Urgent Museum Notice

CHAMPION WOMEN THROUGH THE ARTS

A light-skinned older woman in a collared white shirt and black cardigan leans against a railing with a slight smile. Ornate chandeliers can be seen behind her. A light-skinned older woman in a collared white shirt and black cardigan leans against a railing with a slight smile. Ornate chandeliers can be seen behind her.

In Memoriam: Wilhelmina Cole Holladay

Against tremendous odds and with singular vision, dedication, and drive, Holladay created a museum to help alleviate the underrepresentation of women artists in museums and galleries worldwide.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR FOUNDER
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  • Night view of city street shows a large sculpture made of eight half-tires arranged into stacked hourglass shapes. Engravings, gold leaf, and green light on the interior of the tires decorate the structure. Light trails from cars frame the sculpture on both sides.
  • Oblique view of gallery with a Baroque painting of the Madonna and Child in a gilded frame on magenta wall at right. In the distance, three more framed works hang on the same wall. Painting on the adjacent white wall is of a reclining figure with a bandage on chest.
  • Two young children with medium skin tone stand in front of a dog sculpture covered with green crochet panels. One child stands with hands on hips, eyes turned to look directly at the viewer, and gives a slight smirk. Adult visitors in the background look at the scene with amusement.

Visit Us

Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., the National Museum of Women in the Arts brings recognition to the achievements of women artists of all periods and nationalities.

Plan Your Visit

We are open today from 10 am to 5 pm

Related Fact about Women in the Arts

Just 11% of all acquisitions at prominent American museums over the past decade were of work by women artists.
— Artnet News

What We Do

Our rotating special exhibitions showcase work by established and emerging women artists. Museum programs and events build strong, engaged local communities and foster conversations and connections that inspire change. Our collections feature more than 5,500 works from the 16th century to today created by more than 1,000 artists.

Two women look closely at artwork on the gallery wall.
Photo credit: Kevin Allen

Related Quote

Great art should be viewed, valued, and supported especially work by women.”
NMWA Member

Stay in the Know

Enter your email to be among the first to know about our upcoming programs and new ways to champion women in the arts.

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Two figures stand facing a large colorful work on paper. The figure on the left is dark skinned with short, curly, brown hair, the figure on the right is light skinned with long, straight, blonde hair. The work on paper depicts a seated dark skin person staring confidently at the viewer; an overlay of bright orange and circular patterns of white, blue, and brown circles covers the person and background.
Photo credit: Sancha McBurnie

Photo credit: Sancha McBurnie

Related Quote

People in the art world want to think we are achieving parity more quickly than we are.”
Susan Fisher Sterling, The Alice West Director

Advocate for Women

Women artists have been marginalized for centuries. Gender bias is less overt today, but contemporary women artists still face many obstacles and disparities, as well as persistent underrepresentation in museum collections and exhibitions worldwide. Their historical precursors still deserve to have their stories told.

Take Action
Close-up photograph of a painted quilt shows a medium-dark skinned woman dancing exuberantly. There is a white flower in her hair, and she wears dangling gold earrings and gold loops around her neck.
Faith Ringgold, American Collection #4: Jo Baker’s Bananas (detail), 1997; Photo credit: Emily Haight, NMWA

Faith Ringgold, American Collection #4: Jo Baker’s Bananas (detail), 1997; Photo credit: Emily Haight, NMWA

Explore Things to Do @ NMWA

  • Art Chat @ Five: Give Me A Hand

    Date: Apr, 16
    Time: 5 to 5:45 pm

  • Fresh Talk: Sonya Clark

    Date: Apr, 18
    Time: 5 to 6 pm

  • Free Community Day

    Date: Apr, 18
    Time: 12 to 5 pm

  • Curative Collective Conversation: The Belair-Edison School

    Date: Apr, 19
    Time: 12 to 1 pm

  • Art Chat @ Five: Girls on Film

    Date: Apr, 23
    Time: 5 to 5:45 pm

  • Collection Highlights Talk

    Date: Apr, 24
    Time: 1 to 2 pm

  • Curative Collective Conversation: Tsedaye Makonnen

    Date: Apr, 26
    Time: 12 to 1 pm

  • Art Chat @ Five: History’s Mysteries

    Date: Apr, 30
    Time: 5 to 5:45 pm

  • Virtual Workshop: Create a Personal Flag

    Date: May, 01
    Time: 1 to 3 pm
    • View Calendar

    Featured Exhibition

    Featured Blog Post

    Forming a More Perfect Union

    Web designer Sue Anna Joe created the central magnolia motif on Mississippi’s new state flag, which recently replaced the original flag’s Confederate imagery. We asked Joe to consider Sonya Clark’s own Confederate battle flag and truce flag works.
    View of the museum from outside showing the Neoclassical building from one corner. The building is a tan-colored stone with an arched doorway, long vertical windows, and detailed molding around the roof.
    Sonya Clark, Unraveling (detail, performance), 2015; Cotton Confederate battle flag, 10 x 36 x 7 in.; Courtesy of the artist and Lisa Sette Gallery; © Sonya Clark; Photo by Taylor Dabney
    @WomenInTheArts