Women artists in midcentury America A history in ten exhibitions

Women Artists in Midcentury America is a timely and essential contribution to art historical knowledge of women artists and the wide variety of institutions that supported them with all-women shows from 1943 to 1962. Belasco (Al Held Foundation) chose 10 illuminating exhibitions for his book from about 50 he found during his research. One hopes his volume will encourage scholarship on the shows he was not able to include, even though a comprehensive list is not included and the bibliography does not feature archival materials. Organized chronologically by exhibition beginning with Exhibition by 31 Women at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of the Century Gallery and ending with the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum's 1962 exhibition Women Artists in America Today, each chapter uses its titular show as a springboard for exploring a different theme or artistic medium, including race, photography, education, women artists groups, and democracy. This inspired structure yields a wealth of contextual information about and analysis of the careers of now-canonical artists, such as Ruth Asawa, Margaret Bourke-White, and Elaine de Kooning. Importantly, it also puts many new artists, works of art, and exhibition venues on the scholarly radar. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty. --Kimberly Rhodes, Drew University