Impact! The Legacy of the Women’s Caucus for Art

curated by Leslie King-Hammond

Installation Views

Exhibition Co-Sponsored by theWomen’s Caucus for Art

and the American University Museum

at the Katzen Arts Center

January 23 - March 13, 2016

American University Museum at theKatzen Arts Center4400 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20016

The Women’s Caucus for Art (WCA) has carried out its mission to recognize and document women in the visual arts through its annual Lifetime Achievement Awards. The 35th awards ceremony in 2016 brings to 194 the number of women artists, art historians, curators, and activists honored to date. Founded in 1972, WCA is an affiliated society of the College Art Association. Washington, D.C., is the site of the national conferences of both organizations in February 2016. WCA is a national networking organization for women in the visual arts with members in chapters across the country. WCA advocates equity in the arts for all. It is unique in its multidisciplinary, multicultural membership of artists, art historians, students, educators, and museum professionals. Its mission is to create community through art, education, and social activism. The goal of this exhibition is to highlight the legacy of WCA and its success in recognizing the achievements of women in the visual arts. We want to honor all of the amazing women have been recognized since the first awards were presented by President Jimmy Carter at the White House in 1979. On view are a selection of art and publications intended to stand for the range and power of the accomplishments of all of the WCA Lifetime Achievement awardees

Entrance on the second floor of the museum

Impact! The Legacy of the Women’s Caucus for Art

This scrolling display is part of the exhibition honoring the achievements and legacy of all of the women in the visual arts who received WCA Lifetime Achievement awards between 1979 and 2016.

The awardees are presented here in order of their award year.

For an alphabetical listing of all 194 awardees, see the introductory wall.

Honor awards catalogs have been published for each ceremony.

The display cases in the adjacent area include a selection of significant publications by awardees, a tribute to the art historians and curators who have been honored each year.

Selected Publications by Women’s Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Awardees

The display cases in this area contain a selection of significant publications intended to represent all of the art historians, curators, scholars, and writers who have been honored.The smaller cases display important periodicals written and edited by and about awardees (Heresies and the Womans’ Art Journal) and books by pioneers of feminist art.The framed posters are from the previous WCA conferences in Washington, D.C., in 1979 and 1991.

Prints by Faith Ringgold, Judith Brodsky, Miriam Schapiro, Margaret Burroughs, Elizabeth Catlett,Joyce Scott and video by Helène Aylon, and a small collage by Lenore Tawney.

Judy Chicago’s ceramic test plate near the entranceWas a pivotal point for the installation.

Nancy Graves’ bronze sculpture energized the space around it and speaks toBetye Saar’s small mixed media assemblage on the opposite wall.

Works be Evangeline J. Montgomery,Claire Zeisler, Elizabeth Talford Scott, and Beverly Pepperbegan the procession around the curved wall.

Joyce Kozloff’s mixed media on canvas related to Joyce Sctot’s beaded sculpture and was followed by Sue Fuller’s string construction.

Barbara Chase-Riboud’s bronze and fiber sculpture leads to paintings by Ruth Weisberg, Nancy Spero, Grace Hartigan, and Diane Burko, punctuated by a small wire sculpture by Claire Falkenstein.

On the opposite curving wall are aprint and drawing by Barbara Chase-Riboud,

a gouache by Lee Krasner, and a brilliantly-coloredpainting by Charmion von Weigand.

Maren Hassinger’s installation was composed of pink plastic bags inflated by human breath containing notes with the word “love”pinned to the curved wall.

Sculptures by Elizabeth Catlett andBeverly Buchanan filled the far wall.

The straight wall held framed work by Isabel Bishop, Nancy Grossman, Sylvia Sleigh, and Grace Hartigan,Along with Selma Burke’s bronze sculpture.

The installation view comes full circle with Lois Mailou Jones’s painting on theentrance wall facing the list of all 194 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.

Thank you to the lenders and donors who supported IMPACT!

American University Museum

Helène Aylon

Judith K. Brodsky

Diane Burko

DC Moore Gallery

Goya Contemporary

Giselle Huberman

Jack Rutberg Fine Arts

James E. Lewis Museum, Morgan State University

Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Private Collections

Reginald F. Lewis Museum

Joyce J. Scott

Dr. Diane Whitfield Locke and John Woo

WCA National Board Members

Exhibition ChecklistHELÈNE AYLON Awarded in 2016Bridge of Knots II, 2006Video, 6 min 17 seconds,Video documentation of the 2006 American University Museum

facade installation with audio by Meredith MonkCourtesy of the Artist

ISABEL BISHOP Awarded in 1979Walking in the Subway Station, 1963Oil on board, 24 x 33 in. Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

JUDITH BRODSKY Awarded in 2002Dishrag Diagrammatic, 1978Intaglio and relief, 20 x 20 in. Published by Queenston Press for first UN Year of the WomanCourtesy of Judith K. Brodsky

