Fragmented Identities: The Gendered Roles of Women in Art through the Ages

Drawn predominately from the Mead’s permanent collection, this exhibition spans ancient to contemporary time periods, representing a variety of artistic styles and materials, to examine the ways in which women have been depicted or represented themselves across media, centuries, and the globe. This show underscores the ways in which these portrayals of women can be seen to pigeonhole their subjects into gendered roles, and in other cases challenges these social constructs. Mary Cassatt’s Reine Lefebvre Holding a Nude Baby (1902), on loan from the Worcester Art Museum, will be part of this small focused exhibition on the depictions of women in art through the ages.

Lalla Essaydi (Moroccan, born 1956), Les femmes du Maroc #14, 2005. C41 print mounted on aluminum. Purchase with Wise Fund for Fine Arts

On view through July 1, 2018 Location: Mead Museum of Art at Amherst College, Amherst, MA

“With Brain, With Heart, With Hands”: Celebrating Maria Mitchell and Her Legacy

The NHA and the Maria Mitchell Association are collaborating on an exhibition celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Maria Mitchell—Nantucket native, educator, and the first female astronomer in America. Using artifacts from both organizations’ collections, plus loan items from the Nantucket Atheneum and private collections, the exhibition will explore Mitchell’s background, influences, and life on Nantucket; her contributions to science as the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College; the legacy she left through her students; and the continuing relevance of her work today.

On view from April 25 through December 2018 Location: Nantucket Historical Association, Whaling Museum

Selling Lifestyle and Leisure: Art, Advertising and the Automobile

Using a combination of original advertisements, large scale reproductions, special ‘guest’ vehicles, and multi-media presentations, this exhibit will tell the story of automobile advertising and design, the social trends that shaped the ads, and the talented artists and illustrators who created them.

Opening 2018 season Location: Seal Cove Auto Museum, Mount Desert Island, ME

Over 500 birds...and that’s just the carving.

Permanent display of carved birds with rotating objects. The birds are carved by Robert Spear, Jr., a native Vermonter, who is one of Vermont's foremost naturalists and woodcarvers. Additional birds have been carved by Ingrid Rhind and Dick Allen. New carvings are added as we expand exhibits each year. The mural backgrounds to both Fall and Spring Migration Dioramas, as well as several other murals throughout the museum, were painted by Vermont artist Libby Davidson.

Permanet Exhibition Location: Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington, VT

Recent Acquisitions: Women's Work

After many attempts to be part of the mainstream marketplace, early twentieth century American women artists began meeting with minor success. At first they resorted to creating alternative venues to show their work - art clubs and associations for women. It should be noted that the government's Works Project Administration (WPA) whose mission was to employ all kinds of workers including artists, employed women at only 13.5 percent of the total for its highest enrollment year of 1938. The revolutionary 1960s resulted in a leap in the acceptance of women in art as a result of feminism and a highly political, anti-war backdrop. In retrospect, the early 1970s and 1980s may well have been the widest window open to art by women, yielding a great diversity in media and method. The stage was set. In spite of obstacles, women continue to seek a means to express themselves through art or other creative ways. Artists included in the exhibit are Vivian Berman, Prilla Smith Brackett, Jennifer Maestre, and Nora Valdez. (Among various sculpture projects, Valdez's most recently installed work in Massachusetts can be found on the museum grounds, at the Reading Garden Entrance, Duxbury Free Library and the Boston Public Library, East Boston Branch.)

Nora Valdez supervising installation of her work at The Art Complex Museum

Artwork will be rotated throughout the year Location: The Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA