Providing an exciting beginning to their “Year of Women Artists,” the Westmoreland Museum of American Art will open the exhibit “Our Own Work, Our Own Way: Southern Modern Women Artists” this Sunday.
The traveling exhibit will take up residence at the Greensburg museum from Feb. 9 to May 18. Drawn primarily from the Johnson Collection in Spartanburg, S.C., “Our Own Work, Our Own Way” is curated to celebrate the contributions of women artists whose work was influenced by experiences in the American South.
Silvia Filippini-Fantoni, The Westmoreland’s director and CEO, is thrilled to bring the exhibition to the local area, commenting that this collection falls in line with the museum’s goals of recognizing often-underrepresented artists.
“It really felt like a great fit,” she said.
“Our Own Work, Our Own Way” cuts a wide swath through nearly a century of works from more than 40 different artists. Filippini-Fantoni said that not all of them were from the South, but all of them had experience in the South that appears in their art. This is the first time the exhibit will be making its way out of the Southern United States
The works were created from the 1940s to the 2000s and include several mediums. While mostly paintings will be on display, there are some sculptures and one installation. Paintings span movements and styles from the abstract to the figurative.
“There’s something for everyone, I would say, in this show,” Filippini-Fantoni said. “So if you come and you have a preference, you will find something for you. But you will also appreciate how, really, American art evolved over these 100 years.”
Most of the artists will likely be unknown to even those familiar with the art world, though names such as Alma Thomas may ring a bell. But bringing unknown women to the forefront is the goal.
Citing a surprising statistic from a 2019 study, Filippini-Fantoni said that only about 13% of works in American museums are by women artists.
“I’m going to have to be honest, it’s the same for the calculation internally. I know we have a number of works that are by unknown artists, so they might include women, but we don’t know who they are,” Filippini-Fantoni said. “But of those that are known, only about 13% are by women artists, and that feels like a complete and utter disproportion, considering that female artists represent 50, if not 51, 52% of the artist population in the world.
“The more we dig, the more we find how significant their contributions have been,” she added.
This statistic was one of the catalysts for the yearlong celebration of women artists. Throughout the year, the museum will show a series of exhibits and hold programs — including talks, community days, concerts and more — centered around women whose works have often been overshadowed. These will include shows devoted to artists Cecilia Beaux, Elizabeth Catlett and current Pennsylvania artist Brynn Hurlstone.
“We’re very proud to bring elevate all of these voices and finally give them the recognition they deserve,” Filippini-Fantoni said.
She hoped that this focus would start visitors on a journey to discover more women artists.
“If you ask somebody to name five women artists, most people will not be able to do so,” she said. “The two that I get all the time are Georgia O’Keeffe and Frida Kahlo, and then it ends there. So we really want to change this narrative.”
“Our Own Work, Our Own Way” will include an interactive experience called “Can You Name Five Women Artists?” Viewers will get to take a quiz where they will answer nine questions about themselves and will be matched with an artist based on their responses.
“It’s about taking up space, it’s about finally giving women their due recognition,” she said.
Alexis Papalia is a TribLive staff writer. She can be reached at apapalia@triblive.com.
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