Nevertheless She Persisted

HOFSTRA UNIVERSIT Y MUSEUM OF ART

Cover image:

LOUISA CHASE (American, born Panama, 1951-2016) Untitled (detail), 1988, ed. A.P. Lithograph 38 3/4 x 24 3/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Judith A. Jedlicka, HU2008.4.4 Š 2020 Hofstra University Museum of Art All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the Hofstra University Museum of Art.

HOFSTR A UNIVERSIT Y MUSEUM OF ART

March 31-August 14, 2020 David Filderman Gallery

This exhibition is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Foreword

The Hofstra University Museum of Art has an incredible resource – its permanent collection. With more than 5,000 objects, dating from 1,500 BCE to the 21st century, the collection contains works of art and cultural artifacts that include American and European paintings, sculpture, photography, prints, and other works on paper, along with Asian, Oceanic, African, and Pre-Columbian art. Hofstra University faculty and students utilize the permanent collection as a catalyst for discussion and as an integral component of their pedagogy and educational experiences. Public school children, through the Museum’s educational programs, gain meaningful introductions and extended learning experiences with works of art that connect directly to their classroom curricula and enhance 21st-century skills.

Nevertheless She Persisted, featuring a small portion of the resources represented in the collection, celebrates the great range and quality of works by artists who happen to be women. Works of art by women have been an integral component of the collection since prints by artists such as Isabel Bishop and Gene Kloss were accessioned into the collection in 1961. Inclusion in exhibitions and educational programs are two ways to acknowledge and elevate the substantive contributions of these artists.

The current focus of the art world on the overlooked contributions of women has resulted in a number of retrospective exhibitions.

The Hofstra University Museum of Art recently lent Jane Peterson’s The Lagoon, Venice to the exhibition Jane Peterson: At Home and Abroad, organized by the Mattatuck Museum, which traveled to four museum venues. This fall, when the Baltimore Museum of Art opens the exhibition Joan Mitchell: Fierce Beauty, Hofstra’s Mitchell painting, Metro, will be included and begin an international museum exhibition tour, including stops in San Francisco, New York City, and Paris. The Museum’s participation in these traveling exhibitions, as well as presenting Nevertheless She Persisted, is a step in the right direction, providing these often overlooked artists with long-deserved recognition.

Karen T. Albert

Acting Director and Chief Curator Hofstra University Museum of Art

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Curator’s Statement

Persistence is a recurring theme in the history of any marginalized group, and in the fight and struggle for equality, success does not happen overnight. It is the result of tireless efforts of many unknown individuals who continued to work for a cause no matter what. This year, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote (“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”).

However, it is important to note that while the amendment was signed into law 100 years ago, the fight started years prior (the famous Seneca Falls Convention, for example, occurred in 1848). For some women, particularly those not considered citizens (Native Americans and Chinese immigrants specifically) and those disenfranchised based on race, the struggle continued and is ongoing even to this day. It is this continuous fight, this constant labor, often without recognition, that resonates in the work and with the artists in this exhibition.

In the art world, a flashpoint in the history of women occurred in 1971, when art historian Linda Nochlin published her landmark essay in the January issue of ARTnews in which she asked the pointed question, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?”1 It is a question that speaks to not just straightforward inequality but an inherent bias within the history of art. Of course, women have been creating art for as long as men, but in 2016, when art museums such as the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Tate Modern, and others challenged Twitter users to name #5WomenArtists, most people struggled to name one.2 It is this lack of awareness due to multilayered biases that Nochlin was trying to expose in 1971, and while advancements have been made, ignorance still exists. As museums diversify their staff and leadership, incremental change is happening. The Baltimore Museum of Art, for example, announced that in this centennial year of the 19th Amendment, they will purchase only works by women in 2020.3 One year for women to make up for decades of unequal acquisitions. It is a start.

