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Things I like: suffragettes, war workers, factory girls, socialites who got stuff done, ladies who ruled countries, and women who changed the world, even if it was just a little bit. Click on photos for sources.

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Miniature self-portrait, Sarah Goodridge, circa 1825. Smithsonian American Art Museum Sarah Goodridge was a leading painter of miniatures in pre-Civil War Boston.  An unusually successful female artist for the times, Sarah was able to support her family through her artwork.  She received commissions from notable figures such as Daniel Webster and Gilbert Stuart.  Her work was exhibited at the annual exhibitions of the Boston Athenaeum between 1827 and 1835.  

Miniature self-portrait, Sarah Goodridge, circa 1825.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Sarah Goodridge was a leading painter of miniatures in pre-Civil War Boston.  An unusually successful female artist for the times, Sarah was able to support her family through her artwork.  She received commissions from notable figures such as Daniel Webster and Gilbert Stuart.  Her work was exhibited at the annual exhibitions of the Boston Athenaeum between 1827 and 1835.  

aaveet: Some Cool Chicks from History. From top left: Delilah Beasley, Doria Shafiq, Audrey Meyers, Alice Guy, Jean M. Bright, Helena Gutteridge, Marcia Mead and Te Ata. Very cool!!!  And very thoroughly linked!

aaveet:

Some Cool Chicks from History.

From top left: Delilah Beasley, Doria Shafiq, Audrey Meyers, Alice Guy, Jean M. Bright, Helena Gutteridge, Marcia Mead and Te Ata.

Very cool!!!  And very thoroughly linked!

life: Sculptress Ruth Vodicka alters the shoulder of her statue of William Tell, 1956. (She also used her tools to do welding repairs for neighbors.) See more photos here. (Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

life:

Sculptress Ruth Vodicka alters the shoulder of her statue of William Tell, 1956. (She also used her tools to do welding repairs for neighbors.) See more photos here.

(Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

thegetty: “This statue carries within herself a history of the worship of the feminine principle that echoed up through time. Even today our most basic, universal human experience is that of our mother’s body. It is our very first sensation.” This week on Getty Voices, educator and religion buff Erin Branham talks about the ancient sacred and the differences between religion in ancient times and today. Fertility Goddess, made on Cyprus, 3000–2500 B.C. The J. Paul Getty Museum

thegetty:

“This statue carries within herself a history of the worship of the feminine principle that echoed up through time. Even today our most basic, universal human experience is that of our mother’s body. It is our very first sensation.”

This week on Getty Voices, educator and religion buff Erin Branham talks about the ancient sacred and the differences between religion in ancient times and today.

Fertility Goddess, made on Cyprus, 3000–2500 B.C. The J. Paul Getty Museum

tiny-librarian:

Mothers and children in portraits by Madame Vigee Le Brun.

More about Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

whitneymuseum: In 1972, Alma Thomas became the first African-American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney. Her Late Night Reflections is on view now in Blues for Smoke. Alma Thomas (1891–1978), Late Night Reflections, 1972. Acrylic on canvas, 28 ¾ x 44 inches. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. Purchase, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University Fund for Acquisitions and bequest of Marjorie Pfeffer by exchange. Photograph by Peter Paul Geoffrion

whitneymuseum:

In 1972, Alma Thomas became the first African-American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney. Her Late Night Reflections is on view now in Blues for Smoke.

Alma Thomas (1891–1978), Late Night Reflections, 1972. Acrylic on canvas, 28 ¾ x 44 inches. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. Purchase, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University Fund for Acquisitions and bequest of Marjorie Pfeffer by exchange. Photograph by Peter Paul Geoffrion

smithsonian: Happy Valentines Day! A letter from Frida Kahlo to Diego Rivera, sealed with a hot pink beso. (via Archives of American Art)

smithsonian:

Happy Valentines Day! A letter from Frida Kahlo to Diego Rivera, sealed with a hot pink beso. (via Archives of American Art)

frenchhistory: Marie-Suzanne Giroust - Self-portrait @credits Marie-Suzanne Giroust was born and died in Paris. She was the daughter of Barthélemy Giroust, Jeweller to the King’s Wardrobe (d. 1741) and Marie Suzanne Leroy (d. 1745). Orphaned at an early age, she was raised by relatives. Her inheritance enabled her to study art, and she was a student of first Maurice Quentin de La Tour and then of Joseph-Marie Vien. The teachings of Vien, in particular, affected her own art greatly. Giroust was active as an artist from the 1750s. She fell in love with the Swedish artist Alexander Roslin when she met him in the Vien studio in 1752. She wished to marry him, but was prevented from marrying him by her guardian and family, who disliked Roslin because he was poor and a Protestant. After rejecting all the suitors suggested to her by her guardian, she was allowed to marry Roslin after mediation from Roslin’s patron, the Comte de Caylus. The marriage occurred on 5 January 1759. The Swedish ambassador was a witness to the marriage contract. The couple had three daughters and three sons. Giroust was inducted in to the Académie de peinture et de sculpture in 1770. There is no information about her activity within the academy and no notes that she suggested or participated in anything regarding the management or the policy of the academy from 1770 to 1772. Giroust was a pastel painter; Alexander Roslin once estimated that she was a better pastel painter than he was. She was admired for her rendering of skin and the colours in her portrait paintings. In 1771, she was admired in her exhibition of her painting of abbé Lemonnier. The “beautiful and strong colours” of her Portrait du sculpteur Pigalle, which is now in the Department of Graphic Arts at the Musée du Louvre, were praised by Denis Diderot. She served as a model for her spouse in his 1768 painting La Dame au voile (The Lady with the Veil)

frenchhistory:

Marie-Suzanne Giroust - Self-portrait

@credits

Marie-Suzanne Giroust was born and died in Paris. She was the daughter of Barthélemy Giroust, Jeweller to the King’s Wardrobe (d. 1741) and Marie Suzanne Leroy (d. 1745). Orphaned at an early age, she was raised by relatives. Her inheritance enabled her to study art, and she was a student of first Maurice Quentin de La Tour and then of Joseph-Marie Vien. The teachings of Vien, in particular, affected her own art greatly.

