines graphite and gold to create pieces that shift in scale from intimate to vast, from miniature to panoramic.

Michigan Photographs from the Detroit Walk-In Portrait Studio by Corine Vermeulen Detroit Institute of Arts On view through May 17, 2015 Vermeulen, a Dutch-born, Detroit-based photographer, set up temporary, walk-in portrait studios to capture images

Books An impressive breadth of work by Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943) is assembled in Sophie Taeuber-Arp: Today is Tomorrow (Scheidegger & Spiess, 2014), published to accompany a retrospective of the Swiss avant-garde artist’s work at Aargauer Kunsthaus, Switzerland, and Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany. An extensive “picture essay” in the lavish 288-page book displays full-color art images grouped not by chronology but by theme, shining a light on recurring visual motifs throughout her career, often aligned with the Dada movement. In addition to the paintings and drawings for which she is best known—abstract compositions of geometric shapes—the catalogue includes her work in textile, costume, and marionette design (she was a longtime teacher at the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts). These pieces display the artist’s style and her broader mark on culture. Essays by curator Thomas Schmutz, Medea Hoch, Walburga Krupp, Sarah Burkhalter, Maike Steinkamp, Brigitte Maier, Rahel Beyerle, Rudolf Suter, and Sigrid Schade present different facets of her oeuvre, discussing topics from her dance performances to the way she presented herself as a woman artist. —Elizabeth Lynch 4

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

Ifemelu, the protagonist of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Americanah (Anchor Books, 2013) is, like the author, a sharply observant woman born in Nigeria. The story follows her and other educated Nigerians as they immigrate to America or England, negotiate relationships, and search for meaning and identity. It also describes a complicated romance between Ifemelu and her childhood sweetheart—by maintaining a bond based on shared history, they do not have to explain themselves. Ifemelu perceives American racial tensions as an outsider, dubbing herself a “Non-American Black” when she starts a successful blogging career. The title of her blog, Raceteenth or Various Observations about American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black, aptly evokes the longwinded, uncomfortable, and frank titles that the artist Kara Walker gives to her pieces. Ifemelu’s writing illuminates her character, but also offers a somewhat didactic social critique of American culture. Adichie’s wide-ranging but distinctly personal novel dissects identity through “bearing and demeanor, that fine-grained mark that culture stamps on people.”—Elizabeth Lynch

In a career spanning just seventeen years, Judith Scott (1943–2005) produced a body of work of remarkable originality. Often working for weeks or months on individual pieces, she used yarn, thread, fabric, and other fibers to envelop found objects into fastidiously woven, wrapped, and bundled structures.

THE SMITH-NEDERPELT COLLECTION, © CREATIVE GROWTH ART CENTER; PHOTOGRAPH © BROOKLYN MUSEUM

Judith Scott—Bound and Unbound Brooklyn Museum: Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art On view through March 29, 2015 Judith Scott, Untitled, 2004; On view at the Brooklyn Museum, Sackler Center

International The Netherlands Berlinde De Bruyckere Gemeentemuseum, The Hague February 28–May 31, 2015 Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere creates sculptures that reveal the human body in its frailty, exploring the limits of visual representation of physical and emotional suffering. Her installations of equine and human bodies evoke feelings of sympathy and love, but also terror and violence.

Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook SculptureCenter January 25–March 30, 2015 In the Thai artist’s first major retrospective in the U.S., more than twenty artworks—video, sculpture, and photography—engage with systems of language and communication. She explores power and pedagogy through

33 Artists in 3 Acts (WW Norton & Co., 2014) is Sarah Thornton’s newest exploration into the issue of artistic identity, both self-created and assigned. Split into three “acts,” her investigative book looks to key players in today’s art world, such as Ai Weiwei, Yayoi Kusama, and Maurizio Cattelan. If these names are familiar to you, it’s because they, according to Thornton, have created personas that occupy a place of myth in our larger culture. These myths, and the people who created them, are at the heart of Thornton’s inquiry, which begins most chapters with this question: Who is an artist? Thornton’s interest is not in the artist as genius individual—both this and her explosive earlier work Seven Days in the Art World are candid about her desire to demystify the art world. Instead, she works to document relationships. Thornton asks the artists about each other, revealing moments of competition, tenderness, or respect. Some chapters are encounters with a single person, their studios, clothing, and habits dissected and displayed. Some feel more

HAUSER & WIRTH COLLECTION, SWITZERLAND, © MIKE BRUCE

New York

Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, Village and Elsewhere: Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Beheading Holofernes, Jeff Koons’ Untitled, and Thai Villagers, 2011; On view at SculptureCenter

Berlinde De Bruyckere, Pièta, 2007; On view at the Gemeentemuseum

like a group debate. Many take place in cars or airplanes, or mid-installation in a gallery. The passionate, sometimes awkward answers reveal shared concerns about age or the art market. The sixteen female artists especially discuss gender and feminism as pieces of the puzzle that comprise their artistic and commercial identity. Who gets to be an artist, and what makes a person successful? At the heart of it, Thornton reveals thirty-three individuals whose quirks and anecdotes are presented as thirty-three answers to these questions.—Caitlin Hoerr

of Detroiters, with the goal of sharing their stories about the city and their communities, neighborhoods, and social groups. Participants’ photographs are displayed alongside their statements about the city’s present and future.

subjects that have existed in marginal spaces, including women, the deceased, the insane, and animals.

COURTESY THE ARTIST AND TYLER ROLLINS FINE ART

Corine Vermeulen, Lucia, The James and Grace Lee Boggs School, 2014; On view at the Detroit Institute of Arts

The work of Laurie Simmons, who is profiled in 33 Artists in 3 Acts, will be on view at the Jewish Museum in New York, March 13–August 9. Recent photographs in Laurie Simmons: How We See present women who alter themselves through cosmetic surgery to resemble baby dolls and anime figures. Laurie Simmons, Liz (Coral), 2014; On view at the Jewish Museum

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

FA L L R E P O R T

Fall Report Give it Time A relative newcomer in the grand canon of art history, video art is a welcome agitator. It takes myriad forms and eludes simple classification. It blurs traditional boundaries between photography, television, film, performance, and installation art. Moreover, it is an exciting chapter in the important story NMWA tells. Women artists truly have been pioneers of this medium—by making, breaking, and redefining the rules while creating countless significant works, a fraction of which the National Museum of Women in the Arts shared in the summer and fall 2014 special exhibitions Total Art: Contemporary Video and Soda_Jerk: After the Rainbow. From June 6 through October 12, Total Art: Contemporary Video, NMWA’s first full-scale video art exhibition, highlighted the evolution of this art form from its formative years to present day. The ten featured works spanned from Dara Birnbaum’s groundbreaking Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1978–79), a mashup of appropriated television clips set to a disco track, to Alex Prager’s La Petite Mort (2012), a suspenseful, color-saturated Hitchcockian short. Soda_Jerk: After the Rainbow (2009) ran from September 19 through November 2 as part of 5x5: (home)land, a citywide art project sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and organized by international curator and writer Justine Topfer. After the Rainbow’s two-screen projection juxtaposed moving images of a youthful Judy Garland with her aged self to explore the fleeting nature of life and the immortality afforded by the medium of film.

Video artist Ingrid Mwangi visited NMWA in June to discuss her works on view.

Exciting stuff, right? We thought so. Yet these exhibitions presented new challenges for the education staff. How could we introduce and make accessible a form of art with which many museum-goers are unfamiliar or reticent to engage? How could we encourage visitors to invest the time required to watch the video pieces on view? How could we facilitate meaningful interactions between the works, the museum, and visitors? While we were puzzling over these questions, a few figures helped to frame our thinking. The average American spends

Visitors joined staff and artist facilitators in the museum’s galleries to discuss work by Kimsooja (left) and Margaret Salmon (right).

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

approximately eight hours each day looking at screens (television, computer, phone, etc.), while the typical museum visitor spends less than thirty seconds looking at a work of art. Interesting and frightening. What this illuminated is that, in our mediasaturated world, museum visitors have the predisposition and stamina to focus on moving imagery for extended periods of time. But if the moving imagery is (video) art, what kind of programming would encourage these visitors to spend the time needed to experience, appreciate, and learn from it? Our answer was simple: honest, open conversations. The foundation for all videorelated programming—whether gallery talks, guest artist discussions, or performance pieces—thus became a thoughtful combination of group watching, open-ended questions, and facilitated conversations. This structure fostered a supportive environment in which visitors felt comfortable investing time to watch video art, making connections between the works and their lives, and contributing to a meaningful dialogue. We are indebted to our able conversation facilitators, who included staff members and video artists, and for the nearly 300 museum visitors who shaped the video art conversations and made them worth having.

D E D I C AT E D D O N O R

Dedicated Donor | Ruthanna Weber

I just love it. When people ask me what I do with my spare time, [the museum] is the first thing I mention.

e have great exhibitions. And we have a beautiful place to show them,” says Ruthanna Weber. “But most importantly, we are the only museum with our mission,” of exhibiting and bringing recognition to women in the arts. As a Trustee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts since the opening in 1987, Weber has been a driving force at the museum and a longtime friend of NMWA Founder Wilhelmina Cole Holladay. Now ninety-nine years old, Ruthanna Weber has always been a natural organizer, staying active and learning through work, volunteering, and social groups. She grew up in Findlay, Ohio, and when the Great Depression began she was unable to go away to college at Mount Holyoke, as she had planned. So she attended the nearby University of Findlay instead and worked as a teacher. During the Second World War, while she was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, she saw an advertisement for the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and “went straight over to enlist.” While in the service, she taught cryptography at Smith College to students she describes as “perfectly disciplined.” When she married and moved to the Washington, D.C., area in 1943, she and her first husband settled in Kenwood, a neighborhood in the Maryland suburbs known for its beautiful cherry blossom trees. Weber has lived there ever since, and is perhaps best known to neighbors for leading a caroling evening each Christmas Eve. “Music has been a great part of my life,” says Weber, a pianist who plays by ear. In addition to music, she has maintained an interest in antiques and the arts. She has supported a wide variety of cultural organizations, founding the Smithsonian’s Women’s Committee and volunteering with the National Cathedral, The Hospitality and Information Service (THIS) for Diplomats, Wolf Trap, and others. With her husbands, she traveled the world, recalling exciting trips to destinations such as Australia and Thailand.