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The Hofstra University Museum of Art has an impressive collection, including over 500 works by women. All the works in this exhibition were drawn from the Museum’s extensive permanent collection, and it was truly only gallery space that limited the selection of works. The artists in this exhibition have their own, very specific stories to tell. For some, like Howardena Pindell and Elizabeth Catlett, they are highly personal narratives – stories of overcoming racial, gender, and/or economic hardship. For others, such as Jane Peterson, Perle Fine, and Marisol, they are accounts of contemporary success followed by historic anonymity and obscurity. While still others, like Sonia Delaunay, Bridget Riley, and Berenice Abbott, championed forgotten artists and challenging styles, giving voice to those who were unable or unwilling. Yet all these artists, undeterred by setbacks and rejections, are united not solely by their gender but by their persistent fight for art: to create art and to celebrate art by all people.

Kristen Rudy

Associate Curator and Collections Manager Hofstra University Museum of Art

Linda Nochlin. “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” ARTnews. January 1971.

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Katherine Brooks. “Not Everyone Can Name 5 Women Artists, And One Museum Wants To Change That,” HuffPost, March 3, 2017. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/can-you-name5-women-artists_n_58b6bf6ae4b0780bac2ec9b1

2

Baltimore Museum of Art. 2019. The BMA Dedicates a Year of Exhibitions, Programs, and Acquisitions to Female-Identifying Artists in 2020.

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Works of Art

BERENICE ABBOTT (American, 1898-1991) Poultry Shop, East 7th Street, New York, from the portfolio Retrospective, 1982 Gelatin silver print 38 1/4 x 32 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Lazarus Weiner, HU84.25

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ELIZABETH CATLETT (American, 1915-2012) Gossip, 2005, ed. 59/200 Color digital print with a photo-lithograph 22 1/2 x 24 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Eleanor Rait, HU2016.37 © 2020 Estate of Elizabeth Catlett

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LOUISA CHASE (American, born Panama, 1951-2016)

Untitled, 1988, ed. A.P. Lithograph 38 3/4 x 24 3/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Judith A. Jedlicka, HU2008.4.4 © 2020 Louisa Chase Courtesy of the Estate of Louisa Chase and Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York

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IMOGEN CUNNINGHAM (American, 1883-1976) Unmade Bed, 1957 Gelatin silver print 10 3/8 x 13 3/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Long Beach Friends of Hofstra, HU76.05 © 2020 Imogen Cunningham Trust

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DOROTHY DEHNER (American, 1901-1994) Untitled, 1982-83 Watercolor and ink on paper 16 1/4 x 13 1/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Kahn, HU86.16

© 2020 Estate of Dorothy Dehner

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SONIA DELAUNAY (French, born Ukraine, 1885-1979) Untitled, 1964, ed. 96/150 Etching 19 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Dr. Milton M. Gardner, HU70.97 © 2020 Estate of Sonia Delaunay

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MABEL DWIGHT (American, 1876-1955)

Mechano Marvel of the Age, 1928 Colored lithograph 12 1/4 x 9 3/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Dr. Daniel J. Mason, HU77.75 © 2020 Estate of Mabel Dwight

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PERLE FINE (American, 1905-1988) Convolution, 1966 Oil, ink, and pencil on linen 49 7/8 x 49 7/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of the artist, HU68.58 © A.E. Artworks, LLC

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AUDREY FLACK (American, born 1931)

Lady Madonna, 1972, ed. 135/150 Color lithograph, gold leaf, varnish 34 x 34 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Dr. Samuel Mandel, HU84.21 © 2020 Audrey Flack

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GUERRILLA GIRLS (est. 1985) The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist, 1988 Poster 17 x 22 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Museum purchase, HU2016.19 © 2020 Guerrilla Girls

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KÄTHE KOLLWITZ (German, 1867-1945)

Die Gefangenen (The Prisoners), 1908 Etching 13 x 16 3/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Philip James, HU70.104.2 © Estate of Käthe Kollwitz

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LEE KRASNER (American, 1908-1984) Primary Series: Blue Stone, 1969, ed. 68/100 Color lithograph 22 3/4 x 30 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Ira Kasindorf, HU79.114.1 © 2020 Artists Rights Society, New York

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MARISOL (Marisol Escobar) (American, 1930-2016) Fishing, 1970 Acrylic 14 1/2 x 16 7/8 x 6 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Tucker, HU85.1 © 2020 Estate of Marisol

