By Brianna Davis
When someone thinks of a famous artist, they often think of men. From the works of Leonardo da Vinci to Andy Warhol, men have seemingly dominated the art field. However, there are many notable ladies of the craft, and to prove it, we have listed just a few of the most famous below.
- Frida Kahlo de Rivera – Despite having polio and being in a horrific traffic accident as a young woman, she produced many beautiful paintings, the most famous of which included self-portraits. She was said to paint herself because of her loneliness and because she knew herself best. Frida even had a special easel made by her mother so she could paint from her bed. Her life was also made into an award winning film starring Salma Hayek.
- Georgia O’Keeffe – She was a pioneer in both American and women’s art. Her work first gained attention in 1916, before women could vote and when many traditional schools of art were closed off to them. She is probably most famous for her close up painting of flower blossoms and the buildings of New York. She was even the first woman to have a show at the Museum of Modern Art. There is a museum and research center dedicated to her and her works in Santa Fe.
- Artemisia Gentileschi – From Italy during the Renaissance era, she was a Baroque painter and one of the most recognized females from that period. Born in 1593, she was the first woman to be accepted into the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence. Women were often the subjects of paintings and her best known painting was Judith Beheading Holofernes which is both gruesome and beautifully detailed. She also had a feature film based on her life entitled “Artemisia.”
- Sarah Peale – From Philadelphia, she was a well-known and respected portrait painter, which was unheard of for a woman in the 1800’s. In addition to painting prominent military and political figures, she also painted bowls of fruit, which was not as common a practice then as it is now. She was said to have put her work before family or traditional career and even received recognition from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1824.
- Harriet Hosmer – Not all women artists were painters. She is one of the most famous female sculptors. Hosmer immigrated to America from Italy in the 1800’s and soon became a prominent figure of “independent women,” which was found to indicate she was a lesbian. It wasn’t until another artist, Patricia Cronin, discovered her work and shared it that she truly came to prominence.
- Bonus: Rachel Whiteread – But not all top women artists are traditional artists. She is a British artist who specializes in sculpture cases and is worth mentioning for her ability to make headlines. Whiteread won the Turner Prize in 1993 and was the first woman to do so. Her most famous work is House, a concrete cast of an original house in East London, which also won her a worst artist award. Her casts often spark controversy and even include a Holocaust monument.
Brianna Davis owns the site Bachelor of Arts Degree. Her site helps students find the right college to get a degree in the arts.