BEVERLY BUCHANAN Awarded in 2011Shack, 1988Wood and nails, 43 x 30 x 17 in. (house)

33 x 31 x 17 in. (table support)Courtesy of Reginald F. Lewis Museum

SELMA BURKE Awarded in 1979Family, c. 1950Bronze, 42.375 x 14 x 15.25 in.Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

DIANE BURKO Awarded in 2011Peterman Heading South (after NASA), 2010-2011, 2012 Oil on canvas, 88 x 50 in. Courtesy of the Artist

MARGARET BURROUGHS Awarded in 1981Harriet Tubman, n.d.Lithograph, 18 x 24 in.Private Collection

ELIZABETH CATLETT Awarded in 1981Black is Beautiful, n.d.Lithograph, 18.5 x 13 in. Courtesy of James E. Lewis Museum, Morgan State University

ELIZABETH CATLETT Awarded in 1981Pensive, n.d.Bronze, 19 x 10.25 x 11 in. Courtesy of James E. Lewis Museum, Morgan State University

BARBARA CHASE-RIBOUD Awarded in 2007Anna Akhmatova Monument, St. Petersburg, 1996 Charcoal, charcoal pencil, and ink with enraving

and aquatint on paper, 31.5 x 23.75 in. Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

BARBARA CHASE-RIBOUD Awarded in 2007La Musica Red #4, 2003Bronze with red patina and silk, 30 x 15 x 32 in. Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

CLAIRE FALKENSTEIN Awarded in 1981Nid, 1958Copper, 16.5 x 17 x 26 in. ©The Falkenstein FoundationCourtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

SUE FULLER Awarded in 1986 String Construction #70, 1956String construction over board in wood and steel box, 36.25 x 48.25 x 1.5 in. Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

NANCY GRAVES Awarded in 1993 Frisson of Fear, 1995Bronze, 48.25 x 27 14 x 30.5 in. Courtesy of American University Museum

JUDY CHICAGO Awarded in 1999Virginia Wolf (Test Plate for "The Dinner Party"), 1978Glazed porcelain, 14 in. diameter. On loan from the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Elizabeth A. Sackler in honor of Wilhelmina Cole Holladay

NANCY GROSSMAN Awarded in 2008Black Landscape, 1964Leather, fabric, metal, wood, fur, bristle, paper, nylon, and paint assemblage mounted to plywood, 49.875 x 38 x 3.5 in.Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

GRACE HARTIGAN Awarded in 1987Spanish Thanksgiving, 1961Oil on canvas, 56.75 x 53.13 in.Courtesy of American University Museum

GRACE HARTIGAN Awarded in 1987Trick or Treat, 1965Oil on canvas, 72.25 x 60.125 in.Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

MAREN HASSINGER Awarded in 2009Love, 2009Pink plastic bags, dimensions varyCourtesy of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum

LOÏS MAILOU JONES Awarded in 1986Two Women, 1950Oil on linen, 16.25 x 21 in. Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

JOYCE KOZLOFF Awarded in 2009If I Were a Botanist (Gaza), 2015Mixed media on canvas, 54 x 91.25 in.Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery

LEE KRASNER Awarded in 1980Water No. 2, 1968Gouache on Douglas Howell paper, 18 x 22 in. Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

SAMELLA SANDERS LEWIS Awarded in 1989White House, 1969Oil on canvas, 36 x 30 in. Courtesy of Dr. Diane Whitfield Locke and John Woo

BEVERLY PEPPER Awarded in 1994Untitled, 1980Welded steel objects, 35.5 x 13.875 x 11.875 in.Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

FAITH RINGGOLD Awarded in 1994The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles, 1995Lithograph, 22 x 30 in.Published as benefit print for CAA by the Brodsky CenterCourtesy of Judith K. Brodsky

BETYE SAAR Awarded in 1989Blue Moon Neptune, 1989Mixed media assemblage, 17 x 12 x 1.5 in.Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

EVANGELINE J. MONTGOMERY Awarded in 1999In Memory of Martin, n.d.Mixed media print, 47.5 x 43.5 in. Courtesy of James E. Lewis Museum, Morgan State University

MIRIAM SCHAPIRO Awarded in 1988In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee, 1993Mixed media silk screen print, 22 x 30 in. Published as benefit print for CAA by the Brodsky CenterCourtesy of Judith K. Brodsky

JOYCE SCOTT Awarded 2010Pretty Girl Veiled, 2012Nigerian wood object, plastic and glass beads, thread, and fabric

44 x 24 x 26 in.Courtesy of Goya Contemporary Baltimore

JOYCE J. SCOTT Awarded 2010Soul Erased-Want a Little Action, 2000Lithograph, 30 x 22 in. Courtesy of Goya Contemporary Baltimore

ELIZABETH TALFORD SCOTT Awarded in 1987Voyage to the Bottom of the See, 1992Fabric, thread, ricks, beads, buttons, shells, 69 x 57 in. Private Collection

