Themes in ArtWomen Artists
Women Artists
Correcting the record
Women artists are systematically overlooked and minimized in their own time, and their artwork is often lost, misattributed to men, or forgotten by recorded history. Household names in art history are overwhelmingly male. Despite this, every single era and art movement has been shaped by the women who persevered against patriarchal bias, brought their unique perspectives, innovated mediums, recorded their lives, and challenged society’s understanding of gender.
Obelisk is working to amass a diverse, global library of female artists, from history’s favorites like Frida Kahlo and Georgia O'Keeffe to the medieval polymaths Hildegard von Bingen and Herrad of Landsburg, and the self-taught masters Chaïbia Talal and Baya Mahieddine. This is an always-growing collection of artworks, biographies and stories. If there’s a badass female artist I should profile, please let me know at [email protected].
Clearing the way for women
1749 – 1803
On inwardness and silence
1912 – 2004
Women, flowers and daily life in Kazakhstan
1917 – 2008
Rhythm and dynamic movement
1882 – 1949
The unblinking anxiety of modern life
1900 – 1984
Tackling abstraction at 75
1891 – 1978
The truncated lives of women
1913 – 1941
Investigating art history in paint
1942 – 2014
A feminist prodigy charms the European elite
1741 – 1807
Paint until you're 90, then keep painting
1914 – 2012
Quiet portraits of daily life
1859 – 1935
Electric blue: the first photographic book
1799 – 1871
The life behind the line
1877 – 1959
Artist turns modernism into equal rights activism
1869 – 1944
Andean color meets European Constructivism
1913 – 1993
Heads will roll
1593 – 1656
Sculptor, teacher and warrior for civil rights
1892 – 1962
The ovoid and its penetration
1903 – 1975
Queen Baya
1931 – 1998
The patient negotiation of mystery
1936 – 1998
The soul of Impressionism
1841 – 1895
Success against the odds
1528 – 1565
“A message of hope to all women”
1929 – 2004
Beyond the grid
1896 – 1983
A mysterious woman paints hyperrealistic brunch
1589 – 1657
Fearsome interiors
1907 – 1997
Iconic photographer bar None
1895 – 1965
Exploring the strange world of dreams
1910 – 2012
Writer, teacher, and a natural painter
1918 – 1989
Grabbing history painting by the horns
1865 – 1896
A life's worth of paintings dedicated to Florence
1890 – 1982
Painted for Marie Antoinette and never made a dime
1755 – 1842
The mysterious death of a young art teacher
1638 – 1665
