Women in Art

and Women Artists

A painting depicting two women in dramatic lighting, one holding a sword. The woman in the foreground is gesturing with her hand, while the other looks up at her. There's a lit candle and a book on a table behind them. The painting has a gold ornate frame.

Highlighting the role of women in art and women artists from prehistory to the present moment

The Ancient World

c. 3000 BCE–500 CE

Funeral banner of Lady Dai (Xin Zhui), 2nd century BCE, silk, 205 x 92 x 47.7 cm, found in Tomb 1 at Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan Province. Hunan Provincial Museum, Changsha.

The Medieval World

c. 500–1500 CE

Ancient carved stone panel with intricate designs displayed in a museum exhibit.
Illustrated "Coming Soon" graphic featuring a vase, architectural column, and various cultural masks and faces with green and yellow color scheme.
A green mask of a woman covers her face
Stylized illustrations of classical and tribal masks, Greek bust, and architectural column with "Coming Soon" text and ArtsQ logo.
Illustrated faces and objects with text "COMING SOON" on a blue and green background, and "ARTsQ" logo.

The Early Modern Period

c. 1500–1800 CE

A classical painting depicting a woman in a Renaissance-style dress holding a small unicorn. The woman is sitting in front of an outdoor backdrop with pillars and a landscape view. The painting is framed in an ornate, gold-colored frame.
Baroque painting depicting two women, one holding a sword and another wearing a headscarf, near a lit candle on a table.
Miguel Cabrera, Portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, c. 1750, oil on canvas. Museo Nacional de Historia, Castillo de Chapultepec, Mexico
Francis Delaram, Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1618, engraving, published in Baziliwlogia: A Booke of Kings (London, 1618). Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
a woman looks at us wearing a floral crown and veil
Still life painting of assorted fruits including apples, pears, peaches, grapes, and melons arranged on a table in front of a dark background.
A framed still life painting of a vibrant bouquet of various flowers in a dark vase, with a background featuring classical columns and architectural elements, mounted on a green wall.

The Modern Era

c. 1800–present

La Casa Azul, Coyoacán, Mexico City. Now, the Museo Frida Kahlo.
Leonora Carrington, Self-Portrait, c. 1937–38, oil on canvas, 25 9/16 × 32 in. (65 × 81.3 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
An abstract painting in warm colors like yellow that is Olga Albizu's 900-50-80
A smiling sun appears next to a blue mountain with running red lava, which is a print by Yayoi Kusama called Where the Universe and Human Life Are

Related Resources

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