This is an important series of art books. The format for each book is generally the same, so my review will be the same. The four volumes that make up this book set are packed with incredible information and beautiful photos of a wide range of art.
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 4 is the selected artists with the last name beginning with “S” through “Z.” This volume concludes with information on the Lenders and Contributors. This volume includes the following artists:
Nina Saemundsson
Elaine Sagerhorn
Geneve Rixford Sargeant
Rose Schneider
Donna Schuster
Patty Switzer Scratch
Elise Cavanna
Helen M. Seegert
Helen Inez Selbert
Ethel Sharp
Ada May Sharpless
Hazel M. Sheckler
Marie O. Sheppard
Henrietta Shore
Hazel Brayton Shoven
Burr Singer
Anna Katharine Skeele
Dorothy Sklar
Eva Slater
Helen Edell Sloan
Helen M. Smith
Ann Louise Snider
Edith Sowersby
Anna Lee Stacey
Vera C. M. Staples
Juliette Steele
Mary L. Stevens
Edna Stoddart
Dorothy Stratton
Phyllis Strickland
Vivian F. Stringfield
Beatrice Stuart
Mabel Sumerlin
Emily E. Syminton
Alice Blair Thomas
Jane McDuffie Thurston
Florence H. Tompkins
Mary Travis
Janet Turner
Muriel Tyler
Althea Ulber
Nina Ullberg
Kathleen Taylor Upper
Cora A. Van Epps
Lucretia Le Bourgeois Van Horn
Hilda Van Zandt
Calthea Vivian
Grace Vollmer
Inez Johnson von Hake
Luvena Vysekal
Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel
Lillias Waddell
Phebe Ray Wadsworth
Elizabeth F. Waggoner
Mildred Kizzie Walker
Florence Walsh
Louise Cooke Ward
Nell Walker Warner
Kaye Waters
Adele Watson
June Wayne
Emilie Sievert Weinberg
Ludmilla Welch
Julia Bracken Wendt
Carol Caskey Weston
Eva Blanche Whelan
Lenora Whelan
Edith White
Emily H. White
Nona L. White
Ethel M. Wickes
Edna Marrett Wilcocks
Mary Belle Williams
Anna Wilson
Alice Beach Winter
Beatrice Wood
Ellamarie Woolley
Virginia Woolley
Isobel Wurtele
Mary Agnes Yerkes
Florence Young
Frances Upson Young
Enid Zacharias
Paula Zen
Looking for a good book? Emerging from the Shadows, Vol. III: 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.
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Emerging from the Shadows, Vol. IV: A Survey of Women Artists Working in California, 1860-1960
author/editor: Maurine St. Gaudens
publisher: Schiffer Publishing
ISBN: 0764348876
hardcover, 336 pages
