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Women Artists: An Illustrated History
Firmly established as one of the premier histories of women in the fine arts, Nancy G. Heller's Women Artists returns in an expanded fourth edition. With coverage of the 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium, nearly half the volume is now devoted to the remarkable period from 1960 to the present, when women artists emerged as the most dynamic force in contemporary art. New to this edition are innovative contemporary American artists, such as Janine Antoni and Renee Cox, as well as major international figures, including Iran's Shirin Neshat, Shahzia Sikander from Pakistan, and the Icelandic sculptor and performance artist Katrin Sigurdardottir. As in past editions, all the artists' works are represented in large-format color reproductions, and the artists' careers are examined in concise critical biographies.
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 7, 2008
This was delightful to read and to look at. Some of the art is full-page, full color, and really helped me to appreciate how women have always been doing the same thing as men, even in artistic movements we don't associate women with.
art-illustration
September 22, 2009Lovely illustrations.
July 6, 2016
Beautifully designed, large images. A great introduction to many women artists in the western art world over the past few centuries.
November 18, 2019
'Women Artists" is a wonderful book! It shows a great many women artists from the Renaissance to our times. For each artist mentioned there's a short biography and a large picture of one of their art pieces. The pictures are amazing; very clear and crisp. The discussions of each artist's life and work are easy to read yet very thoughtful. I was surprised at how early women became painters and/or sculptors in history. I learned so much!
November 13, 2022
A wonderful survey book of female artists from The Renaissance to the Twenty-First Century. Beautiful full color illustrations enhance the text around each artist. Women have always been part of the art world and very talented, they just hadn't been written about. The author, Nancy G. Heller describes the impact and obstacles these women had to overcome in order to be successful.
July 26, 2017
FABULOUS book about early Women artists in the Western hemisphere. Great illustrations to go with each short bio.
October 13, 2017
Yes, I read most of this book. Found it completely fascinating. And the pictures are beautiful.
April 20, 2021
Interesting art from talented women as far back as the Renaissance! Loved the stories behind the artists.
January 31, 2017
Great book, well researched and written.
May 7, 2024
1 : English review
2 : Critique en Français
1 : English review
This beautifully illustrated book's about women artists, a topic which is often forgotten, just like these women themselves. In our modern culture, knowledge about women have been generally set aside in favor of men and that is true not only for artists but also scientists, poets and writers, or just about any other job one can think off.
Things did change, somewhat, but the general consensus remains male-focused in a patriarchal world.
The aim of this book isn't exhaustiveness in listing ALL the women artists in the entire world and in the entire history as that would take many volumes.
The aim, therefore, is to awaken curiosity and to nudge the reader to find out more information about the various artists the author chose to discuss and showcase their art, or to search other names.
Indeed, the book in divided into 7 chapters, each concentrating on a period such as the renaissance, followed by the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, whilst the 20th in which many more women had broader access to the arts receives 2 chapters, one for the early part, and one for the mid century to mid 1980's.
The book's last chapter discusses new currents, followed by notes, a selected bibliography, acknowledgements and an index.
Nancy G. Heller evokes biographical insights into various women artists in Europe & North America, and proposes a quick overview of their artistic styles.
210 illustrations enrich the chapters, and 150 of them are in full color.
I loved the first 5 chapters, and I simply skimmed through the last two, because I do not like at all the artistic trends of the 1950's to 1980's, from Abstract Expressionism created after World war II, or the new currents of the 80's, which I personally find un-aesthetic.
In whole, the book meets its objectives, in my opinion, and I highly recommend reading it because the subject is so important and it's time to learn more about all these women artists.
I scored 8/10, because I wanted some small illustrations larger and I do not agree with the ultra-positive review of works of art that I didn't feel aesthetically pleasing.
*******
2 : Critique en Français
Ce livre magnifiquement illustré traite des femmes artistes, un sujet souvent oublié, tout comme ces femmes elles-mêmes. Dans notre culture moderne, les connaissances sur les femmes ont généralement été mises de côté au profit des hommes et cela est vrai non seulement pour les artistes mais aussi pour les scientifiques, les poètes et les écrivains, ou pour tout autre travail auquel on peut penser.
Les choses ont quelque peu changé, mais le consensus général reste centré sur les hommes dans un monde patriarcal.
Le but de ce livre n'est pas d'être exhaustif en listant TOUTES les femmes artistes du monde entier et de toute l'histoire car cela prendrait plusieurs volumes.
Le but est donc d'éveiller la curiosité et d'inciter le lecteur à en savoir plus sur les différents artistes que l'auteur a choisis pour discuter et présenter son art, ou à rechercher d'autres noms.
En effet, l'ouvrage est divisé en 7 chapitres, chacun se concentrant sur une période comme la renaissance, suivi des 17e, 18e et 19e siècles, tandis que le 20e où beaucoup plus de femmes ont eu un accès plus large aux arts reçoit 2 chapitres, un pour le début et un pour le milieu du siècle jusqu'au milieu des années 1980.
