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Artists

Artists

Note 1: looking up the artists may lead to finding potentially disturbing content. Reader discretion is advised. Content warnings are mentioned below only if deemed relevant to the brief description on this page.

If you find the colors used on this page to underline the names of the artists to be overwhelming, consider viewing from mobile, where there are less colors.

Note 2: this is only a small subset of the many artists throughout the ages who have faced gender oppression (whether in their own times, due to current erasure from the mainstream, or both). There are many more!

Illumination by Claricia, depicting the artist swinging from a "Q."

Before and beyond individual artists ...

Although we cannot know specific artists from the prehistoric ages, a study analyzing the shape of hand stencils has suggested that most Paleolithic artists may have been women. Perhaps the most famous depictions of women in Paleoltihic art, however, are the "Paleolithic Venuses," who have, according to historians, been misinterpreted as representations of "beauty standards" and may have instead been symbols of fertility, depictions of goddesses (often, early human societies worshiped female deities), or self-representation by female artists.

In Rwanda, Imigongo is an art form characterized by geometric patterns and bright colors, and it is traditionally made by women. Women also traditionally created Madhubani, a form of painting from the Mithila region of India. Two-Spirit individuals in the Indigenous nations of what is today known as North America often worked in traditional arts and crafts.

List of artists who face(d) erasure (at least in part) due to systems of gender oppression

 

• Τιμαρέτη (Timarete) (5th century BCE): ancient Greek painter.

• Helena of Egypt (4th century BCE): Egyptian painter.

• Iaia (2nd/1st century BCE): Roman painter and ivory engraver,

  known for work depicting women.

• Ende (late 10th century): first female Spanish illuminator

   whose work is documented through inscription.

• Gunnborga (11th century): Swedish and only known female runemaster.

• Guda (12th century): German illuminator.

• 朱克 柔 (Zhu Kerou) (1127 - 1161): Chinese weaver and embroiderer.

• Claricia (13th century): German illuminator.

• Mabel of Bury St. Edmunds (13th century): English embroiderer of incredible skill.

• 管道昇 (Guan Daosheng) (1262 - 1319): Chinese painter and poet considered

   the most famous Chinese female painter and calligrapher, known for bamboo

   paintings, which were unusual subjects for female artists.

• Maria Ormani (1428 - 1470): Italian nun and manuscript illustrator who is credited

  with the first dated female self-portrait of the Italian Renaissance.

• Eufrasia Burlamacchi (1482 - 1548): Italian nun and illuminator.

• Suzanne de Court (probably late 16th - early 17th century): French enamel painter and only known woman signing                   Limoges pieces.

• 사임당 신씨 (Shin Saimdang) (1504 - 1551): Korean painter and calligrapher, as well as writer and poet.

The artist Claricia swinging from a red, blue, and green "Q" with interlacing white designs.
People at leisure in a landscape of mountains tinted in a blue-green color.

行乐图 ("Leisure Time") (1567)

by 仇珠 (Qiu Zhu)

• Catharina van Hemessen (1528 - after 1565): Flemish Renaissance painter and

  possibly first person to create a self-portrait of an artist sitting at an easel.

• Diana Scultori (1547 - 1612): Italian engraver and one of the earliest known                           women printmakers.

• 馬守真 (Ma Shouzhen) (c. 1548 - 1604): Chinese painter, as well as poet and                          composer, known for depictions of landscapes, orchids, and bamboo                                  accompanied by calligraphy.

• Lavinia Fontana (1552 - 1614): Italian painter considered the first female                               career artist in Western Europe.

• 헌 (Heo Nanseolheon) (1563 - 1589): Korean painter and poet.

• 薛素素 (Xue Susu) (1564/1573 - 1620/1650): Chinese painter and poet.

• 仇珠 (Qiu Zhu) (1565 - 1585): Chinese artist known for paintings of Guanyin (the                  bodhisattva associated with compassion) and of women at leisure.

Sirani painting; she is wearing orange, blue, and gold clothing in front of books and other objects.

Self-Portrait as the Allegoria della Pittura ("Allegory of Painting") (1658)

by Elisabetta Sirani

• Ono Tsūjo (1567/1568 - 1631): Japanese painter and calligrapher of nyohitsu ("the women's brush").

 

• Fede Galizia (c. 1578 - c. 1630): Italian Reinaissance painter of still-lifes, portraits, and religious images, less well-                    known than other women artists due to lack of access to aristocratic circles.

• Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 - c. 1656): Italian Baroque painter known for her depictions of women and of genres                    generally not accessible to women artists.

• 文俶 (Wen Shu) (1595 - 1634): Chinese painter known for paintings of plants and small insects, considered the best                flower painter of her time.

• Sahifa Banu (17th century): Indian artist and miniaturist.

• Judith Leyster (1609 - 1660): Dutch Golden Age painter whose work included

  scenes of everyday life, portraits, and still-lifes.

• 周淑禧 (Zhou Shuxi) (1624 - c. 1705): Chinese painter whose works depicted animals,

  flowers, and Buddha statues.

• Geertruydt Roghman (1625 - 1657): Dutch Golden Age painter, engraver, and etcher

   who produced, among other works, depictions of women in everyday life work.

• Elisabetta Sirani (1638 - 1665): Italian Baroque painter and printmaker who

   depicted, among other subjects, religious and historical scenes, often featuring

   women, and who established a school for women artists.

• 清原 雪信 (Kiyohara Yukinobu) (1643 - 1689): Japanese painter and one of the first

   women artists in the Kanō school.

• Luisa Ignacia Roldán (1652 - 1706): Spanish Baroque sculptor.

• 陳書 (Chen Shu) (1660 - 1735): Chinese painter of figures, landscapes, and depictions

   of "flower-and-bird."

• Rachel Ruysch (1664 - 1750): Dutch Golden Age painter specialized in detailed

   still-lifes of flowers in Rococo style.

• Anna Waser (1678 - 1714): Swiss painter.

• Maria Verelst (1680 - 1744): English painter known for miniatures and portraits.

• Susanna Drury (c. 1698 - c. 1770): Irish painter who was an important figure in

   Irish landscape painting.

• 馬荃 (Ma Quan) (late 17th - 18th century): Chinese painter specialized in bird and flower painting.

Vase of white, orange, red, pink, and light blue flowers with some flowers at the bottom of the vase

Flowers in a Vase by Mary Moser

• Françoise Duparc (1726 - 1778): Spanish painter whose work is characterized            by simplicity and influenced by the Dutch style.

• Tokuyama (Ike) Gyokuran (1727 - 1784): Japanese literati style painter,                        calligrapher, and poet.

• Marie-Geneviève Navarre (1737 - 1795): French portrait artist and miniaturist            who worked with oils and, more famously, pastels.

• Mary Moser (1744 - 1819): British painter known for works depicting flowers              and one of the only two women founders of the Royal Academy.

• Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (1749 - 1803): French miniaturist and portrait painter            who advocated for equal opportunities for women in painting and who was            dedicated to teaching female students.

• Hayashi (Tani) Kankan (1769 - 1799): Japanese literati style painter.

• 江馬 細香 (Ema Saikō) (1787 - 1861): Japanese painter, poet, and calligrapher              who specialized in bamboo as a bunji (literati-style) painter.

Bust of Marie Bracquemond on a green-gold background.

• 張 紅蘭 (Chō Kōran) (1804 - 1879): Japanese poet and artist who specialized in bunjinga ink paintings.

• Mary Blood Mellen (1819 - 1886): white American painter whose works often depicted seascapes.

• Dat So La Lee (c. 1829 - 1925): Native American, specifically Washoe, basket weaver.

• Rebecca Solomon (1832 - 1886): English Pre-Raphaelite illustrator, engraver, and painter whose works tackled social     injustices and who is considered one of the first women of Jewish background to become a distinguished painter in     Britain.

• Harriet Powers (1837 - 1910): Black American artist and quilt maker whose work includes biblical stories and                   astronomical events.

• Marie Bracquemond (1840 - 1916): French Impressionist artist.

• Edmonia Lewis (1844 - 1907): American sculptor of mixed

  African American and Native American, specifically Ojibwe,

  heritage and first African American sculptor to gain national

  and international recognition. 

• We'Wha (1849 - 1896): Native American, specifically Zuni, weaver and

   potter who contributed to preserving Zuni heritage; they were lhamana and

   are today sometimes considered to have been Two-Spirit.

