Canton Museum showcases women in American art

The Canton Museum of Art is hosting Shattered Glass: The Women Who Have Elevated American Art, an exhibit highlighting artwork created by female artists.

For those who have not yet seen it, there is still time. The exhibit, which opened Nov. 25, will run through March 1. It features nearly 120 works by women whose contributions to American art have often been overlooked.

The exhibit aims to shed light on women artists who were excluded from history books and to spark conversation about their impact on the art world and their communities. It highlights artists who faced adversity because of gender, race, sexuality, economic status and family responsibilities. Some even exhibited under male pseudonyms to have their work shown.

One Ohio artist, Claudine Raguet Hirst, submitted artwork under the name Claude R. Hirst to conceal her identity and gain acceptance in a male-dominated art world.

Christy Davis, curator of exhibits at the Canton Museum of Art, said the show is an original exhibition developed by the museum. The works have never been displayed together anywhere else.

“Shattered Glass is the result of close to seven years of research by three of us at the museum – myself, Kaleigh Pisani, curator of collections and registrar, and Kate Hatcher, curatorial assistant,” Davis said. “Our conversation and research started just before 2020 and aligned with the Stark County America 250 planning. We found so many talented female artists who never received recognition for their talents or used male names to get their art exhibited that we could have a second exhibit called Shattered Glass 2.0.”

The exhibit includes oil paintings, ceramics, photographs, watercolors and film, offering what Davis called “a huge cross-section of American art.” The title refers to the “glass ceiling,” a metaphor for barriers that prevent qualified individuals – especially women and other underrepresented groups – from advancing in their careers.

Women were barred from academic education until the 19th century and excluded from many professions. Societal norms confined them largely to domestic roles, and women were almost entirely omitted from art publications until the 1970s.

Criticism of women artists was common. A 1910 Art News article claimed there were “few women who can paint or model as strongly or successfully as men,” echoing earlier remarks by Dr. John Jenks Thomas that “Not one woman in a hundred has a true artistic sense.” Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer also questioned women’s artistic ability.

Works created by women were often labeled as craft rather than fine art. Davis noted that mediums such as quilting and knitting were dismissed as hobbies rather than recognized as art.

“Labeling the work that way downgrades it to being a hobby or crafts versus recognizing it as art,” Davis said.

Despite those obstacles, Davis said the women featured in the exhibit were resilient.

“They knew that as an artist, you always find a way to create your art,” she said. “Their grit and passion led them to never give up.”

Tour groups from across Ohio have visited the exhibit, and Davis said feedback has been strong. Many visitors have left comments thanking the museum for highlighting the artists and their stories.

“The conversations often turn to the barriers women have faced in their careers,” Davis said. “Some of those barriers still exist today.”

The exhibit includes works on loan from other museums. Among them is Audrey Flack, one of the first photorealist painters and among the first to base paintings on photographs. Her work Marilyn, from the Vanitas series, draws on 17th-century symbolism and examines perceptions of Marilyn Monroe’s life.

Alice Schille, recognized as a leading American watercolorist during her lifetime, is represented by Guatemalan Rooftops, which demonstrates her modernist style and reflects travels uncommon for women of her era.

Selma Burke, one of the most distinguished African American sculptors of the 20th century, created a relief portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt that served as the model for his image on the dime, though she did not initially receive credit. Her sculpture Peace, created during the Vietnam War, reimagines the traditional mother-and-child theme with a dove symbolizing peace.

Maija Grotell, often called the “mother of American ceramics,” helped elevate ceramics to fine art. Her innovations in glaze and wheel throwing influenced American ceramics and architectural design.

Other featured artists include Elaine de Kooning, Georgia O’Keeffe, Mary Cassatt, Dorothea Lange, Kara Walker and The Guerrilla Girls, among others.

A catalog featuring the artists and their stories is available in the museum gift shop.

For more information about the exhibit or the Canton Museum of Art, visit cantonart.org.