Weber has been similarly intrepid and energetic in her involvement with NMWA. Her relationship with Holladay was cemented when the two were supporters of the YWCA. They were on the way to a convention in New York City and began discussing NMWA. As Weber describes, “Billie said, ‘I’m thinking very hard about a museum. Would you help me with the opening?’” As she learned about Holladay’s vision, Weber remembers, “I was impressed. Even more, I was delighted.” She now fondly remembers early days when there was much work to be done. “When I first saw the museum building, construction was still needed, and the interior had not been painted, and it was the drabbest, awful color. Of course, all that changed, and now I think it’s the most beautiful building in town. But I’ll never forget, when I first saw it, I said, ‘Billie, what are you doing?’” Weber was thrilled to help. She chaired the opening festivities, working with co-chairs on each event and reception to make sure that the launch was successful. Over several days she stood at the door, welcoming hundreds of visitors and introducing them to Holladay. “I practically lived at the museum,” she says. “From those days, people still come up to me and say, ‘Ruthanna, how’s your museum?’” Her ties to the museum have remained strong and affectionate. “I just love it. When people ask me what I do with my spare time, it’s the first thing I mention.” Weber founded the Women’s Committee, which since 1987 has broadened the museum’s circle of friends and supporters by organizing talks and volunteer opportunities. She also created the museum’s cookbook, a compilation of favorite recipes from people in the NMWA and Washington communities. As Holladay says, “Ruthanna has long been connected with many organizations in Washington (the Smithsonian’s Women’s Committee, YWCA, Kenwood Associates, and more). Wherever she participated, she played a major role. So many memories feature her at the piano to celebrate the achievements of others.”

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

Picturing

MAR| Woman · Mother · Idea timothy verdon

for twelve hundred years—from the sixth to the eighteenth century—among the most important subjects in Western art was a young woman: Mary, the mother of Jesus. Her name was given to cathedrals, her face imagined by painters, her feelings explored by poets. She was seen as embodying our human potential for divine life, for she had carried God’s son, Jesus, in her womb; and she was thought to symbolize the purity and intensity of women’s love for men, for she had embraced the baby Jesus and held the crucified Christ in her arms. She was an ideal figure of the church, which is also thought of as “mother” and mystical “bride.”

Caravaggio, Rest on the Flight into Egypt (Il Riposo durante la Fuga in Egitto), 1594–96; Oil on canvas, 53 3⁄8 × 65 ½ in.; Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

ow did people picture Mary? What sources shaped their mental image of this not easily imaginable woman, at once virgin and mother? What ideas did they associate with her? These questions are at the heart of this exhibition, which features paintings, sculptures, precious objects, and textiles focused on Mary’s appearance, her inner life, and her power as a symbol. Yet another question is how the woman Mary was pictured by women artists, including Orsola Maddalena Caccia (1596–1676), several of whose works, including the large altarpiece St. Luke the Evangelist in the Studio, are on view in this exhibition. The daughter of a successful painter from north Italy, Orsola Caccia became a nun and developed her career from within her convent. This painting perfectly suits our theme, for it shows one of the authors of the Christian scriptures, the evangelist Luke, literally picturing—creating images of—Mary and her son. Since Luke dedicates considerable space to Mary in his Gospel, it is fair to say that his “images” were in the first place literary, and in fact Sister Orsola shows us the saint’s written text in progress, on a lectern on the table behind him, with pen and inkwell at hand. This is

highly unusual, for while church tradition had long thought of Luke as “painter of the Virgin” (for the literary portrait of her he offers), and had depicted him in that role, rarely was he presented as a sculptor, and never as both. Among other noteworthy features, this work includes a soulful bull, a traditional symbol of Saint Luke, and, below the table, a dog, a traditional allusion to fidelity, here perhaps meant to imply that not only Luke’s text, but also his artworks, were faithful to the inspiration he received from on high.

madonna and child The two figures of Mary in Orsola Caccia’s painting are of a type that art historians call the “Madonna and Child”: a non-narrative, often rather formal representation of the mother and baby as objects of veneration; sometimes, as in Sister Orsola’s two versions in St. Luke the Evangelist in the Studio, the Christ child is shown offering a blessing, a clear reference to his divine nature. From the fourteenth century onward, this kind of image, which derives from early Christian and Byzantine models, gradually assumed realistic features, even as it retained an air of solemnity. In the time and place that produced the greatest number of Madonna and Child images, fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italy, artists often balanced the metaphor of spiritual nobility with clear emphasis on Mary’s humility, producing works in which elegance and moral intensity are interwoven. The two principal art centers, the merchant republics of Florence and Venice, replaced the regal splendor of older representations of Mary with a more middle-class depiction of her dress and surroundings, in which, however, accents of luxury still bespeak her privileged status. Filippo Lippi’s richly garbed Virgin, in a painting made for the Medici family, or the exquisite marble relief carved by Desiderio da Settignano for the Panciatichi family, are examples of this mingling of social distinction and personal humility.

woman and mother clockwise from upper left

Cosmè Tura, Madonna and Child in a Garden, ca. 1460–70; Tempera and oil on wood panel, 21 × 14 5⁄8 in.; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Samuel H. Kress Collection; inv. 1952.5.29 Cosmè Tura, attrib., Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino), ca. 1460–70; Terracotta, 23 ¼ × 15 1⁄8 × 6 ¼ in.; Grimaldi Fava Collection Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino), ca. 1466–69; Tempera on wood panel, 45 ¼ × 28 in.; Provincia di Firenze, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence

Artists picturing Mary often overstepped the boundaries of the Madonna and Child category in an effort to capture the more natural features of Mary’s womanhood and motherhood. This tendency, which developed between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, was symptomatic of changes in European society related to urbanization and the family values of a growing middle class; it also reflected the contemporaneous theological emphasis on Christ’s authentically human sensibility, which required that Mary, too, be shown as a real human being. In a spectacularly beautiful painting, Federico Barocci’s Rest on the Flight into Egypt, the artist imagines a moment of intimacy during the journey of Joseph, Mary, and the Christ child toward Egypt, described in the Gospel of Matthew, where they would

Orsola Maddalena Caccia, St. Luke the Evangelist in the Studio (San Luca Evangelista nello Studio), ca. 1625; Oil on canvas, 109 × 74 3⁄8 in.; Parrocchia Sant’Antonio di Padova, Moncalvo, Asti

take refuge from King Herod’s hostility. Mary is placed at the center of the family group. Saint Joseph’s tendering of a branch from a cherry tree, and the child’s joyous acceptance of it, seem to radiate from this main figure, whose loving calm, as she turns to gather water in a metal cup, becomes the scene’s emotional pivot. The notion of Mary’s ordinary womanhood may first have developed in feminine monastic circles, in which it was useful to propose her as a model for the nuns: “Virgo virginum,” or “Virgin exemplar of virginal women.”In art, this idea was expressed by situating Mary at the center of a group of other woman saints, as in a small panel painting by Puccio Capanna.

described in the Book of Corinthians as God’s wisdom in person. Yet God’s “wisdom” will be revealed only in the child’s future death, and so (likely added by a later artist) Jesus holds three small gold nails in his left hand and wears a crown of thorns around his wrist. Artistic programming might indeed insist that Mary’s whole life focus on the moment of her son’s death in the works made for the Capponi family chapel in the Florentine church, Santa Felicita. Between the two frescoed figures of Pontormo’s Annunciation, a stained glass window by Guillaume de Marcillat depicted Christ’s dead body being placed in the tomb as Mary looked on. This combination of images made clear Mary’s role in her son’s life from conception to death and beyond.

mother of the crucified Mary’s motherhood was colored by awareness of her son’s future death. A painting of exceptional poetry by Sandro Botticelli known as the Madonna of the Book shows Mary with the child before an open book. Whatever Mary sought in the words of the book, Botticelli tells us, she will in fact find in this child of flesh, who is

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

mary as idea For most of Christian history, Mary has served the church as an “ideal figure”—as a vehicle, that is, and at times a coagulant—for ideas derived from the scriptures, theological reflection, human experience, and imagination; the New Testament itself presents

her in this way, articulating the historical features of her story in scriptural and theological language. Artists often make her ideal function explicit, showing Mary in ways that invite meditation, stimulate musing, and prepare illumination. Mary’s maternity as a “place” of divine illumination is the theme of another work in marble, a fifteenth-century relief by Agostino di Duccio, the Florentine sculptor and sometime assistant of Donatello who began to carve the block from which Michelangelo would later sculpt his David. Agostino’s relief, which bears the Medici arms and may once have been in that family’s palace in Florence, shows the Madonna and Child surrounded by angels among the clouds, with a small angel face on Mary’s forehead. It appears as if, in accepting to bear Christ and mothering him, her human intelligence had been enlightened with “angelic” understanding.

a singular life A woman invested with so many and such exalted functions was not easy to “picture”—to imagine—in ordinary human terms: her

life was too singular. The fragmentary facts provided in the Gospels offer glimpses but not the comprehensive overview that believers increasingly sought. Thus from an early period—perhaps already in the second and third centuries, certainly in the fifth and sixth— pious efforts to fill in the gaps gradually created parallel accounts (apocryphal gospels) that present what may be dimly remembered historical truths in a literary style typical of legends. This process began in the New Testament, in the Book of Revelation or “Apocalypse,” whose author claims to have seen a heavenly sign consisting of a woman clothed in the sun and with the moon beneath her feet; crowned with twelve stars, she bore a child that was threatened by a huge red dragon. This dreamlike vision, which theologizes the account of Christ’s birth and of King Herod’s attempt to murder him, associates Mary with universal truths and cosmic forces. It would eventually (in works such as the handsome painting by Sassoferrato in this exhibition) be used to suggest her “Immaculate Conception”—her preservation, that is, from all stain of sin in view of her role in bearing Jesus to the world.

this page, left to right Guillaume de Marcillat, Deposition and Entombment (Deposizione

e Sepoltura di Cristo), 1526; Stained glass, 57 × 30 ¾ in.; Palazzo Capponi alle Rovinate, Florence; Agostino di Duccio, Madonna and Child Surrounded by Four Angels, also called Madonna d’Auvillers, ca. 1464–69; Marble, 32 ¼ × 30 1⁄8 × 5 ¾ in.; Musée du Louvre, Département des Sculptures, Paris; inv. RF 1352; Photograph © RMN-Grand-Palais / Art Resource opposite page, clockwise Federico Barocci, Rest on the Flight into Egypt (Il Riposo durante

la Fuga in Egitto), also called Madonna of the Cherries (La Madonna delle Ciliegie), 1570–73; Oil on canvas, 52 3⁄8 × 43 ¼ in.; Vatican Museums, Vatican City; inv. 40377; Artemisia Gentileschi, Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino), 1609–10; Oil on canvas, 46 ½ × 33 7⁄8 in.; Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence; inv. 1890 no. 2129; Puccio Capanna, Madonna and Child with Annunciation and Female Saints (Regina Virginum), ca. 1330; Tempera and gold on wood panel, 14 3⁄8 × 9 ½ in.; Vatican Museums, Vatican City; inv. 40170

