National Museum of Women in the Arts - A Virtual Tour

As much as I have been enjoying my recent visits to New England museums, at some point I  realized that there were very few women artists in any exhibit I visited.  This reality seemed true almost regardless of the nature or theme of the art on display. This made me wish I could visit the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC.  Suddenly, it came to me -  this is the virtual age, so this blog post represents my virtual visit to a very special museum.

As I started my virtual tour, I found it is very different experience to wander through a museum with your fingers than with your feet; however, I realized that learning to effectively visit museum virtual would open up an extraordinary experience to visit art collected through out the world -- what an amazing possibility!

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is such a unique museum; it seems logical to start with a few comments on its history.  The question for this museum is the same one that motivated me create this page, "where are the women artists?"  This question motivated Wilhelmina Cole Holladay and Wallace F. Holladay to make women artist their collecting criteria starting in 1960.  After 20 years, Wilhelmina made her collection the core of the permanent holdings of this new, important institution which opened in the spring 1987.  The following video capture the essence of the NMWA mission https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3we9ItJy50

Whenever one enters a museum, the question is always "Where to begin?"   The NMWA's permanent collection boasts 4,500 artworks by more than 1,000 women artists - both well known and lesser known.   Some of the artists represented are Mary Cassatt, Lavinia Fontana, Clara Peeters, and Élisabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun as well as modern and contemporary artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Chakaia Booker, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Joana Vasconcelos.  I started my virtual tour by sampling works from the permanent collection (http://www.nmwa.org/explore/collection-highlights) which is conveniently arranged by century.  I immediately clicked on 18th - 19th century because this period is familiar.

Marguerite Gerard, Prelude to a Concert, ca 18810

Berthe Morisot, 1885. The Cage

Then I moved on to the 20th century and contemporary art works to look for new favorites.

Elizabeth Adela Stanhope Forbes, Will-o'-the-Wisp, ca. 1900

Alma Woodsey Thomas, Iris, Tulips, Jonquils, and Crocuses, 1969

Joan Mitchell, Sale Neige, 1980

M. L. Van Nice, Swiss Army Book, 1990

Hollis Sigler, To Kiss the Spirits: Now, This Is What It Is Really Like, 1993

This virtual visit to the National Museum of Women Artists fulfilled my desire to see the artistic work by women from around the world.  It also convinced me that the doors of most museums are open to me.  What a wonderful discovered and extraordinary opportunity for future "museuming".