Linda Nochlin: The Maverick She

A black and white photographic portrait of seated art scholar Linda Nochlin. Dressed in a dark sweater and a print scarf, she gazes with a smile up to her left. An oversized art book is opened on the surface in front of her.
Mar 08 to Oct 08, 2020

Linda Nochlin (1931–2017), award-winning scholar, art historian and critic, devoted her career to forging a new appreciation for the contributions of women in the arts. Her 1971 essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?,” shifted the critical discourse to a place from which feminist artists, thinkers and activists have never looked back. NMWA’s Library and Research Center and the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art will collaborate to showcase a selection of Nochlin’s papers and ephemera that illuminate her remarkable contributions to art and culture.

A magazine cover shows a painting of a young woman with light skin in a white dress, looking straight ahead at the viewer, against a dark green background. Holding an easel and a paintbrush, she sits in front of an open window, through which two figures and a large building are visible.

"Women's Liberation, Woman Artists and Art History", special issue of ARTnews, v. 69, no. 9, January 1971, cover

Exhibition Gallery

A photographic portrait of smiling art scholar Linda Nochlin in academic regalia. She wears a multicolored blouse and a black cap with a lavender tassel. Over the blouse she wears a bright red and brown gown. She holds a rolled white paper tied with a red ribbon.
Linda Nochlin Receives Honorary Degree from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, 2012; Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center, National Museum of Women in the Arts; Courtesy of Ede & Ravenscroft
A black and white photographic portrait of seated art scholar Linda Nochlin. Dressed in a dark sweater and a print scarf, she gazes with a smile up to her left. An oversized art book is opened on the surface in front of her.
Linda Nochlin in Paris, 1978; Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center, National Museum of Women in the Arts; Courtesy of Marion Kalter; Photo by Marion Kalter
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Related Media

LibGuide

Explore an online resource guide about Linda Nochlin's life and work, compiled by our Library & Research Center.
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A photographic portrait of smiling art scholar Linda Nochlin in academic regalia. She wears a multicolored blouse and a black cap with a lavender tassel. Over the blouse she wears a bright red and brown gown. She holds a rolled white paper tied with a red ribbon.