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

left to right

Sassoferrato (Giovanni Battista Salvi), Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino), ca. 1650; Oil on canvas, 52 3⁄8 × 38 5⁄8 in.; Vatican Museums, Vatican City; inv. 40396 Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait at the Easel, 1556; Oil on canvas, 26 × 22 3⁄8 in.; Muzeum-Zamek, Łan´cut; inv. 916MT

This belief, defined as dogma only in modern times but influential upon church thought and art from an early period, underlies the way in which artists depicted Mary’s story. A good example is Carpaccio’s charming scene of the Virgin’s marriage to Saint Joseph, where every detail suggests divine purpose. According to early Christian tradition, Mary had been brought up in the Jerusalem temple, and so Carpaccio—whose native city, Venice, had a large Jewish community—imagines the humble couple in a building encrusted with rare marbles and Hebrew inscriptions, thus giving his image an air at once historic and exotic. Mary’s life with her child has been perceived, one may say, as that “place of safety” of which the Book of Revelation speaks—a place of repose, lyric beauty, and profound harmony. The theme of harmony was developed by a painter trained in Simone Peterzano’s shop, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, in his Rest on the Flight into Egypt, a work famous for the music-making angel at its center.

mary in the life of believers Mary in the life of believers needs little comment. Many images demonstrate how deeply Christians have been touched by the woman in whom they have seen not only Christ’s mother but also their own. They have considered her a figure of the mother church and sought refuge beneath her mantle, calling her Mater misericordiae, “Mother of Mercy”; they have seen her in paintings made for altars on which Christ’s body, formed in her womb, becomes present in sacramental bread; and they have seen her woman’s image in the vestments worn by male priests who say mass at those altars. They have commissioned small images of her for their homes, and “books of hours” for private prayer in which the Psalms are paired with scenes of Mary’s life. Mary, in short, is one of the most frequent themes of Christian thought, and one of the dominant subjects of Christian art. 14

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

A personal testimonial, a self-portrait, was executed by the artist Sofonisba Anguissola as she completed a canvas showing Mary with the Christ child. In the mid-sixteenth century, when Anguissola created this double image, there were few women artists and she herself was an oddity: not born to a painter father but early called to the attention of the greatest master of her time, Michelangelo, who praised her. Here her careful attire and grave dignity may imply her claim to a respect not only equal to that given male artists, but similar indeed to the respect accorded the first painter of the Virgin, Saint Luke. For, quite apart from the question of divine inspiration, who better than a woman can “picture” the woman Mary? Timothy Verdon, guest curator of Picturing Mary, is director of the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo and canon of the Florence Cathedral. Text adapted from the central essay for the exhibition catalogue Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea. Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., with the support of MondoMostre, Rome. The exhibition is made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of an anonymous donor, Jacqueline Badger Mars, and Alejandra and Enrique Segura, with additional funding provided by Barbara and Thomas Hale* Boggs, Jr., Vincent C. Burke III, Rose and Paul Carter, Friends of Picturing Mary, The Honorable Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, and TTR Sotheby’s International Realty. The museum is grateful for the generosity of Bertha Soto Braddock, Marcia Myers Carlucci, Betty Boyd Dettre, the Friends of Picturing Mary, Albert Halprin and Janice Obuchowski, Sue J. Henry and Carter G. Phillips, the Kappaz Family, Albert Baker Knoll, Marlene A. and Frederic V. Malek, the Mississippi State Committee of NMWA, Monica Moreno and Erwin Flores, Marjorie and Philip Odeen, John D. Reilly*, J. Christopher and Anne N. Reyes Foundation, Shirley and Patrick Ryan, Mr. and Mrs. B. Francis Saul II, K. Alex Stewart, and the Texas State Committee of NMWA, in addition to substantial support from several anonymous donors. *deceased The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. NMWA gratefully acknowledges its partnerships with the Embassy of Italy and The Catholic University of America.

It Takes a Village

reating an exhibition like Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea is no small feat. The idea grew from a long-ago conversation that NMWA Founder Wilhelmina Cole Holladay had with friends. They observed that the then-new museum devoted to women in the arts should plan an exhibition focused on the Madonna, the most-represented woman in Western art history. As Holladay has said, “that thought ever stayed with me,” and preparations began four years ago. To realize this ambitious vision, NMWA coordinated with museums, collections, and cultural organizations throughout Europe and the United States. The curatorial team arranged for the conservation, shipping, and complex installation needs of fragile and exquisite works of art. The museum’s achievement of this large-scale show was made possible through the generosity of the museum’s loyal network of supporters.

in supporters’ own words: “I was delighted to help Billie Holladay and such a wonderful, unique, once-in-a-lifetime project.” nmwa trustee jacqueline badger mars

“Together with Mrs. Holladay the idea was born and we are grateful to have been able to give it life along with the great efforts of everyone involved. We can both undoubtedly say that this has been one of the most important projects we will ever be involved in. Meeting Mary and helping others Meet Mary, Mary who paves the path to her son, Christ.” alejandra and enrique segura

“The support of the NMWA board and the many friends of the museum was key to making this inspired exhibition a reality. It was an honor to work alongside Winton Holladay, Susan Sterling, our board, and NMWA's dedicated staff to realize Mrs. Holladay’s vision.” nmwa board president sheila shaffer

Picturing and Publishing Mary

he Picturing Mary catalogue features thoughtprovoking texts exploring depictions of the Virgin Mary in art from religious, cross-cultural, and contemporary art-historical perspectives. In addition to Timothy Verdon’s text, three essayists provide perspectives on different facets of Marian imagery. Miri Rubin contributed an essay about Christian traditions of depicting Mary: “The richness and range of associations . . . are deeply linked to the power of the image of motherhood.” Rubin examines the changes in these images throughout history, as well as the ways in which communities such as monastic groups interpreted her image. “Monks and nuns re-created the Virgin Mary as a European mother. They turned the mother of God into a member of their communities, a vibrant, loving figure, pure and human, demanding yet forgiving.” Amy Remensnyder focuses on images of Mary used as a “Warrior and Diplomat.” She describes works of art featuring Mary in warlike settings: “Straddling the boundary between manliness and womanliness, female virgins in many cultures have access to realms normally reserved for men, including warfare and hunting.” Remensnyder presents an overview of the significance of Mary in Islam—a Qur’anic sura is dedicated to her—illuminating a complex “landscape of devotion.” Melissa R. Katz describes the “porous and personal nature of Marian imagery.” She explores a statuary type called the Triptych Virgin, in which the Virgin’s moveable body serves as a set of doors to reveal imagery inside, and a viewer must “touch the body of the Virgin with her hands in order to open and close the doors . . . inviting a true sense of intimacy.” Katz brings her analysis to the present day: “More surprising than her persistence in the religious imagination is her presence in the contemporary art world. Where other sacred personages have faded to footnotes, the Virgin Mary has found renewed relevance as a feminist icon, spiritual touchstone, and banner of political identity.”

Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea is available from the Museum Shop. Hardcover, 160 pages. $45/Member $40.50 (Item #125). Call 877-226-5294 or visit shop.nmwa.org. WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

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EXHIBITIONS Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea On view through April 12, 2015 New York Avenue Sculpture Project: Magdalena Abakanowicz On view through September 27, 2015 Daisy Makeig-Jones May 1–August 16, 2015 Doris Lee: American Painter and Illustrator On view through May 8, 2015, in the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center; Open Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. and 1–5 p.m. Vanessa Bell’s Hogarth Press Designs May 11–November 13, 2015, in the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center

LAURA HOFFMAN

Magdalena Abakanowicz, Walking Figures, 2009; On view in the New York Avenue Sculpture Project

WED 12–12:30 P.M.

PICTURING MARY GALLERY TALK SERIES. Lunchtime Gallery Talks. These bite-size lunchtime talks are offered most Wednesdays throughout Picturing Mary. Museum staff members facilitate interactive conversations, encouraging visitors to look closely and investigate the mediums, techniques, and overarching themes of the exhibition. Free. No reservations required. 1 | 14 1 | 21 1 | 28 2 | 4 2 | 11 2 | 18 2 | 25

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Material Girl Picturing Mary Themes Collection Connections Silver and Gold For the Love of Mary Collection Connections Material Girl

Collection Connections Picturing Mary Themes Picturing Mary Themes Mother and Child Picturing Mary Themes Picturing Mary Themes

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Elisabetta Sirani, Virgin and Child, 1663; On view in Picturing Mary

FRI 12–1 P.M.

SCHOLAR TALK. Stefanos Alexopoulos: Mary as Woman, Mother, and Idea in the Byzantine Tradition. Join us on select Fridays throughout Picturing Mary to hear from contemporary scholars and to explore themes and artworks on view. Fr. Stefanos Alexopoulos, assistant professor of liturgical studies/sacramental theology, School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America, will lead this in-gallery discussion. Free with admission. No reservations required. Puccio Capanna, Madonna and Child with Annunciation and Female Saints (Regina Virginum), ca. 1330; On view in Picturing Mary

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2|6

FRI 6–8 P.M.

NMWA NIGHTS. Merry Making. Channel your crafty side during this divine happy hour event. Enjoy snacks by Compass Rose and The Big Cheese, try your hand at activities inspired by Picturing Mary, and take themed tours of the exhibition and collection. Reservations recommended. $25 General; $15 Members. Ticket price includes two drink coupons and all craft materials. Please note this event is 21+. IDs will be checked at the door. For additional information, visit http://nmwa.org/merry-making.

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FRI 12–1 P.M. SCHOLAR TALK. Robin Darling Young: “She guarded all these words in her heart”: Mary’s Knowledge According to Early Syrian Tradition, from Ephrem to Romanos. Join us on select Fridays throughout Picturing Mary to hear from contemporary scholars. Robin Darling Young, associate professor, School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America, will lead this in-gallery discussion. Free with admission. No reservations required.

