Kentucky Women Artists 1850-1970

The Kentucky Museum on the campus of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky will present the exhibition "Kentucky Women Artists 1850 - 1970" opening September 16, 2001. The exhibition will include approximately fifty artists selected to represent different time periods, geographical      locations in Kentucky, and levels of training, many of whom were recognized beyond the borders of the state. The exhibit is selected by guest curators Dr. Elizabeth Oakes and John Warren Oakes and sponsored by Firstar and the Kentucky Foundation for Women.

During the period from 1850 to 1970, women artists in Kentucky played an important role. In fact, many were educated in the major art centers of the United States and Europe. Those who returned to Kentucky or moved into the state played an important role in the training of both female and male artists during the first half of the 20th century. Kentucky women artists exhibited in regional and national exhibitions and  received recognition for their work during a time when the art of many women artists was ignored and their contribution to the history of art misrepresented or repressed.

These women artists created a network supporting art in the state. They were instrumental in establishing both free and subscribed art classes. They started the Art Center School in Louisville and were a positive influence in encouraging women to become artists at both professional and amateur levels. This made Kentucky unique during the years before the Feminist movement of the 1970's brought national attention to the concerns of women.

This exhibition of Kentucky women artists is an opportunity to recognize the many women artists who were making art during this time. The directory accompanying the exhibition includes biographical information on as many Kentucky women artists from this period as could be identified. The compilers      of this directory received biographies from all over the state as a result of a press release which was sent to all media. Letters were sent to each art department in the colleges and universities of Kentucky. Copies of the submission form and a poster asking for names of women artists were sent to each county library. Records in major libraries were researched for information on women artists. Directors of museums and curators of collections provided much assistance. We expected to find about 75 women artists. Thus far we have discovered over 450.We are sure that many more women artists will be brought to our attention as a result of this exhibition and the publication of  the directory. We welcome any additions and trust that the next edition of this directory will add many more women artists to this valuable record.

After "Kentucky Women Artists: 1850-1970" closes in Bowling Green on December 18, the exhibit will  travel to the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art to hang alongside an exhibition its staff is developing of Kentucky women artists 1970 to present. That exhibit will be on display from January 19 - March 31, 2002.
 

-- Sandy Staebell, John Warren Oakes, and Elizabeth Oakes 
 
 

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