Giroust was active as an artist from the 1750s. She fell in love with the Swedish artist Alexander Roslin when she met him in the Vien studio in 1752. She wished to marry him, but was prevented from marrying him by her guardian and family, who disliked Roslin because he was poor and a Protestant. After rejecting all the suitors suggested to her by her guardian, she was allowed to marry Roslin after mediation from Roslin’s patron, the Comte de Caylus. The marriage occurred on 5 January 1759. The Swedish ambassador was a witness to the marriage contract. The couple had three daughters and three sons.

Giroust was inducted in to the Académie de peinture et de sculpture in 1770. There is no information about her activity within the academy and no notes that she suggested or participated in anything regarding the management or the policy of the academy from 1770 to 1772.

Giroust was a pastel painter; Alexander Roslin once estimated that she was a better pastel painter than he was. She was admired for her rendering of skin and the colours in her portrait paintings. In 1771, she was admired in her exhibition of her painting of abbé Lemonnier. The “beautiful and strong colours” of her Portrait du sculpteur Pigalle, which is now in the Department of Graphic Arts at the Musée du Louvre, were praised by Denis Diderot. She served as a model for her spouse in his 1768 painting La Dame au voile (The Lady with the Veil)

Vessel by Lucy Martin Lewis, Cleveland Museum of Art. Lucy was one of the artists responsible for the Acoma pottery revival.  She is specifically known for her Mimbres pottery, a style of black-on-white pottery that can be traced back more than 1,000 years.

Vessel by Lucy Martin Lewis, Cleveland Museum of Art.

Lucy was one of the artists responsible for the Acoma pottery revival.  She is specifically known for her Mimbres pottery, a style of black-on-white pottery that can be traced back more than 1,000 years.

Amanda Crowe demonstrating woodcarving at the Craftsmen’s Fair in Cherokee, North Carolina. Amanda Crowe (1928-2004) was an Eastern Band Cherokee woodcarver.  For nearly forty years she taught art at Cherokee High School.  Amanda’s work can be seen at the Museum of the American Indian and the North Carolina Museum of History.   

Amanda Crowe demonstrating woodcarving at the Craftsmen’s Fair in Cherokee, North Carolina.

Amanda Crowe (1928-2004) was an Eastern Band Cherokee woodcarver.  For nearly forty years she taught art at Cherokee High School.  Amanda’s work can be seen at the Museum of the American Indian and the North Carolina Museum of History.   

Native American Art / Birmingham (Alabama) Museum of Art

Woven Splendor, October 7 - December 30, 2012

     Navajo rugs and chief blankets from the Museum’s permanent collection

Artic Beauty, May 20, 2012 - January 20, 2013

     Eighty seven works of art made by the Inuit people of Canada

Dat So La Lee’s baskets

Dat So La Lee’s baskets

Water Deity (Chalchihuitlicue), 15th–early 16th century Mexico (Aztec), Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gallery 358. the water goddess was the wife of the rain god Tlaloc, an ancient deity that had long been worshiped throughout Mesoamerica. Chalchihuitlicue symbolized the purity and preciousness of spring, river, and lake water that was used to irrigate the fields. As a fertility goddess, she portrays the Aztec ideal of fertile young womanhood. 

Water Deity (Chalchihuitlicue), 15th–early 16th century Mexico (Aztec), Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gallery 358.

the water goddess was the wife of the rain god Tlaloc, an ancient deity that had long been worshiped throughout Mesoamerica. Chalchihuitlicue symbolized the purity and preciousness of spring, river, and lake water that was used to irrigate the fields. As a fertility goddess, she portrays the Aztec ideal of fertile young womanhood. 

worldpaintings:

Bertha Boynton Lum was an American artist who helped making the art of Japanese and Chinese woodblock printing known outside Asia, mixing it with the elegant Art Nouveau. Her prints are inspired by old legends and the street life of Beijing.

Her works were very popular both in Asia and in America. Her very personal style managed to please the two cultures at the beginning of the last century and it still strikes a cord today.

bintbattuta: From Islamic Calligraphy 1450-1925 A.D. - East: This elegant volume was copied by the princess Umm Salamah, a daughter of Fath’ali Shah Qajar, for her nephew, Prince Muhammad Husayn Mirza. The prayers are copied in naskh script in lines of variously colored inks. Umm Salamah, who was a fine calligrapher, was the fourth daughter of the shah.

bintbattuta:

From Islamic Calligraphy 1450-1925 A.D. - East:

This elegant volume was copied by the princess Umm Salamah, a daughter of Fath’ali Shah Qajar, for her nephew, Prince Muhammad Husayn Mirza. The prayers are copied in naskh script in lines of variously colored inks. Umm Salamah, who was a fine calligrapher, was the fourth daughter of the shah.