YASSINE EL MANSOURI

CALENDAR

Calendar

FRI 12–1 P.M.

SCHOLAR TALK. Amy G. Remensnyder. Join us on select Fridays throughout Picturing Mary to hear from contemporary scholars and to explore themes and artworks on view. Amy G. Remensnyder, professor of history at Brown University and essayist for the Picturing Mary exhibition catalogue, will lead this in-gallery introduction to the imagery and cross-cultural influence of the Virgin Mary. Free with admission. No reservations required. Master of the Winking Eyes, Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino), ca. 1450; Tempera and gold on wood panel, 23 1⁄8 × 15 ¼ in.; Grimaldi Fava Collection

Cosmè Tura, attrib., Madonna and Child, ca. 1460–70; On view in Picturing Mary

Visit http://nmwa.org for more information and a complete calendar of events and programs.

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

WORKSHOP. Renaissance and Baroque Techniques and Materials: Gilding the Lily. During the second hands-on workshop inspired by Picturing Mary, guest artist Kay Jackson will introduce gilding to a multigenerational audience. Gilding is the delicate process of applying thin layers of gold to a surface. Participants will have ample time to learn, practice the technique using specialized materials and tools, and explore gold leaf in art on view. This workshop is designed to instruct and engage audiences 13 and older. Materials and instruction provided. Reservations required. $15 General; $13 Members, Seniors, Students. Visit http://nmwa.org/feb-21-gilding.

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3|8

FRI 12–1 P.M.

SCHOLAR TALK. Kim Butler Wingfield. Join us on select Fridays throughout Picturing Mary to hear from contemporary scholars and to explore themes and artworks on view. Kim Butler Wingfield, associate professor and program director in art history at the American University Art Department, will lead this in-gallery discussion about the import of Mary imagery across time and place. Free with admission. No reservations required. Orsola Maddalena Caccia, Madonna and Child with St. Anne, ca. 1630s; On view in Picturing Mary

MON 7–8:30 P.M.

CONCERT. Anonymous 4: Marie et Marion. Enjoy this Marian-themed concert by award-winning vocal ensemble Anonymous 4 in conjunction with Picturing Mary. The four-woman a cappella group has been performing medieval music for more than thirty years. Marie et Marion presents 13th-century French devotional motets and songs, which highlight the common and contrasting themes of love and desire as expressed for the Virgin Mary and her more earthly counterpart, Marion. $20 General; $15 Members, Seniors, Students. Reservations required: http://nmwa.org/events/ concert-anonymous-4.

DARIO ACOSTA

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SAT 10 A.M.–3 P.M.

GERALD SHIELDS

KAY JACKSON

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SUN 10 A.M.–4 P.M.

ART+FEMINISM. Women in the Arts Edit-a-Thon. Celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month by helping us improve Wikipedia articles about women artists. NMWA is organizing a third annual edit-a-thon focused on improving Wikipedia entries related to notable women artists and art world figures. Attend in person (free; registration required) or participate remotely. Please bring a laptop with power cord and photo ID. Extension cords and power strips are highly recommended. For a full schedule and additional information, visit http://nmwa.org/events/ wikipedia-edit-thon.

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FRI 12–1 P.M.

SCHOLAR TALK. Ian Boxall: Out of the Shadows—Mary in the New Testament and Beyond. Join us on select Fridays throughout Picturing Mary to hear from contemporary scholars and to explore themes and artworks on view. Ian Boxall, associate professor of New Testament, School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America, will lead this in-gallery discussion about Marian imagery. Free with admission. No reservations required. Luca della Robbia, Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino), ca. 1430; On view in Picturing Mary

3 | 20–21

FRI–SAT

GRADUATE STUDENT CONFERENCE. Picturing Mary with Catholic University. In conjunction with Picturing Mary, NMWA and The Catholic University of America (CUA) are presenting a conference focusing on scholarship by graduate students. The first day of the conference, held at NMWA, is anchored by keynote speaker Miri Rubin, professor of medieval and early modern history, Queen Mary University of London, and essayist for the Picturing Mary exhibition catalogue. Other panels and sessions gather scholars from a broad cross-section of fields, including the arts, history, and theology. Saturday conference events are held on the CUA campus. For more information and other Picturing Mary programming sponsored by CUA, visit http://mbs.cua.edu/conference/index.cfm. Artemisia Gentileschi, Madonna and Child, 1609–10; On view in Picturing Mary

Visit http://nmwa.org for more information and a complete calendar of events and programs.

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

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SAT 10 A.M.–3 P.M.

WORKSHOP. Renaissance and Baroque Techniques and Materials: “Egg-cellent” Tempera. Join us for the final hands-on workshop inspired by Picturing Mary. Guest artist Roberta Marovelli will introduce egg tempera, the time-honored paint medium created by combining color pigment with yolk, to a multigenerational audience. Participants will have ample time to learn, practice the technique using specialized materials and tools, and explore tempera paintings in the exhibition. This workshop is designed to instruct and engage audiences 13 and older. Materials and instruction provided. Reservations required. $15 General; $13 Members, Seniors, Students. Visit http://nmwa.org/ mar-21-tempera.

ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL. World Water Day. The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital and the Voss Foundation present a series of films and speakers to commemorate World Water Day. Since 1993, World Water Day has been celebrated as a rallying cry for people to understand, value, and protect Earth’s vital water resources. Topics will range from local to global, with a special focus on women and water issues. Featured speakers will include local filmmakers, scientists, and community leaders. Reservations recommended. For schedule and additional information, visit http://nmwa.org/visit/calendar.

Sandro Botticelli, Madonna and Child, also called Madonna of the Book, 1480–81; On view in Picturing Mary

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MON 7–9:30 P.M.

ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL. Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning. Explore the life and photography of Dorothea Lange (1895–1965). The documentary Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning (2014, 110 min.) reveals the artist’s life and work documenting five turbulent decades of American history. It features never-before-seen photographs and film footage, as well as new interviews with family members, friends, and colleagues. Dyanna Taylor, Lange’s granddaughter and awardwinning cinematographer, directs and narrates this intimate American Masters documentary. A discussion with Taylor follows the screening. No reservations required. $5 General; $4 Members, Seniors, Students.

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SAT 11 A.M–2:30 P.M.

THEATER. SWAN Day. Enjoy staged readings of contemporary plays by women playwrights. NMWA celebrates SWAN Day (Support Women Artists Now) and D.C. Theatre’s “Year of the Woman Playwright” by hosting this staged-reading marathon. The program features readings of fresh, thoughtprovoking plays by U.S. women playwrights that will be directed by women stage directors from Washington, D.C. Drop by and see one play, or stay for all of them. Free. No reservations required. For a full description and calendar of SWAN Day events, visit www.georgetowntheatre.org.

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TUE 7–8:30 P.M.

ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL AND THE NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL. A Life: The Story of Lady Bird Johnson. Discover the first lady of the environmental movement in A Life: The Story of Lady Bird Johnson (1992, 51 min.). During her time as first lady and afterward, Lady Bird Johnson made numerous significant contributions to the beautification of America’s roads and highways. No reservations required. $5 General; $4 Members, Seniors, Students.

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FRI 12–1 P.M.

TOUR. Au Naturel. Celebrate the natural world at NMWA! Spring over for a free drop-in tour inspired by the 2015 National Cherry Blossom Festival, and take a special springtime look at the museum’s diverse collection. Explore collection highlights—from seventeenth-century still lifes to contemporary sculptures—and discuss how artists across time have investigated and depicted the natural world. Free. No reservations required. Alma Woodsey Thomas, Iris, Tulips, Jonquils, and Crocuses (detail), 1969

LAURA HOFFMAN

SUN

FRI 6:30–11 P.M.

BENEFIT EVENT. 2015 Spring Gala. Join NMWA for a special night to honor museum patrons, members, and friends at our largest and most important annual fundraising event. Proceeds support the exhibitions and programs that make NMWA the leading museum dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women in the visual, performing, and literary arts, particularly the current exhibition Picturing Mary. To purchase tickets or learn more, visit http://nmwa.org/ events/2015-spring-gala.

TONY POWELL

CALENDAR

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Visit http://nmwa.org for more information and a complete calendar of events and programs.

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

SAT 11 A.M.–2 P.M.

DAKOTA FINE

GALLERY TALK. Slow Art Day. Break out of your typical “go, go, go” routine and join a movement! Slow Art Day is an international event encouraging people of all ages to visit museums and look at art slowly. Participants will look at five works of art for fifteen minutes each and then meet over lunch to talk about their experience. Simple by design, the goal is to focus on the art and the art of seeing. Museum staff will be present to provide artwork suggestions and questions to consider. Reservations recommended. Free with admission. For a full schedule and additional information, visit http://nmwa.org/ events/slow-art-day.

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SCHOLAR TALK. Doris and Russell Lee. Photography historian Mary Jane Appel gives an illustrated talk on American Scene painter Doris Lee and her first husband, the New Deal photographer Russell Lee, both of whom found success in the 1930s. Appel will discuss their respective paths—from sojourns to Paris between the wars to their formative years as artists at the Woodstock art colony. Free with admission. No reservations required.

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WED 7:30–9:30 P.M.

SHENSON CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT. Lily Afshar, Guitar. Join Artistic Director Gilan Tocco Corn for Lily Afshar’s A Jug of Wine and Thou: Music of Persia and Andalusia. Afshar has performed in concert tours taking her to solo, chamber music, and orchestral performance venues in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Her Persian heritage has given rise to some of her greatest musical innovations, drawing from Persian and Azerbaijani folk music traditions to create rich, beautiful arrangements of works for the classical guitar. Free. Reservations required. Visit http://nmwa.org/apr-22-shenson-concert.

CHRISTIAN STEINER

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WED 7:30–9:30 P.M.

SHENSON CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT. Julia Bullock, Soprano. Join Artistic Director Gilan Tocco Corn to hear soprano Julia Bullock, hailed for her versatile talent in opera and concert repertoire. As first prize winner of the 2012 Young Concert Artists Auditions, she was presented in debut recitals at the Kennedy Center and Merkin Hall, where she “demonstrated both profound artistry and impressive originality” (Opera News). She also won first prize at the 2014 Naumburg International Vocal Competition. Free. Reservations required. Visit http://nmwa.org/ may-13-shenson-concert.

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FRI 12–1 P.M.

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WED 12–12:30 P.M.