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MARY ELLEN MARK (American, 1940-2015) Brothers Going to Church, Tunica, Mississippi, from the portfolio In America, 1990 Gelatin silver print 10 1/4 x 10 1/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball, HU93.17.3 Š Mary Ellen Mark/The Mary Ellen Mark Foundation

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FRANCES FLORA BOND PALMER (American, born England, 1812-1876) Life in the Country: Evening, 1862 Hand-colored lithograph Published by Currier and Ives 11 x 15 1/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Mrs. George Estabrook HU64.157

The Rural Lake, n.d.

Hand-colored lithograph Published by Currier and Ives 10 1/2 x 14 7/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Mrs. George Estabrook HU64.58

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BEVERLY PEPPER (American, 1922-2020) Untitled, from the portfolio Contemporary Intaglio Prints, n.d.

Intaglio print 18 3/4 x 20 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of the American Federation of Arts, HU82.24.11 © 2020 Estate of Beverly Pepper

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JANE PETERSON (American, 1876-1965)

The Lagoon, Venice, 1920 Oil on canvas 32 x 32 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Martin Horwitz, HU72.1 © Estate of Jane Peterson

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HOWARDENA PINDELL (American, born 1943) Untitled #9B (Genesis II), 2007 Watercolor, acrylic, thread, ink, oil stick, color pencil, and museum board 13 x 10 3/4 x 3 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of the artist, HU2012.51

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BRIDGET RILEY (British, born 1931)

Chicago 7, 1971, ed. 106/150 Silkscreen 26 x 22 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Carole and Alex Rosenberg, HU88.56 © Bridget Riley 2020. All rights reserved.

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ALISON SAAR (American, born 1956) Stride Piano, 1993, ed. 13/18 Color woodcut 29 x 23 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Judith A. Jedlicka, HU2008.4.3 © Alison Saar

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MIRIAM SCHAPIRO (American, 1923-2015)

The Fan, from the portfolio Offset Lithographic Prints 1981, 1979, ed. 55/100 Offset lithograph on Warren’s Cameo 80 lb. dull cover paper 11 x 22 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Tyler School of Art, Temple University, HU83.48.14 © 2020 Estate of Miriam Schapiro

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Exhibition Checklist BERENICE ABBOTT (American, 1898-1991)

IMOGEN CUNNINGHAM (American, 1883-1976)

Poultry Shop, East 7th Street, New York, from the portfolio Retrospective, 1982 Gelatin silver print 38 1/4 x 32 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Lazarus Weiner HU84.25

Unmade Bed, 1957 Gelatin silver print 10 3/8 x 13 3/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Long Beach Friends of Hofstra HU76.05 DOROTHY DEHNER (American, 1901-1994)

DIANE ARBUS (American, 1923-1971)

Untitled, 1982-83 Watercolor and ink on paper 16 1/4 x 13 1/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Kahn HU86.16

A Young Man in Curlers at Home on West 20th Street, NYC 1966, 1966 Gelatin silver print 20 x 16 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Mr. Steven Yager HU89.38

SONIA DELAUNAY (French, born Ukraine, 1885-1979)

ELIZABETH CATLETT (American, 1915-2012)

Untitled, 1964, ed. 96/150 Etching 19 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Dr. Milton M. Gardner HU70.97

Gossip, 2005, ed. 59/200 Color digital print with a photo-lithograph 22 1/2 x 24 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Eleanor Rait HU2016.37

MABEL DWIGHT (American, 1876-1955)

LOUISA CHASE (American, born Panama, 1951-2016)

Mechano Marvel of the Age, 1928 Colored lithograph 12 1/4 x 9 3/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Dr. Daniel J. Mason HU77.75

Untitled, 1988, ed. A.P. Lithograph 38 3/4 x 24 3/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Judith A. Jedlicka HU2008.4.4

PERLE FINE (American, 1905-1988) Convolution, 1966 Oil, ink, and pencil on linen 49 7/8 x 49 7/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of the artist HU68.58

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AUDREY FLACK (American, born 1931)

