The four volumes that make up this book set are so packed with incredible information and beautiful photos of a wide range of art that I hardly know where to begin in reviewing this.
The subtitle (“A Survey of Women Artists Working in California, 1860-1960”) implies a fairly narrow focus, but it is awe-inspiring to see just how many women are included in the series. I am by no means an authority (or even an avid fan, for that matter) of the subject matter specifically, but I’m always interested in seeing art that I personally think of as ‘good’ or that ‘speaks’ to me in some way. I started book-marking pages with art that I felt was exceptional and writing down the artists’ names so that I could research them and their work, but it became apparent fairly early that I was book-marking nearly every page. It would have been easier to make note of the art that I did NOT find worthwhile.
The book gives a detailed mini-biography of the artist – family life, education, influences, associations, shows – and then a sampling of the artists work. Even with my digital copy of the book, these photographs of the art are stunning.
I really liked that author/editor Maurine St. Gaudens starts each mini-biography with a close-up of the artists signature from one of her works. It’s a brilliant way to introduce the artist as the signature is often more telling to a person’s character than a photo or portrait of the artist herself. I so came to look forward to the signature that when it wasn’t there (in the case of at least one sculptor) it stuck out.
Volume 1 is the selected artists with the last name beginning with “A” through “D.” Volume 1 also includes an appendix: “The Works Progress Administration: An Explanation of the WPA and Instructions on Creating a Lithograph” which is an interesting history of the era in which many of these artists worked.
This volume includes:
Foreword: California Women: Out of the Darkness by Traci M. Fieldsted
A Very Special Thank You
Preface: The Beginning of Emerging by Maurine St. Gaudens
Tidbits of Interesting Facts
The Journey of Discovery by Joseph Morsman
The artists in Volume 1 are:
Mary Abascal
Velma Adams
Gertrude Partington Albright
Maxine Albro
Dora Block Alexander
Margerite “Margo” Alexander
Ruth Alexander
Viola M. Allen
Mabel Alvarez
Hedvig C. Armendinger
Laura Adams Armer
Ruth Armer
Ruth Asawa
Irma Attridge
Anni Schade van Westrum Baldaugh
Belle Goldschlager Baranceanu
Winifred M. Bathey
Violet M. Beck
Zetta Behné (Richardson)
Ruth M. Bennett
(Grace) Gay Betts
Martha Bintliff
Mary Blair
Florence Parker Bloser
Pamela Boden
Cora M. Boone
Elizabeth Borglum
Dorr Bothwell
Jessie Arms Botke
Alexandra Bradshaw
Sophie Marston Brannan
Anne Bremer
Mildred Bryant Brooks
Anita Brown
Ester Bruton
Helen Bruton
Margaret Bruton
Leslie Buck
Mabel Burnette
Elizabeth Eaton Burton
Bess Haddon Canright
Mary Carlisle
Louise Carpenter
Mabel Grandin Carruthers
Nellie M. Chandlee
Minerva Chapman
Edna Chess
Alice Chittenden
Nelbert Chouinard
Grace Clements
Teresa Cloud
Lois Green Cohen
Elanor Colburn
Mary Darter Coleman
Edna R. Cook (a.k.a. Edna R. Cooper)
Nell Coover
Mildred Coughlin
Esther Crandall
Brenetta Crawford
Esther Crawford
Meta Cressey
Joane Cromwell
Clare Cronenwett
Marion Cunningham
Ida Maynard Curtis
Marian Curtis
Maud Daggett
Alice Bell Dane (Greenlee)
Sara Kolb Danner
Frieda Hauswirth Das
Pele de Lappe
Janet de la Roche
Helen C. Dowd
Marie Du Barry
Dorothy Duncan
Helena Dunlap
Fannie Duvall
Looking for a good book? Emerging from the Shadows, Vol. I: A Survey of Women Artists Working in California, 1860-1960 is a tremendous resource for anyone interested in art, women’s studies, art history, artist biographies or anyone just interested in a high quality art book.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
* * * * * *
Emerging from the Shadows, Vol. I: A Survey of Women Artists Working in California, 1860-1960
author/editor: Maurine St. Gaudens
publisher: Schiffer Publishing
ISBN: 0764348612
hardcover, 336 pages
