Celebrate Women Artists!

Every year, the month of March is designated as Women's History Month, an observation to highlight the contribution and events in history and modern times of women in society. The month long celebration also corresponds with International Women's Day, which is on March 8th. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980 as National Women's History Week. In honor of this very special occasion, I have featured my personal top 10 favorite female artists for this month's blog! Below, you can see one of their artworks, and learn a brief bit about them. You can also learn more about each artist by clicking on their name below their artwork. Which one might be your favorite??

#10 The Family, Marisol Escobar, 1962

Marisol Escobar was a sculptural artist associated with the Pop Art Movement. Her 3-D assemblage portraits of people were created by using things like pieces of wood, plaster, paint, wood blocks or crates, and carved wood. Her work is in museums around the world!

#9 Self Portrait with Monkeys, Frida Kahlo, 1943

Frida Kahlo is considered to be one of the world's most famous female artists from Mexico. Her artwork focused mainly on nature and animals, her Hispanic heritage, and the chronic health problems that she dealt with--from childhood polio, to surviving a severe bus crash.

#8 Maman, Louise Bourgeois, 1999

Louise Bourgeois was best known for her large scale sculpture and installation artwork, but was also a prolific painter and print maker. In the 1990's, she began using the spider as subject matter in her artwork. However, she did not view it as something scary, but instead something that "weaves nurturing and protection," an homage to her love for her mother.

#7 Going from the Mill, Grandma Moses, 1947

Anna Mary Robertson(known as Grandma Moses), spent her childhood and adulthood living on farms, raising a family of five. Her artwork is about her fond memories of the country. In her 70's, she started painting, and her work was discovered by a collector after seeing it in the window of the local pharmacy. She became a famous artist in her later years of life!

#6 Dawn's Wedding Chapel II, Louise Nevelson, 1959

Louise Nevelson was known for creating large monochromatic sculptures and assemblages, mostly from wood, old furniture, and architectural items. In the early part of her life, she was very poor and scavenged the streets of New York for discarded wood to use for firewood. Who knew that this would eventually became the source for her famous artwork!

#5 Sonny's Bridge, Faith Ringgold, 1986

Faith Ringgold was a mixed media artist, and created paintings, collages, and various other forms of art using different materials. She was known primarily for creating "narrative quilts," or quilts that would tell a story.

#4 Sister Sky, Helen Frankenthaler, 1991

Helen Frankenthaler was mostly an abstract artist, and used various types of experimentation in her artwork. She would often lay her large canvas on the floor, and try different types of paints and staining techniques to create unique textures with the paint.

#3 Snoopy Sees a Sunrise, Alma Thomas, 1970

Alma Thomas was a teacher in the Washington D.C. public school system for 35 years. Her artwork was brightly colored collages and paintings. One of her pieces was purchased for the White House Art Collection, and she was the first African-American woman to have art in the White House.

#2 Hollyhock Pink with Pedernal, Georgia O'Keeffe, 1937

Georgia O'Keeffe is often attributed to being the world's most famous female artist. She was born and raised on a farm near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She primarily became famous for painting flowers on a very large scale. She also created hundreds of paintings of desert views while living the last half of her life in New Mexico.

And #1... Kua, Deborah Butterfield, 1995

Deborah Butterfield is primarily known for her large, life sized horse sculptures created with various materials, like driftwood, metal, or cast bronze. She owns her own horses, and spends her time living in Montana and Hawaii.

There are so many more amazing women artists throughout history and into current times, so there is an additional link below that you can click on to learn about even more famous women artists! Perhaps, sometime during this month of March, you can pause for a moment or two, and think about some of the very inspiring and important women that have been part of your own life. Be sure to send them some special thoughts of gratitude, respect, and love.

Click to read, 14 Famous Female Painters Every Art Lover Should Know, from My Modern Met.