A Washington D.C. gem - The National Museum of Women in the Arts
The NMWA is one of a kind
The National Museum of Women in the Arts is one of my favorite museums in Washington D.C. I first visited this museum twenty years ago and I’ve been a member ever since. It is the only major museum in the world devoted solely to championing women artists. The museum was started in 1987 to provide a much needed antidote to the dearth of art by women in most museums.
I love the museum building, it’s an elegant pie-shaped structure that was originally built in 1908. Ironically it was designed as a temple for the Masons, an organization that did not allow women members. The interior has tall ceilings and beautiful period details including huge chandeliers and a balustraded mezzanine in the main space.
Click on any image to see the full work.
Above right is Superwoman, (1973, oil and acrylic) by Kiki Kogelnik, (1935-1997) an Austrian artist. Here she was commenting on the stereotype women that appeared in comic books, clad in sexy impractical costumes and used as an accessory to the male hero. The scissors here are in reference to her power and her use of scissors in creating stencils and silhouettes in her work.
Documenting Black experiences
These lithographs caught my eye because even in an art museum dedicated to women’s art, there are few paintings of people of color, presumably because historically in the U.S., people of color have had few opportunities to study, produce, or display art. These two lithographs are by Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012), a distinguished American artist whose paintings, sculptures, and prints focused on the experiences of Black females and the racism that impacted them.
Mary Cassat, a painter’s painter
As a big fan of impressionist Mary Cassat, I was delighted to discover one of her works that is new to me. On the left is Portrait of Katherine Cassatt, (1905, oil on canvas). This painting of the artist’s niece shows the loose energetic brushwork and sensitive rendering of features that was characteristic of her style. Mary Cassatt was also an advocate for Impressionist art. She advised her wealthy patrons in Paris (her adopted home) and her native Pittsburg to purchase work in the new style – and she was influential in the movement’s international exposure.
The second painting is by Marie Danforth Page (1869-1940), who was one of Boston’s most successful portraitists from 1900 until her death. Her Littlest One, (1914, oil) shows the influence of fellow American artist Mary Cassatt. For such non-commissioned mother-and-child portraits, Page sometimes hired sitters from charity homes caring for women and children in order to capture a more realistic interaction between mother and child.
Yellow energy
I was drawn to the energy of these two vivid paintings in yellow. The left is Rainy Night, Downtown, (1967, oil,) by Georgia Mills Jessup (1926 - 2016). The painting uses strongly contrasting shapes and colors to depict an area in Washington near the NMWA The artist had deep roots in D.C. and worked in the city as an artist, arts educator, and arts advocate.
Magnetic Fields (1990, oil), top right, is by Mildred Thompson (1936 - 2003). The paintings of this Jacksonville, FL artist express her interest in quantum physics, cosmology, philosophy, mathematics, and color theory. This work uses warm colors and rhythmic lines to indicate pulsing magnetic energy. Thompson’s work was often overlooked because her subject matter was unexpected for an African-American artist of her era.
As it turns out, my visit was during one of the last months before the museum closes for two years for a massive renovation that will update the building from top to bottom in a transition to accommodate new technology and additional artwork. I’m glad this special museum will get the structural and cosmetic changes it needs to continue to be a powerful force for women artists for years to come.
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Read about my other favorite museums in Washington DC., The National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery of art.
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