GALLERY TALK SERIES. Lunchtime Gallery Talks. Looking for some artistic and intellectual nourishment during your lunch break? Visit on Wednesdays for short gallery talks to explore NMWA’s exhibitions and collection with museum staff. Free. No reservations required.

DAKOTA FINE

4 | 11

SUN 2–4 P.M.

LECTURE. Silver Talk and Afternoon Tea. The Women’s Commit tee of NMWA presents a lecture by Nancy Valentine on the museum’s collection of silver by seventeenth- and eighteenthcentury British and Irish women silversmiths. The talk is followed by afternoon tea on the mezzanine level. $100 General; $80 Members. For additional information or to purchase tickets, contact Carolyn Higgins at 202-783-7983 or chiggins@nmwa.org.

SUN 2–3:30 P.M.

LITERARY EVENT. American Artists of the Gilded Age. Through this illustrated talk, author Mary Tonetti Dorra brings the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition to life and shares the compelling story of artist Mary Lawrence, Dorra’s grandmother, who was the only woman allowed to exhibit a sculpture outside the Women’s Building. Dorra will discuss American artists of the Gilded Age and reveal a portrait of the era illuminated in her historical novel Demeter’s Choice: A Portrait of My Grandmother as a Young Artist. Free. No reservations required.

Elizabeth Godfrey, pair of George II sauce boats, 1750

Education programming is made possible by Fred M. Levin and Nancy Livingston, The Shenson Foundation, in memory of Drs. Ben and A. Jess Shenson; the Leo Rosner Foundation; Newman’s Own Foundation; and the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Additional support is provided by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts; the Harriet E. McNamee Youth Education Fund; William and Christine Leahy; The Samuel Burtoff, M.D. Foundation; Washington Marriott at Metro Center; Sofitel Washington D.C. Lafayette Square; and the Junior League of Washington.

Visit http://nmwa.org for more information and a complete calendar of events and programs.

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

Siân Evans, Jacqueline Mabey, and Michael Mandiberg

ON FEBRUARY 1, 2014, APPROXIMATELY 600 PARTICIPANTS CONVENED IN thirty-one locations in six countries to edit Wikipedia articles on women and the arts. During this day, at least 101 new articles were created, and at least ninety articles improved. Highlights from the more than forty press stories included an LA Weekly feature story, the most shared article in ARTnews history, and a thirty-minute podcast from Bitch Magazine. The far-reaching event, which had grown from a series of conversations between artists, educators, and librarians, was organized to address the dearth of content about women and art on what is increasingly the most popular online research tool. Wikipedia’s gender trouble is well documented. In a 2011 survey, Wikimedia found that less than 10% of its contributors are female.1 While the reasons for the gender gap are up for debate—suggestions include leisure inequality, the way gender socialization shapes public comportment, and the sometimes contentious nature of Wikipedia’s talk pages—the practical

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Building Content and Community

â&#x20AC;&#x160;Art+ Feminism effect of this disparity is clear. Content is skewed because of the lack of female participation, and systemic absences weaken an increasingly important repository of shared knowledge. By all accounts, the Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was a success, with some saying this may have been the largest multi-location edit-a-thon ever. We, the organizers, saw the event as a feminist intervention, addressing the gendered participation disparity and content gaps, but also an intervention as artists, art professionals, historians, librarians, academics, and art lovers. We wanted to contribute our specific knowledge to the Commons. The edit-a-thon arose out of two separate conversations between the four co-organizers, both as friends and collaborators. SiĂ˘n Evans and Jacqueline Mabey had a conversation about trying to create an event around art and feminism similar to the Ada Lovelace Day edit-a-thons that focused on women in science; Evans wanted to do something concrete as the organizer of a Women and Art Special Interest group for ARLiS NA, a professional group

Above: Edit-a-thon participants at NMWA have access to the resources of the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center. Opposite: Intergenerational support at the 2014 Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon at Eyebeam in New York City; Photo Michael Mandiberg

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

To learn more about the upcoming Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon at NMWA on March 8, 2015, in honor of International Women’s Day, please see the calendar listing on page 17. of art librarians. Mabey mentioned this to Michael Mandiberg, who had used Wikipedia in teaching. Mandiberg had concidentally had a similar conversation earlier that day with curator Laurel Ptak. At the time, Ptak was a fellow at Eyebeam, a center for art and technology, where she was doing work around cyberfeminism. He encouraged her to hold an edit-a-thon focused on art, technology, and feminism. This project also came on the heels of a very public debate about structural sexism on Wikipedia. The debate began when writer Amanda Filipacchi wrote a New York Times op-ed on a problematic editorial practice being implemented by a number of Wikipedia editors: women were being removed from the “American Novelists” category and moved into a subcategory for “American Women Novelists.”2 Filipacchi’s piece generated a maelstrom of writing about gender issues on Facebook and other social media platforms, speaking out against this subcategorization. At the same time, Wikipedians were having an entirely separate conversation on Wikipedia about whether to change this practice of subcategorization. These discussions were worlds apart. We wanted to help give people the training to shape the conversation directly on Wikipedia. After an initial meeting, we decided to hold an edit-a-thon in New York and started the organizing process by getting a few local Wikipedia ambassadors involved. This was a key step in getting the trainings and satellite events up and running. We primarily organized off-wiki, and we reached out extensively to librarians. We think this was one of the reasons we were able to bridge the gender gap. We started our outreach by sending calls for participation to library listservs. The connection between libraries and Wikipedia is nothing new. In 2005 the Online Computer Library Center published a study showing that only 2% of college and university students began research by consulting their library’s website.3 Librarians took note, and many institutions have implemented programs to add open-access content to Wikipedia articles. Many libraries also employ Wikipedian-in-residence programs, bringing in-house editors to like-minded institutions and bridging the gap between libraries and the Wikipedia community.

Left, from top to bottom: Edit-a-thon events, such as the ones at Eyebeam in New York, NMWA in Washington, D.C., and the Wattis Institute in San Francisco were each shaped by their location’s reference materials and desired focus.

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

We also set up a networked social media presence on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. We used Facebook in particular because it seemed a great way to reach a multi-generational audience. Of all Internet users, 67% use some form of social media; all of those are on Facebook, 16% on Twitter, and 6% on Tumblr, according to a 2013 PEW poll.4 We used the hashtag #artandfeminism across all social media platforms and encouraged people to take photos and post them on Instagram using the hashtag at their various satellite events. All of this activity led to a whole lot of press attention. There were three different in-depth podcasts on the topic. There was international coverage, New York Magazine wrote a lengthy piece on it, and we even ended up as a Buzzfeed list, something none of us ever thought would happen in our professional careers. Perhaps because the project was participatory and not prescriptive, the press and public were open to this feminist project in a way that, frankly, shocked us. There was very little negative press, although we did end up the subject of a Reddit in a discussion entitled “Feminists are organizing a Wikipedia edit-a-thon. Misinformation will reign!” Those posts, however, were rife with a complete lack of understanding of Wikipedia’s culture and the process of creating and editing articles. In order to make sure everything went smoothly on the day of the edit-a-thon, we offered an array of support to our satellite events. Some of the events required us to put together all of the main ingredients—Wikipedia ambassadors, location, faculty/ librarian support—while others came to us pretty much prepackaged by eager collaborators. We created an email chain for all of our satellite event organizers, in which we provided training materials, copy for marketing, and best practices. However, the satellite events were intended to be fairly autonomous, relying on local interests, expertise, and library or reference holdings. As such, these events were all completely different. While twelve of our thirty satellite events took place in museum and academic libraries, we also had events at art spaces like PARMER and Art Metropole, and community spaces like The Public School Los Angeles. Some of these locations have continued to meet regularly. PARMER, a space for presenting and developing feminist work in New York, even incorporated Wikipedia editing into its regular programming. During the event, we also offered a Google Hangout with any satellite events that were interested in touching base with us in New York. When we reached 150 attendees at the

To help recruit editors to the Pacific Northwest College of Art edit-a-thon, Tom Morris created this derivative work based on the well-known poster by J. Howard Miller, an artist employed by Westinghouse.

Eyebeam event in New York and started running out of chairs, however, we found it difficult to keep on top of our Google Hangout presence. In the future, it would be wonderful to maintain closer connections among the different satellite events, to create a greater sense of community. From here, we hope to build on everything we learned in last year’s edit-a-thon. Wikipedia is a living, breathing encyclopedia and is only as good as its editors. As art workers, artists, librarians, and educators, we hope to continue to build content around women and the arts. We are in the process of organizing some concrete events and online training documentation to help facilitate our 2015 edit-a-thon, which will take place on International Women’s Day. To get involved, please contact us at info@art.plusfeminism.org. Siân Evans, Jacqueline Mabey, and Michael Mandiberg are co-organizers of the Art+Feminism Wikipedia edit-a-thon series. Notes 1. Wikimedia, “Wikipedia Editors Study,” https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/7/76/Editor_Survey_Report_-_April_2011.pdf. 2. Amanda Filipacchi, “Wikipedia’s Sexism Toward Female Novelists,” New York Times, April 24, 2013. 3. Online Computer Library Center, “College Students’ Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources,” http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/reports/pdfs/ studentperceptions.pdf. 4. Pew Research Internet Project, “Social Media Update 2013,” http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/social-media-update-2013.