• Elizabeth Rebecca Coffin (1850 - 1930): white American artist, educator,

   and philanthropist, who painted depictions of Nantucket,

   Massachusetts, and is known as one of the "New Women" of the

   19th century who ventured outside of traditional gender roles.

• Maȟpíya Boǧáŋwiŋ (Nellie Two Bear Gates) (1854 - 1935): Native American,

  specifically Yanktonai Dakota, artist who created beadwork depicting

  Yanktonai Dakota history and culture.

• Louise Catherine Breslau (1856 - 1927): Swiss painter who learned to paint

   while staying in bed with chronic asthma and whose work was influenced by

   Impressionism.

Self-Portrait (1870)

by Marie Bracquemond

A beige jar painted in red and black with designs, including multiple diagonal black lines.

Polychrome jar (c. 1930s)

by Nampeyo

• Nampeyo (1859 - 1942): Native American, specifically Hopi-Tewa,

   potter who revived an ancient style of Hopi pottery.

• Ambrosia Tønnesen (1859 - 1948): Norwegian sculptor considered            the first professional female sculptor in Norway.

• Broncia Koller-Pinell (1863 - 1934): Austrian Expressionist painter               whose works are mainly portraits and still-lifes.

• Mangala Bayi (1865 - 1954): Indian artist who painted primarily

   domestic and devotional themes.

 

• Dolores "Lola" Mora (1866 - 1936): Argentine sculptor.

• Hinųk Max̄iwi-Kerenąka (Angel De Cora) (1871 - 1919): Native American,              specifically Ho-Chunk, painter, illustrator, educator, and Native American        rights advocate.

• Natalia Baquedano (1872 - 1936): Mexican photographer, known as a                  trailblazer of photography in Mexico and one of the first women to open a      photographic studio.

• 沈壽 (Shen Shou) (1874 - 1921): Chinese embroiderer who                                        transformed the art form from a women's pastime to a craft that could            provide for women and their families; she is known for her "lifelike                    embroidery" and founded a school for women to study art.

• Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller (1877 - 1968): African American artist (poet,

  painter, theater designer, and sculptor) known for depicting                                 Afrocentric themes, scenes of racial injustice, and human suffering.

• Georgina de Albuquerque (1885 - 1962): Brazilian Impressionist

   painter and teacher, known for depictions of women.

• Clementine Hunter (1887 - 1988): [content warning: plantations] Black

   American artist who painted scenes from life on the plantation

   where she lived and worked.

Sculpture of a woman with a book reading to three young children, two next to her and one behind her

Storytime (1961)

by Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller

Sculpture of a young Black boy with a soft cap, slightly tilting his head.

Gamin (c. 1929)

by Augusta Savage

• Jennie Thlunaut (c. 1891 - 1986): Native American, specifically Tlingit, artist.            who is recognized for keeping Chilkat weaving alive.

 

• Augusta Savage (1892 - 1962): African American sculptor, art teacher, and

   community art program director who played a role in the Harlem Renaissance,

   fought for equal rights in the arts for African Americans, and was the first             African American to be elected to the National Association of Women                     Painters and Sculptors.

 

Tonita Peña (1893 - 1949): Native American, specifically Pueblo, artist who               produced work outside of art forms and subjects traditionally allowed to               women and who contrasted assimilation.

• Kathleen Morris (1893 - 1986): Canadian painter.

• 나혜석 (Na Hye-sok) (1896 - 1948): Korean feminist, painter, poet, writer,

  educator, and journalist who challenged the patriarchal status quo of                    the society she lived in.

• Elsie Allen (1899 - 1990): Native American, specifically Pomo, basket weaver          and activist.

• Pitseolak Ashoona (c. 1904 - 1983): Native Canadian, specifically Inuit,          artist who depicted traditional Inuit life and contributed to creating            modern Inuit art.

 

• Corn Blossom (Margaret Tafoya) (1904 - 2001): Native American               potter especially known for her large black jars and matriarch of Santa     Clara Pueblo potters.

• Cordelia Urueta Sierra (1908 - 1995): Mexican artist best known for her     use of color and abstraction.

• Lê Thị Lựu (Le Thi Luu) (1911 - 1988): Vietnamese painter.

