This magnificent publication presents surveys the vital role of women in
the development of Abstract Expressionism by looking at more than 50
paintings, collages, and sculptures all accompanied by carefully
selected quotes from the artists themselves.
The dominant movement of the New York and San Francisco art scenes of
the mid-20th century, Abstract Expressionism is celebrated as the first
development in American art to gain international status. The movement
is synonymous with the work of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem
de Kooning, but also belonging to this generation who changed the course
of modern art were numerous female artists; only in recent years have
their contributions received the recognition they deserve. The
remarkable women in this exciting new book - among them Perle Fine,
Helen Frankenthaler, Sonia Gechtoff, Lee Krasner, and Joan Mitchell -
studied at the same art schools as the men, exhibited at the same
galleries, and were part of the same social scene. But their work was
not shown and reviewed as widely or considered as valuable as that of
the men.
This beautiful book presents the works of the Levett Collection, an
unparalleled private collection of paintings, drawings, and sculpture by
women Abstract Expressionists. Richly illustrated essays by the scholars
Ellen G. Landau and Joan M. Marter, leading authorities on the subject,
consider, respectively, the vital role of women in the development of
Abstract Expressionism and the work of women sculptors of the movement.
Full of exuberant, explosive color and densely layered expression, the
main part of the book is devoted to more than 50 paintings, collages,
and sculptures, all accompanied by pertinent quotes from the women about
their artistic practice and concerns.
An illustrated timeline and 35 artist biographies provide further
insight, making this volume an essential addition to the study of
Abstract Expressionist women, innovators in their own right, whose time
in the art-historical spotlight has finally come.