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

ETCHING A LEGACY

Elisabetta Sirani Virginia Treanor

lisabetta Sirani (Bologna, Italy, 1638–65), whose work is currently on view in Picturing Mary, was a prodigious artist, accomplishing a great deal during her too-short life. In little more than a decade—between the time she began painting professionally at age seventeen and her tragically early death at twenty-seven—Sirani produced hundreds of works: more than two hundred paintings, one hundred (known) drawings, and about a dozen etchings, an unusual medium for a woman of her era. During her lifetime, Sirani was an international celebrity not only because she was a woman artist in a male-dominated profession, but also for the speed with which she worked. Her studio was visited by Bolognese noblemen and women as well as by foreign dignitaries such as the Duchess of Brunswick. Like most early modern women artists, she was the daughter of an artist, Giovanni Andrea Sirani (1610–70), and through him Sirani learned not only painting, but drawing and etching as well. Their family home, described as a modest palazzo, featured living quarters on the ground level and studio spaces on the second floor, which included rooms for teaching, painting, and printing.1 It was here that Giovanni Andrea taught apprentices, including his daughter, and where Sirani herself opened an academy for professional women artists, the first of its kind outside the walls of a convent.2 Drawing was an integral part of artistic training. As Elisabetta Sirani, Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist, 1655–65; Etching on paper, 10 5⁄8 x 8 ¾ in.; Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay

artists honed their drawing skills, they developed a firm foundation in the depiction of human anatomy, which served as preparation for larger, finished works in oil paint. Sirani was a remarkable draftswoman and produced more drawings than any Italian woman artist before 1700.3 Her skill in this area likely served her well in establishing her own academy. Studying and making prints formed part of Sirani’s own artistic education, as well as her instruction to her students. Prints by other artists were an important study tool for women, who were barred from drawing the nude body from life, which was an important component of the training their male peers received. However, by viewing printed reproductions of works by masters like Raphael and Michelangelo, they were able to study multi-figure compositions and human anatomy. Sirani’s print Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist was created after another print after a painting at the time believed to be by Raphael (now attributed to Giulio Romano). Sirani’s inscription below the work, dated to about 1655–65, indicates that she copied it from a print that the artist Fra Bonaventura Bisi made of a painting in the collection of the Duke of Modena. The full inscription, in Latin, can be loosely translated as, “This work painted by the Divine Raphael and printed by Fr. Bonaventura Bisi is to be seen among the other delights of the invincible Duke of Modena; Elisabetta Sirani exhibited it engraved like this.” This work highlights not only Sirani’s engraving talent but also her business savvy. For women artists, in particular, the

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

Far left: Elisabetta Sirani, The Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and St. John the Baptist, 1650–60; Etching on paper, 10 ½ x 8 ½ in.; Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay Left: Elisabetta Sirani, Virgin and Child, 1663; Oil on canvas, 34 x 27 ½ in.; Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Conservation funds generously provided by the Southern California State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts

inscription at the bottom of a print was a proper place for them to associate themselves with the work of other artists as well as advertise to prospective patrons.4 In her inscription, Sirani mentions two other artists and the Duke of Modena. By flattering the Duke himself, Alfonso IV d’Este, as “invincible” and praising his collection of “delights” (not to mention the fact that she was reproducing a painting from his own collection), Sirani, in effect, petitions the wealthy patron to take note of her work. By Sirani’s lifetime, prints were no longer merely a method of reproduction but were desirable as artworks themselves, and Sirani was likely the first Italian woman artist to produce prints in addition to paintings.5 Out of the approximately dozen prints ascribed to Sirani, most appear to be original designs by the artist. She signed her name to the majority of her compositions (both printed and painted) and with more frequency than any other Italian artist of the sixteenth or seventeenth century.6 Sirani’s print, Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and St. John (ca. 1650–60) is inscribed in the lower right with the words “Siranus in.” The Latinized version of the artist’s name followed by “in.,” which stands for the Latin word invenit, indicates that Sirani was the inventor of the composition. Holy Family demonstrates Sirani’s inventiveness and her skill at multi-figural compositions. The scene, in which the Virgin Mary, in the foreground, nurses the infant Jesus while dangling an object to entice the toddler St. John, is noteworthy for its candid approach to the holy figures. As in many of her numerous painted images of the Virgin and child, Sirani does not include any of the traditional symbols indicating the identity of the figures. There are no halos 26

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

on their heads, nor is there a small crucifix or lamb, which usually accompanies the young St. John. The bare feet of the Virgin, as well as the lines etched on the face of St. Elizabeth, seated at the right, depict a humble and modest existence also reflected in the labors of St. Joseph, seen in the background at the left. Sirani’s reputation was such that after her untimely death, the city of Bologna hosted an extraordinarily extravagant funeral procession. She was interred in the same tomb as her artistic forefather and famous son of Bologna, Guido Reni. Today, the quality of Sirani’s paintings and drawings is admired as much as their inconceivable quantity. While not as numerous, her prints, too, should be counted as an important part of Sirani’s artistic legacy and evidence of her boundlessly inventive mind. Virginia Treanor is the associate curator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Notes 1. Adelina Modesti, “A casa con i Sirani: A successful family business and household in early modern Bologna,” in The Early Modern Italian Domestic Interior, 1400–1700: Objects, Spaces, Domesticities, eds. Erin J Campbell, Stephanie R Miller, Elizabeth Carroll Consavari (Burlington: Ashgate, 2013), not paginated. 2. Modesti. 3. Babette Bohn, “From Oxymoron to Virile Paintbrush: Women Artists in Early Modern Europe,” in A Companion to Renaissance and Baroque Art, eds. Babette Bohn and James M. Saslow (West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013), 239. 4. Evelyn Lincoln, “Invention, Origin and Dedication: Republishing Women’s Prints in Early Modern Italy,” in Making and Unmaking Intellectual Property: Creative Production in Legal and Cultural Perspective, eds. Mario Biagioli, Peter Jaszi, and Martha Woodmansee (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011), 341. 5. Bohn 239. 6. Bohn 239.

The Art of Change: New Trends in Activist Art

well as baked goods from Blind Dog Café. Launching this partnership is the popular DS Deli, whose menu features “familiar tastes with new twists.” “The National Museum of Women in the Arts is pleased to begin a collaboration with Union Kitchen and DS Deli,” said Susan Fisher Sterling. “We have an affinity for Union Kitchen’s fresh and open business model and believe that the opportunities provided by this incubator to local venders will be a great addition to the museum’s offerings.”

LAURA HOFFMAN

In September, NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling traveled to Tianjin, People’s Republic of China, to present at the World Economic Forum’s eighth Annual Meeting of the New Champions. The forum’s goal is to improve the state of the world by bringing together industry leaders to discuss and implement societal change. Sterling’s talk focused on five contemporary artists who are advancing innovative ideas and helping to drive solutions to some of society’s most pressing issues. She believes that artists have the potential to be agents for social change. Sterling described similarities between contemporary artists and social activists Natalie Jeremijenko, Mel Chin, Theaster Gates, Caledonia Curry (Swoon), and the Documentary Group. From collaborating with children around the country to turning dilapidated buildings into places of beauty and respite, these artists use their practices to empower change. “This is a direction that our museum is going in,” said Sterling. “My hope is that the National Museum of Women in the Arts, through its programming, will help [this movement] along its way.”

MUSEUM NEWS AND EVENTS

Museum News

New Partners for the Mezzanine Café NMWA’s café is cooking up something new— in November, the museum reopened the Mezzanine Café in collaboration with Union Kitchen and DS Deli. Union Kitchen, a business incubator that acts as a catalyst for the growth of small businesses, jobs, and culture by lowering barriers to entry, now provides café visitors with creative and seasonal sandwiches, salads, and coffee, as

A Fresh Look and Feel for the Shop Website—Your Destination for Gift-Buying NMWA’s online Museum Shop has a new look! Featuring streamlined navigation, bigger pictures, and more merchandise, the shop is your go-to store for gift-buying. Its new responsive design works seamlessly on your computer, tablet, or mobile device. Find great jewelry and accessories, art books, exhibition-related and seasonal gifts, and household items while supporting the museum. Members always receive a 10% discount—check the address label for your discount code, and visit shop.nmwa.org to start shopping today.

Above: The Museum Shop website features a bright new design, unique gift options, and seamless mobile navigation. Right: NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling speaks in Tianjin, China, at the World Economic Forum’s eighth Annual Meeting of the New Champions.

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

We are so grateful to the more than 1,560 members and donors who rose to the Matching Gift Challenge offered by our Board of Trustees in 2014. Your contributions were matched one-to-one up to $50,000. As of December 31, more than $160,000 has been raised. With the match, this $210,000 in contributions will go straight to work and have double the impact on initiatives across the museum. Thank you, thank you for your generosity.

Member Preview Day: Meeting Mary On December 4, members enjoyed a preview of Picturing May: Woman, Mother, Idea before the exhibition opened to the public. NMWA curators and educators delighted attendees and sparked illuminating discussions with special interactive tours. At noon, guest curator Timothy Verdon gave insight into the exhibition with a popular lecture in the Performance Hall. Guests browsed the newly redesigned Museum Shop and many visited the Mezzanine Café to enjoy the culinary creations of DS Deli, part of the Union Kitchen collaborative. It was a wonderful day here at the museum. Thank you to all the members who came to visit!

Save the Date for Member Preview Day On June 5, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., members will be the first to experience Super Natural (read more in “Coming Soon” on the back cover) as well as the fourth installment of NMWA’s popular exhibition series Women to Watch.

This year’s Women to Watch exhibition, Organic Matters, features contemporary artists who use imagery and materials from the natural world. Members will enjoy light refreshments, a 10% discount in the Museum Shop and at the Mezzanine Café, gallery talks, and much more. Free admission for members and one guest.

NMWA Nights: Merry Making Please join us for this divine happy hour event, hosted by the Young pARTners Circle on Friday, January 30, 6–8 p.m. Channel your crafty side, enjoy refreshments, try your hand at activities inspired by Picturing Mary, and take themed tours of the exhibition and collection. See the calendar on page 16 for more information, and reserve your ticket today!

LAURA HOFFMAN

Double the Thanks!

Help Your Generosity Go Further with a Corporate Matching Gift Did you know many companies match, double, or even triple employee contributions to NMWA? Taking advantage of your employer’s matching donation program is one of the easiest ways to increase the impact of your gifts in support of the museum’s mission. Simply ask your human resources department for the proper matching form, fill in the requested information, and send it to the museum with your next contribution. Many corporations match gifts from working and retired employees and their spouses to nonprofits like NMWA. It only takes a few minutes to make your gift go further!

LAURA HOFFMAN

MUSEUM NEWS AND EVENTS

Member News

On Member Preview Day, NMWA members explored the art of Picturing Mary and enjoyed talks and tours

Committee News

MERI BOND

Preparing for Women to Watch

At the Massachusetts reception, MA Committee chair and NAB member Sarah Treco, MFA Boston curator Jen Mergel, artist Sarah Braman, Liquid Art House Art Director Silvi Naci, and artist Rebecca Hutchinson

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

Throughout the fall, committees held programs related to Organic Matters: Women to Watch 2015 (June 5–September 13, 2015), the fourth in an exhibition series developed in conjunction with the museum’s outreach committees. Women to Watch features emerging or underrepresented artists from the states and countries in which the museum has committees. Artists are selected by NMWA from shortlists developed by regional contemporary art curators. The 2015 exhibition focuses on artists who use imagery and materials from the natural world, redefining the relationships between women, nature, and art.