• 孙多慈 (Sun Duoci) (1912 - 1975): Chinese artist known for her oil                 paintings, sketches and ink and wash works.

• Elizabeth Catlett (1915 - 2012): Black American and Mexican artist             primarily known for sculptures and prints whose subjects were African     American women.

• මිනට් ද සිල්වා (Minnette de Silva) (1918 - 1998): Sri Lankan architect who            was a trailblazer of the modern architectural style in Sri Lanka and the        first Sri Lankan woman to be trained as an architect.

• 이성자 (Seund Ja Rhee) (1918 - 2009): South Korean artist who worked         primarily in the style of decorative abstraction.

A girl in a white dress in a flower garden next to a plant with light pink and light yellow flowers.

Jeune Fille Dans le Jardin ("Young Girl in the Garden") (c. 1970)

by Lê Thị Lựu (Le Thi Luu)

The colors red, yellow, and black, painted in dynamic brushstrokes, merge together.

Vital Energy (1986)

by Bernice Bing

• تحية محمد حليم (Tahia Mohammed Halim) (1919 - 2003): Egyptian

  Expressionist painter (born in Sudan) known for her depictions of        Sudan and Egypt.

• إنجي أفلاطون‎ (Inji Aflatoun) (1924 - 1989): Egyptian painter and                    women's rights activist.

 

• Luce Turnier (1924 - 1994): Haitian painter and collage artist                  whose works incorporated her Haitian heritage and the                          Modernist style.

• Ladi Kwali (c. 1925 - 1984): Nigerian potter who created large

  hand-made pots with incised decorations.

• Vivian Maier (1926 - 2009): white American nanny and                              photographer, known for her photos of American streets.

 

• Betye Saar (b. 1926): American artist of Africa American, Irish,                and Native American descent known mainly for assemblage                  pieces that challenged anti-Black racism in America; she was                also part of the 1970s Black Arts Movement.

 

• ᕿᓐᓄᐊᔪᐊᖅ ᐋᓯᕙᒃ (Kenojuak Ashevak) (1927 - 2013): Native                        Canadian, specifically Inuit, artist who worked with graphite,                colored pencils, and felt-tipped pens, as well as other mediums,          and is considered a prominent figure of modern Inuit art.

• Faith Ringgold (b. 1930): Black American artist who produced                paintings and sculptures, but who is best known for her                        narrative quilt work, and whose works often deal with and                      condemn forms of oppression such as racism and sexism.

• باية محي الدين (Baya Mahieddine) (1931 - 1998): Algerian artist who              has been remembered for artwork centering women and rejecting      the so-called "Orientalist" gaze.

• Martha Nassibou (1931 - 2020): Ethiopian writer and artist.

• Ruth Jacobsen (1932 - 2019): [content warning: the Shoah /

  Holocaust] German-born artist and Hidden Child of the Shoah /            Holocaust known mainly for her collages centered on the Shoah /        Holocaust.

 

• B. Prabha (1933 - 2001): Indian artist who mainly produced oil                paintings of rural women.

• Bernice Bing (1936 - 1998): Chinese American Abstract                         Expressionist painter and lesbian activist.

• سامية حلبي (Samia Halaby) (b. 1936): Palestinian artist, activist, and           scholar considered a trailblazer in abstract painting.

• Emma Amos (1937 - 2020): African American artist known for her        colorful works which included painting, textiles, and                                photography and who opposed racism and sexism.

 

• Ruthe Blalock Jones (b. 1939): Native American, specifically                    Delaware-Shawnee-Peoria, artist who often depicts traditional              life in Native nations.

• Judith Scott (1943 - 2005): white, deaf American artist with Down        syndrome who produced fiber sculptures.

• Dindga McCannon (b. 1947): African-American artist (fiber                      artist, muralist, author, and illustrator) and teacher involved in              the Black Arts Movement.

Quilt depicting a Black woman's face above the words "Forward Ever, Backward Never" in many colors.

Forward Ever, Backward Never (2016)

by Dindga McCannon

Photo of two women lovingly embracing as they look towards the viewer.

"Plush Pony #15" (1992)

by Laura Aguilar

• El Kazovsky (1948 - 2008): Russian-born Hungarian visual artist,                known for his expressive paintings and for his openness about                being a trans man.

