NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS

The 'National Museum of Women in the Arts' (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C. is the only museum solely dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements in the visual, performing, and literary arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since opening its doors in 1987, the museum has acquired a collection of more than 3,500 paintings, sculptures, works on paper and decorative art.

Contents

History

Building

Wilhelmina Cole Holladay

Judy Larson

Collection and exhibitions

Public programs

Operations

External links

History

While traveling abroad, Mr. and Mrs. Holladay admired a 17th-century still-life by Flemish painter Clara Peeters. The Holladays later sought information on Peeters, yet the definitive college art history text (H.W. Janson’s ''History of Art'') failed to include Peeters, or any other female artist. The Holladays then decided to make works by women the basis for their art collection, which later would become the core of NMWA’s permanent collection.

Building

In 1983, NMWA purchased a landmark 78,810 sq ft (7322 m²) former Masonic temple to house its works. Initially drafted by architect Waddy B. Wood, the main building was completed in 1908 and the original structure is on the D.C. Inventory List of Historic Sites as well as the National Register of Historic Places. After extensive renovations, the museum opened to the public April 7, 1987. The Elizabeth A. Kasser Wing opened November 8, 1997 making the entire facility 84,110 sq ft (7814 m²).

Wilhelmina Cole Holladay

Wilhelmina Cole Holladay is the founder and chair of the Board of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Since her discovery that women artists have historically been omitted from collegiate art history texts, Wilhelmina Cole Holladay has made it her mission to bring to the forefront the accomplishments of women through collecting, exhibiting and researching women artists of all nationalities and time periods.
Holladay created individual committees of over 1,000 volunteers from 27 states and 7 countries, to give educational opportunities to children through collaborations with schools and other community groups (e.g. Girl Scouts of America), as well as provided opportunities for adults to participate and encourage art in local communities across the globe.
Wilhelmina Cole Holladay’s interest in art was sparked as a student at Elmira College in New York, where she studied art history, followed by graduate work at the University of Paris. She is listed in ''Who’s Who of American Women'', ''Who’s Who in American Art'', ''Who’s Who in the World'', and she holds many honorary degrees and achievement awards for her work in the arts community. In 2006 she received the National Medal of Arts from the United States and the ''Légion d'honneur'' from the French government. In 2007 Holladay received the Gold Medal for the Arts from the National Arts Club in New York City.

Judy Larson

Judy L. Larson has been director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts since September 2002. During her tenure at NMWA, she helped secure a challenge grant of $635,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to launch a new humanities initiative, Rediscovery to Relevance. She also helped earn a prestigious grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the development of ''Clara: Database of Women Artists'', a worldwide educational tool. Dr. Larson also co-curated the exhibition, "Nordic Cool: Hot Women Designers," and instituted an exhibition schedule that is both humanities based and international in scope. Larson comes most recently from the Art Museum of Western Virginia in Roanoke where she served for over four years as director. Under her tenure the museum added over $20 million of new acquisitions, with a special emphasis on American 19th-century art. Prior to Roanoke, Larson was curator of American art the High Museum of Art in Atlanta where she organized exhibitions on Mary Cassatt, John Twachtman, Norman Rockwell, and others. She published the first collection catalog on American art and founded an active support group for the American department. Larson received both her BA and MA in Art History from UCLA and pursued her Ph.D. at Emory University in the Institute of Liberal Studies. Her scholarly pursuits have involved projects with the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, and the Los Angeles Museum of Art. She has lectured and published on many aspects of American 19th-century art and culture.

Collection and exhibitions

Beginning in 1987 with American Women Artists, 1830-1930, NMWA has presented more than 200 exhibitions which include: Julie Taymor: Playing With Fire: Nov. 16, 2000–Feb. 4, 2001, Grandma Moses in the 21st Century: March 15, 2001–June 10, 2001, Places of Their Own: Emily Carr, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Frida Kahlo: Feb. 8, 2002–May 12, 2002, An Imperial Collection: Women Artists from the State Hermitage Museum: Feb. 14, 2003–June 18, 2003, Nordic Cool: Hot Women Designers: Apr. 23, 2004–Sept. 12, 2004, Berthe Morisot: An Impressionist and Her Circle: Jan. 14, 2005–May 8, 2005, Alice Neel’s Women: Oct. 28, 2005–Jan. 15, 2006, Divine and Human: Women in Ancient Mexico and Peru: March 3, 2006–May 28, 2006, and Dreaming Their Way: Australian Aboriginal Women: June 30, 2006–Sept. 24, 2006.
The permanent collection currently contains works by nearly 1,000 artists. Among the earliest works is Lavinia Fontana’s ''Portrait of a Noblewoman'', ca. 1580. Other artists represented include: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Louise Bourgeois, Lola Alvarez Bravo, Rosalba Carriera, Mary Cassatt, Elizabeth Catlett, Louisa Courtauld, Petah Coyne, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Elaine de Kooning, Lesley Dill, Helen Frankenthaler, Marguerite Gérard, Nan Goldin, Nancy Graves, Grace Hartigan, Frida Kahlo, Angelica Kauffman, Käthe Kollwitz, Lee Krasner, Marie Laurencin, Judith Leyster, Maria Martinez, Maria Sibylla Merian, Joan Mitchell, Gabriele Münter, Elizabeth Murray, Alice Neel, Louise Nevelson, Georgia O’Keeffe, Sarah Miriam Peale, Lilla Cabot Perry, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Rachel Ruysch, Elisabetta Sirani, Joan Snyder, Lilly Martin Spencer, Alma Thomas, Suzanne Valadon, Chakaia Booker, and Elisabeth Louisa Vigée-Lebrun.

Public programs

NMWA hosts educational programs for all age groups to teach the public about the artistic accomplishments of women. Programs include monthly Family Days with free museum admission, and Role Model Workshops that connect teenagers with accomplished women working in the art world. The free Shenson Chamber Music Concerts support the museum’s mission of recognizing women in all areas of the arts by featuring woman musicians throughout the year. Past performers include the Ahn Trio, Arianna and Eugenia Zuckerman, Ingrid Fliter, Sharon Ibsin and Rachel Barton Pine. NMWA’s literary programs showcase women writers by bringing in authors such as Susan Vreeland, Lisa See, Maxine Hong Kingston, Naomi Shihab Nye and Joyce Carol Oates. In addition, NMWA offers weekly film screenings of works by respected women directors and screenwriters including Maya Angelou, Barbara Hammer, Cheryl Duyne, Eva López Sánchez, Miranda July, Bette Gordon and Julie Taymor. The Library and Research Center (LRC) houses a collection of 18,500 volumes of books and exhibition catalogues, as well as periodicals and limited edition artists’ books.

Operations

The museum is located at 1250 New York Avenue and H Street NW. The closest Washington Metro stations are Metro Center or McPherson Square stations. The museum is open Monday–Saturday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Sundays noon–5:00 p.m.

External links

★ National Museum of Women in the Arts