A Studio of Her Own: Women Artists in Boston 1870-1940 - Hardcover

Erica E. Hirshler

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0878464824 ISBN 13: 9780878464821

Publisher: MFA Publications, 2001

Synopsis

As early as 1889, one Boston art critic had reported that "there is nothing that men do that is not done by women now in Boston." The city of Boston saw perhaps the largest concentration of women artists in the country, and A Studio of Her Own tells the interwoven stories of 40 of them in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It explores their lives and work both individually and communally, taking particular note of the relationships they formed, which enabled many of them to excel. Along with individual portraits of the artists, the book includes discussions of such contextual issues as the importance of the Arts and Crafts movement, concerns of marriage, family and sexuality, and the role of the MFA School. A Studio of Her Own is the definitive work on an important moment in America's cultural and artistic history.

About this title

About the Author

Erica E. Hirshler is John Moors Cabot curator of American painting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She is the author of "Dennis Miller Bunker" and a contributor to "The Bostonians."

Reviews

Complementing a Boston Museum of Fine Arts exhibit of the same name, Hirshler's book chronicles the birth and evolution of women artists who trained or were centered in Boston. The John Moors Cabot curator of American painting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Hirshler found her niche rediscovering lesser-known artists with her previous work, Dennis Miller Bunker: American Impressionist. She hits her stride with this new study, providing a standard for regional treatments of women artists. The book not only surveys artists grouped together solely by gender or artistic medium but also establishes the intertwining and harmonious relationships among several Bostonian generations. In addition, the original research generates fresh interest in a largely forgotten or unknown aesthetic stratum of New England. Hirshler delves into challenges specific to female artists, thus marrying art history with social history and appealing to a wider audience. Abundant illustrations, artists' biographies, and extensive footnotes make this essential for academic libraries specializing in art history. Rebecca Tolley-Stokes, East Tennessee State Univ., Johnson City
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: MFA Publications
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0878464824
• ISBN 13: 9780878464821
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 227