Ten Women Artists Every Young Girl Should know About!
Here is a quick top ten list of some of my favorite women artists, whom I think every female should know about. When someone told me that the names below weren't mentioned in the artist section of The Daring Book for Girls, I was startled and dismayed. The focus was on male artists in a book for girls! I'm not sure why, though, when there are so many wonderful and exciting female artists to choose from and admire. I had trouble choosing just ten!
- Mary Cassatt: What a brave woman she was! Not only was she a leader in the impressionist movement, but this woman was living abroad in Paris among a circle of great artists. Every little girl who dreams of becoming an artist should learn about her. Her art is instantly recognizable and relate-able as it mostly focuses on intimate depictions on motherly love and children.
- Georgia O'Keefe Another woman, and American, on my list would be this amazing innovative painter. She was inspired by the medium of photography to crop her paintings. little girls will love her flower paintings and glorious watercolors.
Georgia O'Keefe - Berthe Morisot: Another painter in Mary Cassatt's Parisian circle was Berthe Morisot. she was one of the founding member of the impressionist movement but her name is getting lost in the art history books. She made her paintbrush dance across the screen. Many interior paintings and garden scenes.
- Helen Frankenthaler: Another giant is this modern abstract expressionist who studied and was respected in the Han Hoffman circle in the 1950's in New York.( and yes, she was American as well) She was friends with Jackson Pollock but she poured her paint on the canvas rather than splattered it.
- Lee Krasner: Speaking of Pollock, his wife, Lee Krasner was also a luminary in the abstract expressionist circle and some say she was better than he was.
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Cindy Sherman : The list wouldn't be complete without the photographer Cindy Sherman. little girls will really love the way her photographs all depict her in "dress up"
Helen Frankenthaler in her studio -
Dorothea Lange: Another photography genius was Dorthea Lange who became famous for her photographs of the migrant workers. She was great because she told the story of their plight and shone a light on the poverty of this time.
Dorothea Lange -
Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun (1755–1842)This artist has work featured in a group show right now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Pastel Portraits: Images of 18th-Century Europe
May 17, 2011–August 14, 2011. She was the official portraitist of Marie Antoinette. - Frida Kahlo A wonderfully imaginative Mexican artist who wasn't afraid to celebrate her culture, as well as her personal angst and pain on canvas. This is a great woman artist for little girls who also need to celebrate their ethnicity. The Tate museum is currently featuring her work and this is what their website has to say about her: "The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is now regarded as one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century and this is the first major UK exhibition dedicated to her work to take place for over twenty years."
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Louise Bourgeois : It was difficult to choose only ten great women artists but I
decided to add the sculptor Bourgeois because I just love her giant spider sculptures and the little Miss Muffet in your life should not be scared to dream big!
Self-Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser, Frida Kahlo
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| Young Mother Sewing, Mary Cassatt |
There were so many great women artists, both contemporary and through out the ages.
Who is your favorite women artist?