The Greater New York Committee, co-chaired by NAB members Cheryl Tague and Island Weiss, held their kick-off event on October 21, 2014, at the University Club in Manhattan. The festive celebration highlighted the group’s participation in Organic Matters: Women to Watch 2015, with curator Christiane Paul of the Whitney Museum of American Art and four of the five shortlisted artists—Rachel Sussman, Katie Torn, Megan Webster, and Marina Zurkow—in attendance. NMWA Board President Sheila Shaffer, Vice Chair Winton Holladay, Director Susan Fisher Sterling, and Deputy Director Ilene Gutman were also present, as well as several members of the NAB and other national and international committees. The reception and an intimate dinner were sponsored by NAB members Lorraine Grace and Nancy Valentine.

UK Friends of NMWA organized an exhibition featuring their nominated artists at Christie’s Ryder Street Gallery (October 30–November 5, 2014) and a panel discussion on November 3 with four of their five nominees—Jodie Carey, Dorothy Cross, Susan Derges, and Polly Morgan. The discussion, titled “Why Nature Now?,” was moderated by Lisa La Feuvre, head of sculpture studies at the Henry Moore Institute, and introduced by NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling. In France, Les Amis du NMWA also held a conversation with artists, “Flora and Fauna: a Contemporary View,” on October 9, led by Julia Garimorth, curator at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. The Massachusetts State Committee held a reception on October 15 at Liquid Art House in Boston. The committee’s consulting curator, Jen Mergel, Beal Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was present, along with two shortlisted artists, Sarah Braman and Rebecca Hutchinson, who spoke about their work.

Collections to See in Georgia The Georgia Committee held its annual 3|2|C Tour on November 23. The event provides an exclusive look at three outstanding private collections in Atlanta. Curated by Marianne Lambert, the tour featured the collections of Jane Cofer and David Roper, Debbie and Paul Hudson, and Melissa Bunnen and James

FRANCOIS BONNEAU

NMWA in New York

Antoinette Pearman, Nancy Valentine, Lorraine Grace, Kathy Springhorn, and Alice Kaplan

Jerniga. The group also held a 3|2|C Patron Party on November 11, to honor donors and celebrate their Women to Watch nominations at the home of collector and foundation founder Paul Hagedorn. NMWA Deputy Director Ilene Gutman attended, along with the committee’s shortlisted artists, Sarah Emerson, Jiha Moon, Megan Mosholder, Rocio Rodriguez, and Elizabeth Turk.

Classical Singing in Chile In partnership with the Universidad Mayor and the Hildegard Behrens Foundation, NMWA’s committee in Chile held the last program of their Classical Women in Music Vocal Contest on September 30 at the Claudio Arrau Hall at the Municipal Opera Theater in Santiago. In Chile, Classical Women in Music contest winners Madelene Vásquez, Yaritza Véliz, and Ana Navarro

Following warmly received performances by the six contestants, awards were presented to Yaritza Véliz (first place), Madelene Vásquez (second place), and Ana Navarro (third place). The winners were selected by a jury of musicians and music professors. The program’s goal is to promote women in classical singing. As committee board president Drina Rendic stated, “Discrimination is not only found in politics or in the labor force but also in the visual arts, literature, and design.”

Upcoming Women to Watch Programs • Women to Watch—Ohio exhibition in partnership with the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Ohio Advisory Board Cleveland Institute of Art, George Gund Building, 11141 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio, April 2–May 2, 2015 For more information about the April 2 opening reception or April 10 lunch panel, contact richter.barbara@gmail.com or 440-745-6778. • Women to Watch 2015—Kansas City exhibition in partnership with the Epsten Gallery and the Greater KC Area Committee Epsten Gallery, 5500 West 123rd Street, Overland Park, Kansas, February 8– March 22, 2015 For additional information, contact arlene.finney@gmail.com or 913-631-2213.

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

MUSEUM NEWS AND EVENTS

Museum Events Opening of New York Avenue Sculpture Project: Magdalena Abakanowicz 1. The celebration included remarks by Richard Bradley of the Downtown D.C. BID (at lectern), Deputy Chief of Mission Maciej Pisarski of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, NMWA Founder Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, Judith Terra of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling 2. Attendees enjoyed a lecture by Abakanowicz scholar Mary Jane Jacob 3. Magdalena Abakanowicz’s art on New York Avenue

LAURA HOFFMAN

2014 Fall Benefit: A Cabaret Evening with Karen Akers 4. Karen Akers, NMWA Founder Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, NMWA Trustee and benefit co-chair Sally Jones, and benefit co-chair Irene Natividad 5. Gordon West and NMWA Trustee Alice West 6. NMWA Board President Sheila Shaffer and Karen Wilkinson 7. Juliana Oyegun, Alice Dear, Margaretta Noonan, and Stephanie Cardot 8. Ashok Kaveeshwar and NMWA Trustee Juliana May 9. The evening featured a performance by Karen Akers, recipient of NMWA’s Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts 10. Lena Scott, Eric Motley, NMWA Trustee Hon. Mary V. Mochary, and NMWA Trustee Jacqueline Badger Mars

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

YASSINE EL MANSOURI

Celebratory dinner for Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea 12

11. Enrique Segura, His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, and NMWA Founder Wilhelmina Cole Holladay 12. NMWA Trustees Dana Snyder, Nancy Stevenson, Sally Jones, and Jacqueline Badger Mars 13. Laura Denise Bisogniero and Buffy Cafritz 14. Joan Holmer, Alan Holmer, His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, and Albert Baker Knoll 15. Participants in the Picturing Mary interfaith council Rabbi Bruce Lustig and Dr. Sayyid Syeed 16. Attendees including NMWA Founder Wilhelmina Cole Holladay enjoyed an exhibition preview with curator Timothy Verdon 17. and 18. Guests were welcomed to dinner by exhibition supporters Alejandra and Enrique Segura

JACK HARTZMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

Opening reception for Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea

JACK HARTZMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

19. Exhibition guest curator Msgr. Timothy Verdon and NMWA Board Vice Chair Winton Holladay 20. NMWA Trustee Andrea Roane, Gianni Fava, Cristina Fava, and Michael Skehan 21. Bertha Soto Braddock 22. Jean Riley, NAB member Gladys Lisanby, Kathern Ivous Sisk, Suellen Brazil, and NAB member Betty Boyd Dettre

WINTER/SPRING 2015 | WOMEN IN THE ARTS

SUPPORTING ROLES

Board of Trustees

Legacy of Women in the Arts Endowment Campaign

Wilhelmina Cole Holladay—Chair of the Board, Winton S. Holladay—Vice Chair of the Board, Sheila Shaffer— President, Gina F. Adams—First Vice President, Heather Miller Podesta—Second Vice President (Community Relations), Arlene Fine Klepper—Treasurer, Juliana E. May—Secretary, Mary V. Mochary—Finance Chair, Amy Weiss—Nominations Chair, Nancy Nelson Stevenson— Works of Art Chair, Marcia Myers Carlucci—Building Chair, Carol Matthews Lascaris—President Emerita and Endowment Chair, Dana J. Snyder—At Large, Susan Fisher Sterling*—Alice West Director, Janice Lindhurst Adams, Pamela G. Bailey, M. A. Ruda Brickfield, Charlotte Clay Buxton, Rose Carter, Diane Casey-Landry, Lizette Corro, Deborah I. Dingell, Martha Lyn Dippell, Nancy Duber, Gabriela Febres-Cordero, Karen Dixon Fuller, Susan Goldberg, Cindy Jones, Sally L. Jones, Marlene McArthur Malek, Jacqueline Badger Mars, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Jacqui Michel*, Marjorie Odeen, Andrea Roane, Clarice Smith, Kathleen Elizabeth Springhorn, Sharon Lee Stark, Jessica H. Sterchi, Joanne C. Stringer, Mahinder Tak, Annie S. Totah, Frances Usher, Ruthanna Maxwell Weber, Alice West

We wish to thank all of the supporters of the Legacy of Women in the Arts Endowment Campaign, whose generosity guarantees that NMWA will endure and forever inspire for generations to come. Although we can only list donations of $10,000 and above due to space limitations, NMWA is grateful to all donors of the endowment.

*Ex-Officio

NMWA Advisory Board

Endowment Foundation Trustee ($1 million+) Anonymous, Betty B. and Rexford* Dettre, Estate of Grace A. George, Wilhelmina C. and Wallace F.* Holladay, Sr., Carol and Climis Lascaris, Estate of Evelyn B. Metzger, The Honorable Mary V. Mochary, Rose Benté Lee Ostapenko, Madeleine Rast, The Walton Family Foundation Endowment Foundation Governor ($500,000–$999,999) Noreen M. Ackerman, P. Frederick Albee and Barbara E. Albee*, Catherine L. and Arthur A. Bert, M.D., J.W. Kaempfer, Nelleke Langhout-Nix, Joe R. and Teresa L. Long, James R. and Suzanne S. Mellor, National Endowment for the Humanities, Drs. A. Jess and Ben Shenson*, MaryRoss Taylor, Alice W. and Gordon T. West, Jr. Endowment Foundation Fellow ($200,000–$499,999) Catharina B. and Livingston L. Biddle, Jr.*, Marcia Myers and Frank Carlucci, Costa del Sol Cruise, Kenneth P. Dutter, Estate of E. Louise Gaudet, Lorraine G. Grace, William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Estate of Eleanor Heller, Fred M. Levin and Nancy Livingston/The Shenson Foundation, in memory of Drs. Ben and A. Jess Shenson, Dorothy S. Lyddon*/ Seven Springs Foundation, Marlene McArthur and Frederic V. Malek, Victoria J. Mastrobuono*, Sea Goddess I and II Trips, Alejandra and Enrique Segura, Sheila and Richard Shaffer, Clarice Smith Endowment Foundation Counselor ($100,000–$199,999) Janice L. and Harold L. Adams, Nunda and Prakash Ambegaonkar, Carol C. Ballard, Baltic Cruise, Eleanor and Nicholas D. Chabraja, Clark Charitable Foundation, Hilda and William B. Clayman, Julia B. and Michael M. Connors, Martha Lyn Dippell and Daniel Lynn Korengold, Gerry E. and S. Paul* Ehrlich, Jr., Enterprise Rent-A-Car, FedEx Corporation, Barbara A. Gurwitz and William D. Hall, Caroline Rose Hunt/The Sands Foundation, Alice D. Kaplan, Dorothy and Raymond LeBlanc, Lucia Woods Lindley, Gladys K. and James W.* Lisanby, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Adrienne B. and John F. Mars, Juliana and Richard E. May, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Irene Natividad, Jeannette T. Nichols, Lady Pearman, Reinsch Pierce Family Foundation by Lola C. Reinsch and J. Almont Pierce, Julia Sevilla Somoza, Marsha Brody Shiff, June Speight*, Kathleen Elizabeth Springhorn, Sami and Annie Totah Family Foundation

