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I promised myself in my 20 for 2020 to take myself on an “artist date” once a month, so for January, I went to the Katonah Museum of Art for their Sparking Amazons Abstract Women Expressionists the 9th Street Show.

Women have so far been discounted in the art world. Even now, the highest priced pioneering woman abstract expressionist painting has gone for only $10 million dollars, compared to $110 million for her male conterpart. Even while I was at the museum, I watched an all female crowd follow around a male docent talking about it. Women artists still fight not to be marginalized, while their male peers get more recognition and sales. At least a show like this is starting to happen, so I guess I’ll be grateful for small favors.

Below you can see some photos of the best of their work (there were only about 20 paintings in all). Honestly, I am not such a fan of this art. More, I found it emboldening that they were finally hanging on the wall posthumously, beyond probably what they could have hoped for. This alone made the trip worth it for me. Progress can be slow, but does occur.

In addition to these historical women, whom by the way, we only know because of the men associated with them, there was also a contemporary show in an adjacent room by an independent woman I knew nothing about;  I enjoyed that exhibit as much or more. You can see photos of that below too. She prints botanical litter for a very pleasing over all effect. This felt fresh and authentic to me, in a way the work of the historical women’s work did not.

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