• Puala Nicho Cúmez (b. 1955): Mayan Guatemalan artists whose                works are influenced by her dreams and by Mayan culture and                often center Indigenous women.

 

• 妹島 和世 (Kazuyo Sejima) (b. 1956): Japanese architect known for              her airy structures with modern elements and use of materials such      as glass and marble.

• للا السيدي‎ (Lalla Essaydi) (b. 1956): Moroccan photographer known              for her photos of Arab women and work that explores                                 culture, gender and what is known as  "Orientalism."

• Laura Aguilar (1959 - 2018): Latina American photographer                        known for depictions of marginalized individuals and for her                    self-portaits, exploring her identity as a fat, working-class Latina               lesbian with auditory dyslexia.

 

• Farshid Moussavi (b. 1965): Iranian-born British architect known as          an innovator, who believes in working with women in the male-              dominated field of architecture.

• Yishay Garbasz (b. 1970): [content warning: trauma and the Shoah /        Holocaust] British Israeli photographer whose work explores her            existence as a transgender woman and the trauma derived from            her mother's experience as a survivor of the Shaoh / Holocaust.

• Zanele Muholi (b. 1972): South African visual activist who works in                          photography, video, and installation; their works address issues                              regarding race, gender, and sexuality.

• Shadi Ghadirian (b. 1974): Iranian photographer whose work explores.                    modernity and tradition in Iran, [content warning: war] the impact of war,             and other topics.

 

• Tamara Natalie Madden (1975 - 2017): Jamaican painter whose works                       nobilitate individuals of the African diaspora and [content warning: illness]         often included birds as a symbol of her freedom after overcoming

   illness.

 

• Molly Jae Vaughan (b. 1977): [content warning: murder and transphobia]              British-born artist whose work explores her existence as a trans woman and        commemorates trans women victims of murder.

• Fox Fisher (b. 1980): half-Indian British artist and trans rights activist.

• Merissa Hylton (b. 1981): Black British artist whose work

  (mainly painting and sculptures) explores her identity as a disabled                      Black woman; she is also an advocate for art as a form of creative

  therapy.

• Tuesday Smillie (b. 1981): American interdisciplinary artist                                           whose work centers transfeminism and protests.

The bust of a Black woman with colorful clothing on a purple and white backdrop.

A Sapient Woman

by Tamara Natalie Madden

A woman wearing a light blue-gray hijab and heart-shaped sunglasses against a hot pink backdrop.

Sarah A., Mother

by Saba Chaudhry Barnard

• Lina Iris Viktor (b. 1987): British Liberian artist who produces                      work that incorporates photography, painting, gold, and other                mediums and that contrasts the negative connotations of black.

• Jenny Irene Miller (b. 1988): Alaska Native, specifically Inupiaq,                   photographer known for a series of portraits of LGBTQ2+                           Indigenous people.

• Elle Pérez (b. 1989): American gender non-conforming trans                      photographer of Puerto Rican descent known for photos of LGBTQ+      and punk spaces.

• Jes Fan / 范加 (b. 1990): artist born in Canada and raised in

  Hong-Kong whose work deconstructs gender and race.

• Kemi Yemi-Ese: Nigerian American therapist and artist whose work        often deals with her experience living with a disability, as well as             with race, gender, beauty, and divinity.

• Shoog McDaniel: white, fat, non-binary American photographer who      represents marginalized people (specifically fat, LGBTQ+, disabled,        and/or people of color), often in ethereal natural spaces.

 

• Saba Chaudhry Barnard: Pakistani American painter whose work            aims to dispel stereotypes about Muslim women.

Final note 1: We acknowledge that identities and labels such as Two-Spirit do not necessarily correspond to the current Western concept of gender identity.

Final note 2: Notice any important artists missing from this list? That may be because we know that they participated in perpetuating a system of oppression. Though the creator of this list believes in acknowledging all aspects of an artist's legacy in order to hold them accountable as opposed to simply ignoring them, this specific list attempts to name artists that all people can celebrate, which is why these figures were excluded.

Some of the missing artists may, however, be discussed in our "Posts" section (by clicking on the bolded "Posts," that page will appear).

Top image credits: includes parts of images of Drancrow by Tamara Natalie Madden and Moon Painter (1952) by Cordelia Urueta Sierra.

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