Sarah Bucknell Treco—Chair, Patty Abramson, Noreen M. Ackerman, Sunny Scully Alsup, Jean Astrop, Jo Ann Barefoot, Gail Bassin, Susan G. Berk, Sue Ann Berlin, Catherine Little Bert, Brenda Bertholf, Ann Lisanby Bianchi, Eva M. Borins, Caroline Boutté, Nancy Anne Branton, Amy Sosland Brown, Margaret Boyce Brown, Deborah Carstens, Eleanor Chabraja, Paul T. Clark, John Comstock, Linda Comstock, Lynn Finesilver Crystal, Belinda de Gaudemar, Betty Dettre, Elizabeth J. Doverman, Ginni Dreier, Kenneth P. Dutter, Gerry E. Ehrlich, Patrice Emrie, Elva B. Ferrari-Graham, Suzy Finesilver, Rosemarie Forsythe, Jane Fortune, Robert Freeman, Claudia Fritsche, Lisa Garrison, Barbara S. Goldfarb, Jamie S. Gorelick, Lorraine G. Grace, Jody Harrison Grass, Sue J. Henry, Anna Stapleton Henson, Caroline Rose Hunt, Jan Jessup, Alice D. Kaplan, Doris Kloster, Nelleke Langhout-Nix, Fred M. Levin, Gladys Kemp Lisanby, Sarah H. Lisanby, M.D., Nancy Livingston, Maria Teresa Martínez, C. Raymond Marvin, Pat McCall, Debby McGinn, Dee Ann McIntyre, Cynthia McKee, Suzanne Mellor, Joan S. Miller, Eleanor Smith Morris, Claudia Pensotti Mosca, Deborah E. Myers, Jeannette T. Nichols, Kay W. Olson, Katherine D. Ortega, Margaret Perkins, Patti Pyle, Madeleine Rast, Drina Rendic, Barbara Richter, Elizabeth Robinson, Elizabeth A. Sackler, Steven Scott, Marsha Brody Shiff, Geri Skirkanich, Salwa J. Aboud Smith, Patti Amanda Spivey, Kathleen Elizabeth Springhorn, Bonnie Staley, Jo Stribling, Susan Swartz, Cheryl S. Tague, Lisa Cannon Taylor, MaryRoss Taylor, Deborah Dunklin Tipton, Nancy W. Valentine, Christy A. Vezolles, Paula S. Wallace, Harriet L. Warm, Island Weiss, Tara Beauregard Whitbeck, Patti White, Betty Bentsen Winn, Rhett D. Workman

Endowment Circle ($50,000–$99,999) Linda Able Choice*, George* and Ursula Andreas, Arkansas Fifty, Lulu H. Auger*, Virginia Mitchell Bailey*, Sondra D.* and Howard M. Bender/The Bender Foundation, Inc., Patti Cadby Birch*, Laura Lee and Jack S. Blanton, Sr.*/Scurlock Foundation, Anne R. Bord*, Caroline Boutté, BP Foundation Inc., M.A. Ruda and Peter J.P. Brickfield, Margaret C. Boyce Brown, Martha Buchanan, Charlotte Clay Buxton, Sandra and Miles Childers, Mary and Armeane Choksi, Margaret and David Cole/The Cole Family Foundation, Holland H. Coors*, Porter and Lisa Dawson, Courtenay Eversole, Suzy Finesilver/The Hertzel and Suzy Finesilver Charitable Foundation, Karen Dixon Fuller, Alan Glen Family Trust, Peter and Wendy Gowdey, Laura L. Guarisco, Jolynda H. and David M. Halinski, Janie Hathoot, Hap and Winton Holladay, Evan and Cindy Jones Foundation, I. Michael and Beth Kasser, William R. and Christine M. Leahy, Louise C. Mino Trust, Zoe H. and James H. Moshovitis, Joan and Lucio A. Noto, Marjorie H. and Philip Odeen, Nancy Bradford Ordway, Katherine D. Ortega, Margaret H. and Jim Perkins, Ramsay D. Potts*, in honor of Veronica R. Potts, Elizabeth Pruet*, Edward Rawson, Jane S. Schwartz Trust, Jack and Dana Snyder, Judith Zee Steinberg and Paul J. Hoenmans, Susan and Scott Sterling, Nancy N. and Roger Stevenson, Jr., Jo and Thomas Stribling, Susan and Jim Swartz, Mahinder K. and Sharad Tak, Elizabeth Stafford Hutchinson Endowed Internship—Texas State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, William and Frances Usher, Elzbieta Chlopecka Vande Sande, Betty Bentsen Winn and Susan Winn Lowry, Yeni Wong

(all lists as of December 17, 2014)

* Deceased

WOMEN IN THE ARTS | WINTER/SPRING 2015

Endowment Patron ($25,000–$49,999) Micheline and Sean Connery, Sheila ffolliott, Georgia State Committee of NMWA, New York Trip, Nancy O’Malley, Mississippi State Committee of NMWA, Northern Trust, Estate of Mary Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Chris Petteys*, Lisa and Robert Pumphrey*, Elizabeth A. Sackler, Estate of Madoline W. Shreve, Patti Amanda and Bruce Spivey, Sahil Tak/ST Paper, LLC, Jean and Donald M. Wolf, The Women’s Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts Endowment Sponsor ($15,000–$24,999) Deborah G. Carstens, Stephanie Fein, Martha and Homer Gudelsky*, Sally L. Jones, Louise H. Matthews Fund, Lily Y. Tanaka, Liz and Jim Underhill, Elizabeth Welles, Dian Woodner Endowment Friend ($10,000–$14,999) Carol A. Anderson, Julia and George L. Argyros, Mrs. Joseph T. Beardwood, III, Catherine Bennett and Fred Frailey, Susan G. Berk, Mary Kay Blake, Booz Allen Hamilton, Lynne V. and Richard Cheney, Esther Coopersmith, Darby Foundation, Jack J. Dreyfus, Jr.*, Patricia M. and Clifford J. Ehrlich, Mary Page and Thomas B. Evans, Lois Lehrman Grass, Anna Stapleton Henson, Alexine C. and Aaron G.* Jackson, Jan Jessup, Pamela Johnson and Wesley King, Helga and Peter-Hans Keilbach, Howard and Michelle Kessler, Ellen U. and Alfred A. King*, Jacqueline Badger Mars, C. Raymond Marvin, Clyde and Pat Dean McCall, Edwina H. and Charles P. Milner, Evelyn V. and Robert M. Moore, Harriet Newbill, Estate of Edythe Bates Old, PepsiCo., Inc., Anne and Chris Reyes, Savannah Trip, Mary Anne B. Stewart, Paula Wallace/Savannah College of Art and Design, Marjorie Nohowel Wasilewski, Jean S. and Gordon T. Wells

Museum Shop Mom Candy Sweet, satisfying,

Hand-painted Easter Egg Enjoy these unique and

and calming, MOM CANDY: 1000 Quotes of Inspiration for Mothers is a perfect pick-me-up gift for mothers of all ages, with quotes and insight from Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Reese Witherspoon, Erica Jong, and many others. Hardcover, 400 pages. $16.99/ Member $15.29 (Item #4023)

decorative hand-painted Russian Easter eggs. Colors and styles may vary. $6/ Member $5.40 (Item #29255)

Bento Box Aroma

One Pan, Two Plates One pan

This set includes fragrant incense and a candle in a lovely bento-inspired design. Colors and styles may vary. $6/Member $5.40 (Item #29278)

+ fresh ingredients = dinner for two! One Pan, Two Plates: More Than 70 Complete Weeknight Meals for Two reduces prep time and dishes. Recipes range from fettuccine with scallops to skirt-steak fajitas. Softcover, 208 pages. $24.95/Member $22.46 (Item #3002)

Chocolate Notebook Collection A chocoholic’s dream in a whimsical trio of journals! Luxurious photography and quality paper mirror the delight of savoring a chocolate bar—the notebooks show packaging, foil, and luscious dark chocolate. $15/Member $13.50 (Item #30309)

Chewbead Teether Bracelet This 100% silicone teething ring is soft on babies’ gums and emerging teeth. Flexible, modern design; dishwasher safe. No BPAs, phthalates, cadmium, lead, or metal. Available in turquoise or gray. $16/Member $14.40 (Item #29062)

Anatomy of a Single Girl In novelist Daria Snadowsky’s daring follow-up to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, 18-year-old Dominique explores the relationship between love and lust, as well as the friendships that see us through. Softcover, 227 pages. $8.99/Member $8.09 (Item #2023)

ORDER FORM

Winter/Spring 2015

MAIL TO: NMWA Museum Shop 1250 New York Ave., NW Washington, DC 20005-3970

Item #

where else are you gonna stash all that stuff? Vintage Chinese label art lovingly rebuilt by Haley Johnson. 95% recycled postconsumer material has a crushed, wrinkled look when sewn. 7.25 x 9.5 in. $7/Member $6.30 (Item #26018)

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NATIONAL MUSEUM of WOMEN in the ARTS 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005-3970

COMING SOON

Super Natural June 5–September 13, 2015

ather than merely document beauty, artists in Super Natural engage with nature as a space for exploration and invention. Historical painters and naturalists focused on the singularity or strangeness of plant and animal specimens, sometimes adding narrative details and imagined settings. Super Natural juxtaposes their works with photographs, books, and videos by contemporary artists who share their artistic foremothers’ uninhibited view of flora and fauna. Performance artists incorporate the female body into the landscape. Book artists sculpt paper and wood into hybrid plants and beasties. Photographers shoot spectacular still lifes with equal focus on living objects’ beauty and the decay that threatens them. Maria Sibylla Merian, Rachel Ruysch, Mary Vaux Walcott, Ana Mendieta, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Janaina Tschäpe, Elisabetta Gut, and others illuminate women artists’ unrestrained absorption with nature.

Maria Sibylla Merian, Plate 70 (from “Dissertation in Insect Generations and Metamorphosis in Surinam,” second edition), 1719; Hand-colored engraving on paper, 14 ¼ x 20 ¼ in.; Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay