On April 2, the Fenimore Art Museum at COOPERSTOWN in Cooperstown unveiled the exhibition As They Saw It: Women Artists Then & Now. It is one of four exhibitions that kicked off the 2024 museum season.
According to a press release about women, by women and curated by women, As They Saw It celebrates the vision and creativity of American artists working across three centuries. The exhibition highlights varied experiences and approaches to artistic creation, while addressing the underrepresentation of women in the arts. The more than 60 works show how women, despite social, economic and cultural barriers, express their identity and shape their history through artistic expression.
Drawn from the collections of three partner museums Fenimore Art Museum; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and Springfield Museums and curated by an all-female curatorial team, As They Saw It tells a story of collaboration and connection between women artists of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Many works have been removed from storage and can be seen for the first time, in their unique arrangement.
In most museum collections, women artists are underrepresented, Julia Madore, associate curator of American art at the Fenimore Art Museum, noted in the release. With this exhibition, we are excited to put women front and center, telling their unique stories and sharing their individual perspectives with museum visitors, added Associate Curator of American Art Ann Cannon. Both participated in the preparation of the exhibition. Other co-curators include Maggie North and Sophie Combs of the Springfield Museums, and Martina Tanga and Erica Hirshler of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The paintings, drawings, photographs, textiles and sculptures interact through three thematic sections. The first features self-portraits and explorations of identity by artists including Kyra Hicks. In the second, the powerful bonds of sisterhood and community are conveyed through works of art such as Dancing on the George Washington Bridge II by Faith Ringgold. The third section draws attention to the importance of multigenerational relationships and highlights women's roles as custodians of knowledge, creative practices and artistic techniques; a 19th century Din women's dress with a contemporary belt by DY Begay is an excellent representation of this theme.
Showcasing how women artists defined, supported, and supported each other, As They Saw It: Women Artists Then & Now highlights the essential contributions of American women artists. In an era of debates about women's rights and museums working to increase representation in their collections, the exhibition embraces conversations about contemporary issues related to the arts, advocacy and gender.
As They Saw It: Women Artists Then & Now is on view until September 2. This is a series of exhibitions of American art created as part of a multi-year, multi-institutional partnership formed by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as part of the Art Bridges Initiative.
Other exhibitions opening April 2 include American Masterworks, 50-Pound Blanket: Photographs by Joshua Ives, and Stitched in Time.
Exhibitions opening in May include Banksy: The Haight Street Rat, Bob Dylan Remastered: Drawings from the Road and Marc Hom: Re-Framed.
The Fenimore Art Museum is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Visit FenimoreArt.org for more information.
