Waubonsee Community College

Independent spirits, women painters of the American West, 1890-1945, Patricia Trenton, editor ; with essays by Sandra D'Emilio and others]

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 274-292) and index

illustrationsmaps

index present

non fiction

Independent spirits

catalogsbibliography

32469122

Patricia Trenton, editor ; with essays by Sandra D'Emilio and others]

women painters of the American West, 1890-1945

Brilliantly illustrated with more than 100 color plates, this book is a rich compendium of Western art by women, including those of American Indian, Mexican, African, and Asian heritage. The essays examine economic, social, and political forces that shaped this art over years of profound change. The dynamic growth of the West altered the role of women and opened new opportunities within the dominant culture, beginning in the late nineteenth century. In contrast to the East, the West was less constrained by tradition and social hierarchy: Western women had more freedom than their Eastern counterparts in almost every sphere of creative endeavor. In most Western states women had the vote before 1915, five years before the passage of the 19th Amendment. By 1924 the West had sent the first women to the U.S. Congress and had elected two woman governors (Wyoming and Texas) and a woman mayor of a large city (Seattle). Sometimes following the art currents of the times, sometimes working apart from them, women artists in the West painted in a variety of styles that included Realism, Impressionism, Symbolism, and Surrealism. Many of these women pursued additional careers in order to support the making of art. Some owned art galleries, others avidly collected art, while still others preferred to write art criticism in widely read publications. Many shared their talents by teaching classes and administering art programs in schools and colleges

Introduction : women envision the West, 1890-1945 / Virginia Scharff -- Searching for selfhood : women artists of Northern California / Susan Landauer -- "Islands on the land" : women traditionalists of Southern California / Patricia Trenton -- The adventuresome, the eccentrics, and the dreamers : women modernists of Southern California / Ilene Susan Fort -- Northwestern exposure / Vicki Halper -- No woman's land : Arizona adventurers / Sarah J. Moore -- Inner voices, outward forms : women painters in New Mexico / Sandra D'Emilio and Sharyn Udall -- Lone star spirits / Susan Landauer with Becky Duval Reese -- "I must paint" : women artists of the Rocky Mountain region / Erika Doss -- Cultivating the grasslands : women painters in the Great Plains / Joni L. Kinsey