Something Revealed
An exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of History focuses on underappreciated California women artists
An exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of History focuses on underappreciated California women artists
Emerging from the Shadows: a Survey of Women Artists Working in California, 1860-1960 is a continuing research project. Over the years, in my work as a fine arts conservator it became evident, in the course of cleaning, repairing and researching paintings, that many of the works by largely unknown artists were more than just competent: they were both very good and created by women. It was interesting to me that a large number of the paintings and artworks were signed with just initials, or perhaps initials and a last name, and in some cases just the last name, leaving the authorship completely genderless.
The observation of this phenomenon convinced me that a reference book of this artistic demographic would be a valuable resource for the public.we needed a compendium that would combine updated biographies of the women artists working in California with images showing examples of the artists’ work.and it would be unique, in that it would be created from the perspective of a fine arts conservator. In the course of this research, I have discovered many talented women artists who have sadly slipped through the cracks of time. Discovery and subsequent recognition is the lifeblood of the art world.without this activity, galleries and museums are forced to recycle a select and sometimes limited body of work and no growth or awakening is achieved. With discovery comes selection.a lucky few are deemed “the chosen”; they become popular, desirable, sought after and a success.this success depends on numerous elements, not the least of which is the size of the oeuvre (the
amount of work created by an artist over a lifetime). Some of the artists presented were quite prolific.we recognize their work, style and their names. However, most of the artists presented here are not as well known, in fact, perhaps never heard of, lost in the shadows of the world of art.
Why are so many female artists lost to history? One reason besides the obvious genderless and androgynous name phenomenon is marriage: the female replaces her last name with her husband’s, or adds the husband’s name to her own, or proceeds in some cases to exhibit under a hyphenated version. Some of the artists married a number of times, each with a subsequent name change. In addition, there are numerous marriages resulting from death or divorce during this hundred-year period, which complicates matters for the scholar. In our research it has become clear that the majority of these women artists lived to be well into their 80s and 90s, certainly enough time for a number of name changes. It was interesting to note how many of these women married men much their seniors or outlived their spouses.
Another problem for continued recognition for women artists was in some cases “inactivity”: family, child rearing, education or travel sometimes necessitated huge breaks from their artistic production. Married or single, they frequently relocated to different states or countries. Many of these artists were born elsewhere and came to California as youngsters with their families due to financial needs or as young women seeking educational opportunities. Many became known artists while working in California, and then toward the end of their lives they left for a variety of reasons. thus, their obituaries are often printed in a local paper in a different area from where they worked, and their works are now scattered or forgotten.
Some have similar names, such as Florence young and Frances Upson Young. Over time they can become grouped together through a typographical error or poor research into a single person. In this case the result of the errors was Florence Upson young, eliminating Frances, which resulted in all of Frances’ artwork being attributed to Florence.the final reason they are lost to us is death; family members or friends take the mementos of an aged artist and frequently put them in the attic or basement, where the works are largely lost to the world.
I chose the time span of 100 years, 1860 to 1960, because, in my opinion, it was such an interesting and fruitful artistic period. It was the beginning of a continuum of artistic evolution in California and the Western world. The earliest work in Emerging was created in 1859, so there are exceptions. I chose 1960 as a cut off time so we would be addressing the ’40s and ’50s, when many repressive social value systems were still ingrained in our society, rather than fully embracing the complexities of the ’60s to contemporary times. But because a huge percentage of these ladies lived well into their late 80s and 90s (the average age at time of death for our group of 320 is 81½), we have chosen to include a few later examples of works by artists who were still working
well into their 80s and 90s during the ’60s and ’70s.
It is important to address a few very significant cultural changes that occurred over the last 100 years. there is not adequate space here to delve into the reasons for these changes. However, an understanding of some elements helps us to comprehend and put in perspective nuances of everyday life as it existed at the time these artists were active.the biography gives us a feeling for the artist. If that biography contains a number of words to describe an artist that in today’s vernacular have a negative or demeaning connotation, we have a tendency to form a bias against that artist.you see a work of art that you like and are thinking of purchasing it, but you would like to know something about the artist.you read: “she lived with her parents, taught school, was a member of the local art club and then died a spinster.” this information is not very exciting even if the art is exciting, and we might ultimately doubt the excellence of the work. I have frequently heard people say, “the painting is nice but she was just an educator.” we may be swayed by reading outdated words that no longer have the same meaning they once did. Let’s take living at home. Until recently families lived together long after the children were grown. Sometimes married children lived with one side of the family forever and brothers and sisters remained in their parents’ home well after their parents had passed away. Therefore, when reading the biography of a female artist, it is not negative or uncommon that they remained at home. Some, for the sake of economy, even had a studio in the family home.
Finally, in our brief examination of words, there is the reference to an unmarried female as “spinster”: talk about negative connotations! Let’s face it, the word bachelor does not conjure up the same imagery as the word spinster. This word is not used today but appears frequently in many respected reference books published not that long ago. again, when we envision a spinster, we think of a female who was unmarriageable.
The preconceived notion that she was homely and boring is unjustified. Maybe her career was more important than marriage, and it was her choice not to marry. It does not mean she did not have relationships. Maybe she was married and then divorced but references herself as single on the census. Maybe she was a lesbian and had female companions. Whatever the case, none of this should matter in reference to her artistic skills. Still, the word spinster coupled with some of the other words discussed here can psychologically and erroneously affect how we see a work of art. By the way, many of the “spinsters” turned out to be wildly interesting, beautiful, very active women. Artists, female and male, first and foremost should be judged on their ability to create and their works.
Initially, two paintings from my own collection were the impetus for this project. Both paintings are very competent and by unknown female artists—cora Van Epps and Paula Zen. With patience, research and diligence we were able to find Cora Van Epps and realize how misspelled names can lead to oblivion.
However, I, personally, have yet to find any significant background information on Paula Zen. She started this project, and she remains a challenge and a mystery. I love her work Portrait of Gladys, and it will continue to be a driving force for motivation in my search for Paula and for other artists yet to be discovered. while I have tried to create a book that is as comprehensive as possible, a survey like this one can never be definitive. Newly discovered artists and new information on the artists included will continue to surface and delight us in the future, and the book by its nature will always remain a “work in progress.” It is actually only a first step on a long journey of discovery and recognition for these artists and other women artists. I hope that students of art will be stimulated by these discoveries and continue our search as their thesis and dissertation subjects; there is so much more to learn.
This article was excerpted, updated and adapted from Emerging from the Shadows: A Survey of Women Artists Working in California, 1860-1960 (2015, Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA), which inspired the exhibition Something Revealed: California Women Artists Emerge, 1860-1960, opening September 29 at the Pasadena Museum of History.