Women artists: An illustrated history - Hardcover

Heller, Nancy G.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0896597482 ISBN 13: 9780896597488

Publisher: Abbeville Press, 1987

Synopsis

Women Artists provides visual material on the subject, with several new international artists added to bring the content up to the minute.

About this title

Reviews

YA None of the three major surveys of art history (Jansen, Gardner, Hartt) pays adequate attention to women artists of note. Heller's book is a successful attempt to begin to remedy this gap in basic information available to lay readers about women painters and sculptors since the Renaissance. Organized in six chapters by century, the survey provides brief biographical information, some critical analysis and context, and at least one color plate of the work of 125 women artists who lived and worked in Europe or North America between the 16th Century and the 1980s. Although the prose suffers from the problems inherent in a survey texttoo much information too quickly presentedthat problem is also a strength of the volume. Readers will be fascinated to discover these relatively obscure but competent or great artists who remained unknown because they were women. The book is well designed, a pleasure to hold and read, and an excellent resource for students interested in expanding their understanding of art history. Dorcas Hand, Episcopal High School, Bellaire
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

That women artists were influential in nearly every phase of Western art becomes evident from this engrossing study. In our century, Sonia Delaunay, Paula Modersohn-Becker and Natalya Goncharova helped shape modern "-isms." Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt were in the forefront of the impressionists' fight to change the nature of painting. Realistic scenes of 19th century working-class life by French genre painter Francoise Duparc were revolutionary for her time. Ranging from the Italian Fede Galizia, a pioneer of still-life painting, to American sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and photorealist Audrey Flack, this survey scans the contributions of scores of women artists whose works generally have been neglected or downplayed. Among the histories of women artists currently available, this one stands out for its unsurpassed color reproductions. Heller, who lectures on art in Washington, D.C., writes here about the obstacles creative women have faced from the Renaissance to the present.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Written in a straightforward style, this survey of women artists from the Renaissance to the present is accessible to readers with knowledge of art history. The text consists of brief biographical sketches and accounts of the careers of 125 women artists. The personal and professional obstacles faced by these women are a unifying theme. One or occasionally two works by each artist are illustrated by good color photographs. Although the presentations are short and often superficial, this book can serve as a reference or an introduction to the work of major women artists. Suitable for high school students and general readers. Kathryn W. Finkelstein, M.L.S., Cincinnati
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Abbeville Press
• Publication date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0896597482
• ISBN 13: 9780896597488
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224