Unusual for an American institution, this one has been promoting women artists since its first annual exhibition in 1811 …
Women in Motion: 150 Years of Women’s Artistic Networks at PAFA
Philadelphia
pafa.org
through July 24, 2022
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) has proudly organized the exhibition “Women in Motion: 150 Years of Women’s Artistic Networks at PAFA.” Unusual for an American institution, PAFA has been promoting women artists since its first annual exhibition in 1811, and this project explores the many female talents who showed, studied, and taught there right up until 1945.
On view are more than 80 works by approximately 50 artists, most drawn from PAFA’s rich collection, including many recent acquisitions.
Illustrated here is a superb, if unfamiliar, self-portrait by Margaret Foster Richardson. She presents herself with paintbrushes in hand, striding forward into the light, gazing at us self-confidently. Remarkable in her era would have been the decision to paint herself wearing eye-glasses, a no-nonsense hairstyle, a painter’s smock, and a rather masculine collar and tie. Clearly this woman has big things to paint and no time for fussiness.
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