Blockbuster exhibition highlights visionary women of abstract expressionism

"Abstract Expressionists: The Women," on view through April 26, features nearly 50 works by 32 women artists.

Visitors to the museum explore the exhibit at its opening reception. (Photo courtesy of the Muscarelle Museum of Art)

While Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko are household names whose work can fetch tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, their female counterparts, who worked alongside these men and were integral to the creation and evolution of the movement, are far less well-known.

A new exhibition at the Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary shines a spotlight on these women and the important contributions they made to modern art. "Abstract Expressionists: The Women," on view through April 26, features nearly 50 works by 32 women artists, inviting visitors to learn more about the crucial yet under-acknowledged innovation of women artists in the middle of the 20th century.

William & Mary is the only institution on the East Coast to present this landmark touring exhibition, providing a rare opportunity to view important works from the private collection of art collector and philanthropist Christian Levett. Organized by the American Federation of Arts, the exhibition was curated by renowned scholar Ellen G. Landau.

Emerging as a dynamic and uniquely American art movement in the aftermath of World War II, abstract expressionism is best known for large-scale paintings that push the boundaries of traditional processes and forms.

"Postwar development of expansive canvases with a radical attitude toward process, scale, and surface was rapidly understood as a 'heroic' approach associated solely with masculinity," explains Landau. "'Abstract Expressionists: The Women' unveils this conventionally gendered narrative as mythically based. Rather than acolytes re-interpreting male achievement, the artists on view were fully ambitious practitioners working substantively around the same time."

Among the artists represented are Elaine de Kooning, best known for her work blending figuration, expression and abstraction - a fusion that her male counterparts often disdained - as well as Helen Frankenthaler, whose innovative soak-stain method drew inspiration from the drip techniques of Pollock to create radiant floods of color unimaginable to abstract expressionists who came before. Also included are Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, Alma Thomas, Perle Fine, Joan Mitchell and more.

The exhibition is presented chronologically in four thematic sections, exploring the efforts of the core group of artists working in New York City as well as the crosscurrents between these women and those working in California and Paris during the movement's inception, peak years and beyond.

"It's an important moment of recognition that we get to be part of at the Muscarelle," says David Brashear, the museum's director. "For many years, the story of abstract expressionism has overlooked its women pioneers. 'Abstract Expressionists: The Women' offers a more complete understanding of the artistic movement, highlighting the contributions of the ambitious and visionary women artists who were creating work alongside their more celebrated male peers. We hope our visitors find inspiration in both the powerful artworks and the stories behind them."

The Muscarelle has fully embraced the mission of the exhibition through a rich slate of programming with talks by authors, academics, curators and collector Christian Levett.

Docent-led tours of the exhibition are offered Tuesday through Saturday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and on Sunday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Tickets to the exhibition are available now at muscarelle.wm.edu or upon entry. Admission is $12. W&M students, faculty and staff, Muscarelle Members and youth under 18 receive free admission.

"Abstract Expressionists: The Women" is organized by the American Federation of Arts from the Christian Levett Collection and FAMM (Female Artists of the Mougins Museum), France. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Ellen G. Landau. It is generously supported by Berry Campbell Gallery, Betsy Shack Barbanell, Monique Schoen Warshaw, Christian Levett, and Clare McKeon and the Clare McKeon Charitable Trust. Additional support has been provided by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the Every Page Foundation.

The installation at the Muscarelle is supported by a grant from the City of Williamsburg, with additional support from individual sponsors and friends of the museum.

Holly Gardner '26, Muscarelle Museum of Art

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