SYLVIA SLEIGH Awarded in 2011Paul Rosano, Seated Nude, 1973Oil on canvas, 56 x 42 in.On loan from the National Museum of Women in the ArtsGift of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Bowman

NANCY SPERO Awarded in 2003Lovers, 1963Oil on canvas, 55 ½ x 80 1/2 in.Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

LENORE TAWNEY Awarded in 1983Inexhaustible Point, 1968Paper collage with bone and seeds7 x 7.75 in.. Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

CHARMION VON WEIGAND Awarded in 1982the Paradise Gambit, 1964-65Oil on canvas, 45 x 40 in.Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

RUTH WEISBERG The Blessing Awarded in 2009Oil, mixed media on canvas, 80 x 96 in.Courtesy of Jack Rutberg Fine Arts

CLAIRE ZEISLER Awarded in 1982Untitled, c. 1975Colored and natural fiber construction with painted metal base

49.25 x 24.5 x 10 inCourtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York NY

Display Cases with Publications by curators and art historians, many both by and about award recipients

CASE 1 18 inches high, 3 ½ feet long--

LTA Honor catalogs fanned out

CASE 2 3 .14 ; x 20” x Books by Feminist Pioneers 8-10 books

Breeskln, Adline Mary Cassatt

Chicago, Judy Through the Flower 1975 pb 1977

Chicago Dinner Party 1979 pb

Thelma Gouma-Peterson Miriam Schapiro: Retrospective pb 1980

Harris, Ann Sutherland and Linda Nochlin Women Artists: 1550-1950 1976 pb

Lucy Lippard The Pink Glass Swan 1976

Lippard, Luc y R. From the Center 1976 pb

Munro, Eleanor Originals: American Women Artists, 1979

Johnson, Ellen H. Modern Art and the Object 1976 pb

Rubinstein, Charlotte Streifer American Women Artists 1982 pb

CASE 3 Periodicals

Heresies 3 issues

Elsa Honig Fine and Joan Marter Copies of Womans’ Art Journal

(with work by awardees on covers) 10 issues spanning 1980-2014

LARGE CASE 4 43 x 66 x 10 ½ inside Set against wall with propped up books by wall

Benjamin Tritobia - The Life and Art of Lois Jones 1997 LKH

Benjamin, Tritobia and Leslie King Hammond - 3 Generations of African American

Women Sculptors

Broude, Norma and Mary D. Garrard, Feminism and Art History 1982 pb

Broude, Norma and Mary D. Garrard The Power of Feminist Art 1994 pb

Broude, Norma and Mary D. Garrard Expanding Discourse 1992 hb

Chadwick, Women, Art, and Society pb 1977

Corn, Wanda M. The Great American Thing 1999 hb

Corn, Wanda M Women Building History 2011 hp

Frostig, Karen and Kathy A. Halamka Blaze 2007 hb

Gablik, Suzi Living the Magical Life 2002 hb

Gadon, Elinor W. The Once and Future Goddess 1989 pb

Guerilla Girls The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art 1998 pb

Guerilla Girls Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers 2003 pb

Kastmer. Carolyn Jaune Quick-to-See Smith LHK

Leslie King-Hammond -Gumbo Ya Ya: Anthology of Contemporary African-American Women

Leslie King-Hammond and Lowry Sims- Art as a Verb- the Evolving Continuum

Suzanne Lacy Mapping the Terrain 1994

Samella Lewis and Mary Jane Hewitt - African American Art and Artists

Lippard, Lucy R., Overlay 1983 pb

Margo Machida - Unsettled Visions – Contemporary Asian American Artists 2009

Marter, Joan Dorothy Dehner : Sixty Years of Art 1993 AU Library

Amalia Mesa Baines Ceremony of Memory:New Expressions of Spirituality Among Contemporary Hispanic Artists 1986

Linda Nochlin Women Art and Power 1989 AU Library

Linda Nochlin Global Feminisms 2007 pb BW

Princeton Review of Women Gender and Culture- Arlene Raven’s Legacy

Raven, Arlene, Cassandra Langer, Joanna Frueh, Feminist Art Criticism 1988 pb

Lowry S. Sims - Challenge of the Modern: African American Artists 1925-1945 2003

Lowery S. Sims and Leslie King Hammond - The Global Africa Project

Steinem, Gloria Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions 1983 pb

Stokstad, Marilyn Art History rev second edition vol 1 and 2, 2005 pb

Publications lent by Helen Langa, Leslie King-Hammond, and Barbara Wolanin, posters by HIRO

Co-organizers Barbara Wolanin and Jaimianne Amicucci with museum Director and Curator Jack Rasmussen and Curator Leslie King-Hammond speakingat the WCA reception on February 6, 2016.

Special tour for ArTTable , WCA/DC, and other women’s groups on March 5, 2016led by Director Jack Rasmussen an Barbara Wolanin

Ellouise Schoettler presented“Pushing Boundaries” on March 8, 2016.She told the story of her early days becoming an artist and getting involved with WCA andher reaction to the exhibition.