Le dernier chapitre du livre aborde les nouveaux courants, suivi de notes, d'une bibliographie sélectionnée, de remerciements et d'un index.
Nancy G. Heller évoque des aperçus biographiques de diverses femmes artistes en Europe et en Amérique du Nord et propose un aperçu rapide de leurs styles artistiques.
210 illustrations enrichissent les chapitres, dont 150 en couleur.
J'ai adoré les 5 premiers chapitres, et j'ai simplement survolé les deux derniers, car je n'aime pas du tout les courants artistiques des années 1950 à 1980, de l'expressionnisme abstrait créé après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, ou les nouveaux courants des années 80, qui Personnellement, je trouve cela inesthétique.
Dans l'ensemble, le livre répond à ses objectifs, à mon avis, et je recommande vivement sa lecture car le sujet est très important et il est temps d'en apprendre davantage sur toutes ces femmes artistes.
J'ai noté 8/10, car je souhaitais quelques petites illustrations plus grandes et je ne suis pas d'accord avec l'avis ultra positif sur les œuvres d'art qui ne me paraissaient pas esthétiques.
2 : Critique en Français
1 : English review
This beautifully illustrated book's about women artists, a topic which is often forgotten, just like these women themselves. In our modern culture, knowledge about women have been generally set aside in favor of men and that is true not only for artists but also scientists, poets and writers, or just about any other job one can think off.
Things did change, somewhat, but the general consensus remains male-focused in a patriarchal world.
The aim of this book isn't exhaustiveness in listing ALL the women artists in the entire world and in the entire history as that would take many volumes.
The aim, therefore, is to awaken curiosity and to nudge the reader to find out more information about the various artists the author chose to discuss and showcase their art, or to search other names.
Indeed, the book in divided into 7 chapters, each concentrating on a period such as the renaissance, followed by the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, whilst the 20th in which many more women had broader access to the arts receives 2 chapters, one for the early part, and one for the mid century to mid 1980's.
The book's last chapter discusses new currents, followed by notes, a selected bibliography, acknowledgements and an index.
Nancy G. Heller evokes biographical insights into various women artists in Europe & North America, and proposes a quick overview of their artistic styles.
210 illustrations enrich the chapters, and 150 of them are in full color.
I loved the first 5 chapters, and I simply skimmed through the last two, because I do not like at all the artistic trends of the 1950's to 1980's, from Abstract Expressionism created after World war II, or the new currents of the 80's, which I personally find un-aesthetic.
In whole, the book meets its objectives, in my opinion, and I highly recommend reading it because the subject is so important and it's time to learn more about all these women artists.
I scored 8/10, because I wanted some small illustrations larger and I do not agree with the ultra-positive review of works of art that I didn't feel aesthetically pleasing.
*******
2 : Critique en Français
Ce livre magnifiquement illustré traite des femmes artistes, un sujet souvent oublié, tout comme ces femmes elles-mêmes. Dans notre culture moderne, les connaissances sur les femmes ont généralement été mises de côté au profit des hommes et cela est vrai non seulement pour les artistes mais aussi pour les scientifiques, les poètes et les écrivains, ou pour tout autre travail auquel on peut penser.
Les choses ont quelque peu changé, mais le consensus général reste centré sur les hommes dans un monde patriarcal.
Le but de ce livre n'est pas d'être exhaustif en listant TOUTES les femmes artistes du monde entier et de toute l'histoire car cela prendrait plusieurs volumes.
Le but est donc d'éveiller la curiosité et d'inciter le lecteur à en savoir plus sur les différents artistes que l'auteur a choisis pour discuter et présenter son art, ou à rechercher d'autres noms.
En effet, l'ouvrage est divisé en 7 chapitres, chacun se concentrant sur une période comme la renaissance, suivi des 17e, 18e et 19e siècles, tandis que le 20e où beaucoup plus de femmes ont eu un accès plus large aux arts reçoit 2 chapitres, un pour le début et un pour le milieu du siècle jusqu'au milieu des années 1980.
Le dernier chapitre du livre aborde les nouveaux courants, suivi de notes, d'une bibliographie sélectionnée, de remerciements et d'un index.
Nancy G. Heller évoque des aperçus biographiques de diverses femmes artistes en Europe et en Amérique du Nord et propose un aperçu rapide de leurs styles artistiques.
210 illustrations enrichissent les chapitres, dont 150 en couleur.
J'ai adoré les 5 premiers chapitres, et j'ai simplement survolé les deux derniers, car je n'aime pas du tout les courants artistiques des années 1950 à 1980, de l'expressionnisme abstrait créé après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, ou les nouveaux courants des années 80, qui Personnellement, je trouve cela inesthétique.
Dans l'ensemble, le livre répond à ses objectifs, à mon avis, et je recommande vivement sa lecture car le sujet est très important et il est temps d'en apprendre davantage sur toutes ces femmes artistes.
J'ai noté 8/10, car je souhaitais quelques petites illustrations plus grandes et je ne suis pas d'accord avec l'avis ultra positif sur les œuvres d'art qui ne me paraissaient pas esthétiques.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews