Women Artists and the Parisian Avant-Garde: Modernism and 'Feminine' Art, 1900 to the Late 1920s

This illustrated book examines the work and artistic culture of women artists in France during the period when Picasso, Matisse and Modigliani were guiding the development of modern art. Although this period is better known for the canonical fauvist and cubist works of artists such as Matisse and Picasso, Gill Perry takes as her focus several women artists who were active on the fringes of modernist groups, and whose works were widely exhibited and reviewed in the early-20th century. Apart from the better known names of Suzanne Valadon and Marie Laurencin, these artists include Emilie Charmy, Maria Blanchard, Alice Halicka, Marevna Vorobev and Jacqueline Marval. Perry explores the critical culture through which their work was represented and patronized, and the contemporary perceptions of femininity involved. Drawing on unpublished material, including letters and diary extracts, and some works in French public and private colelctions, she argues that a lack of historical material and limited access to relevant works by these artists has encouraged some mis-representations of the many complex relationships which many women negotiated with avant-garde groups and artistic players.