Artist Spotlight

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.

Renaissance Rebel: Lavinia Fontana

Posted: August 24, 2017
Category: Artist Spotlight
Considered the first professional woman artist, Lavinia Fontana worked within the same sphere as her male counterparts. She earned a living through her art and broke barriers.
A woman stands in a richly brocaded red dress, her right hand reaching down to pet a small, white dog. Adorned in jewelry, she wears flowers in her hair, parted in the center. The pelt of a small mammal, its head encased in a jeweled holder, hangs from her heavily decorated belt.

Call of the Wild: Polly Morgan

Posted: August 12, 2017
Category: Artist Spotlight
In celebration of NMWA’s 30th anniversary, and inspired by the museum’s focus on contemporary women artists as catalysts for change, Revival illuminates how women working in sculpture, photography, and video use spectacle...
A woman with a light skin tone and short, blonde hair stands before a white wall next to a sculpture. The sculpture is a metal construction with yellow birds attached to its top.

Falling into Place: Charlotte Gyllenhammar

Posted: August 10, 2017
Category: Artist Spotlight
In celebration of NMWA’s 30th anniversary, and inspired by the museum’s focus on contemporary women artists as catalysts for change, Revival illuminates how women working in sculpture, photography, and video use spectacle...
A large canvas with colorful brushstrokes takes up almost the entire wall. There are several large photographs hanging on the wall. They are blurry and it is not visible what they are showing; one seems to depict a cage and birds.

4 Questions with Amy Sherald

Posted: July 30, 2017
Category: Artist Spotlight
Hear from Baltimore-based artist Amy Sherald about her background, artistic process, and works.
Vibrant painting of a young lady with medium skin tone staring out against a bright pink background. The painting is partially obscured by the silhouetted heads of museum visitors.

Mixed Media Majesty: Petah Coyne

Posted: July 10, 2017
Category: Artist Spotlight
In celebration of NMWA’s 30th anniversary, and inspired by the museum’s focus on contemporary women artists as catalysts for change, Revival illuminates how women working in sculpture, photography, and video use spectacle...
Installation view of a sculpture hanging from the ceiling in a gallery space. The sculpture consists of myriad layers of melted pink and white wax that encrust and obscure the metal armature for this abstract sculpture, which hangs from satin-wrapped chains. Its color and shape, as well as the bumpy, lacy texture, evoke a frilly tutu, lavishly frosted wedding cake, or coral accretions.

Artist Spotlight: Patricia Tobacco Forrester

Posted: July 9, 2017
Category: Artist Spotlight
Revel in the beauty of nature captured by Patricia Tobacco Forrester (1940–2011) in her large-scale watercolor works on view at NMWA.
Long and thin horizontal crop of a larger artwork features a closeup detail of watercolor roses in vibrant bloom in shades of hot pink, violet, and yellow with thick leaves surrounding.

Hair’s the Thing: Sonya Clark

Posted: July 6, 2017
Category: Artist Spotlight
In celebration of NMWA’s 30th anniversary, and inspired by the museum’s focus on contemporary women artists as catalysts for change, Revival illuminates how women working in sculpture, photography, and video use spectacle...
A circular wreath made of dark, tightly coiled hair with strands escaping and resembling laurels.

Not So Itsy Bitsy: Louise Bourgeois

Posted: July 3, 2017
Category: Artist Spotlight
In celebration of NMWA’s 30th anniversary, and inspired by the museum’s focus on contemporary women artists as catalysts for change, Revival illuminates how women working in sculpture, photography, and video use spectacle...
Bronze sculpture of a spider on a white platform against a magenta background.

Go Figure! Amy Sherald at NMWA

Posted: June 2, 2017
Category: Artist Spotlight
During an Artists in Conversation program at NMWA on May 9, artist Amy Sherald shares her sources of inspiration and what she hopes viewers will take away from her work.
Vibrant painting of a young lady with medium skin tone staring out against a bright pink background. The painting is partially obscured by the silhouetted heads of museum visitors.

Women Making Moves: Immigrant Artists in NMWA’s Collection

Posted: May 17, 2017
Category: Artist Spotlight
As life in Europe became increasingly dangerous during World War II, some artists sought new lives abroad. Burgeoning art movements springing from major cities in North America shifted the art...
Green-tinted woven wood covers the corners and leads to the middle where a woman in an orange cloak made from various wooden objects such as a wagon wheel holds a candle and looks to her right at a man entering into the room from a door. The man is wearing a blue cloak and is also comprised of wooden objects. In his right hand, he holds a white flower. Behind them, a clock hangs on the wall, and in the left corner, a blackbird perches on a chair.