MARY ELLEN MARK (American, 1940-2015)

Lady Madonna, 1972, ed. 135/150 Color lithograph, gold leaf, varnish 34 x 34 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Dr. Samuel Mandel HU84.21

Brothers Going to Church, Tunica, Mississippi, from the portfolio In America, 1990 Gelatin silver print 10 1/4 x 10 1/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU93.17.3

GUERRILLA GIRLS (est. 1985)

FRANCES FLORA BOND PALMER (American, born England, 1812-1876)

The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist, 1988 Poster 17 x 22 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Museum purchase, HU2016.19

Life in the Country: Evening, 1862 Hand-colored lithograph, published by Currier and Ives 11 x 15 1/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Mrs. George Estabrook HU64.157

KÄTHE KOLLWITZ (German, 1867-1945) Die Gefangenen (The Prisoners), 1908 Etching 13 x 16 3/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Philip James HU70.104.2

The Rural Lake, n.d.

Hand-colored lithograph, published by Currier and Ives 10 1/2 x 14 7/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Mrs. George Estabrook HU64.58

LEE KRASNER (American, 1908-1984)

BEVERLY PEPPER (American, 1922-2020)

Primary Series: Blue Stone, 1969, ed. 68/100 Color lithograph 22 3/4 x 30 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Ira Kasindorf HU79.114.1

Untitled, from the portfolio Contemporary Intaglio Prints, n.d.

Intaglio print 18 3/4 x 20 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of the American Federation of Arts HU82.24.11

MARISOL (Marisol Escobar) (American, 1930-2016) Fishing, 1970 Acrylic 14 1/2 x 16 7/8 x 6 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Tucker HU85.1

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Exhibition Checklist (continued) JANE PETERSON (American, 1876-1965)

ALISON SAAR (American, born 1956)

The Lagoon, Venice, 1920 Oil on canvas 32 x 32 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Martin Horwitz HU72.1

Stride Piano, 1993, ed. 13/18 Color woodcut 29 x 23 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Judith A. Jedlicka HU2008.4.3

HOWARDENA PINDELL (American, born 1943)

MIRIAM SCHAPIRO (American, 1923-2015)

Untitled #9B (Genesis II), 2007 Watercolor, acrylic, thread, ink, oil stick, color pencil, and museum board 13 x 10 3/4 x 3 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of the artist HU2012.51

The Fan, from the portfolio Offset Lithographic Prints 1981, 1979, ed. 55/100 Offset lithograph on Warren’s Cameo 80 lb. dull cover paper 11 x 22 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Tyler School of Art, Temple University HU83.48.14

BRIDGET RILEY (British, born 1931) Chicago 7, 1971, ed. 106/150 Silkscreen 26 x 22 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Carole and Alex Rosenberg HU88.56

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HOFS TR A UNIVERSIT Y STUART RABINOWITZ

President Andrew M. Boas and Mark L. Claster Distinguished Professor of Law

HERMAN A. BERLINER Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Lawrence Herbert Distinguished Professor MARGARET ABRAHAM Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs The Harry H. Wachtel Distinguished Teaching Professor for the Study of Nonviolent Social Change and Professor of Sociology

HOFS TR A UNIVERSIT Y MUSEUM OF AR T KAREN T. ALBERT Acting Director and Chief Curator ELISA BRUNO Museum Educator ANNEMARIE BRUSCA Museum Educator ELIZABETH DYSART Director of Education and Engagement JACKIE GEIS Senior Assistant to Director ALEXANDRA GIORDANO Communications Director JILL M. MELLOW Education Program Coordinator KRISTEN RUDY Associate Curator and Collections Manager AMY G. SOLOMON Museum Educator GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP Joel Fontana GRADUATE ASSISTANTS Erin Doyle, Nathalie Fernandez, Elizabeth Smith, and Kiarra Williams UNDERGRADUATE ASSISTANTS Hayley Combs, Marisa Cornog, Jacob Ferrandi, Jonathan Fidis, Corinne Hemmer, Anna Kizito, Shaina Martin, Eiryn Sheades, and Kayleigh Specht

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