Femme ’n isms is a multi-year series of exhibitions celebrating intersectional feminist artmaking in the Allen’s collection. Inspired by a recent gift of works by Käthe Kollwitz and Lotte Jacobi, the third and final installment of Femme ’n isms features portraits of girls and women, almost entirely by women and femme-identifying artists.

Half of the works are self-portraits, in which artists highlight their workspace, labor, and ingenuity. Others capture a casual exchange between acquaintances who have knowingly let their guard down to express vulnerability. Conversely, musicians, actors, and other celebrities pose as characters or types.

Across more than a century, in private and in public, these subjects make deliberate decisions about how they wish to appear. Participating in the production of their representation is a crucial means of asserting agency over their image and ultimately themselves.

The exhibition includes works by Emma Amos, Cecilia Beaux, Martine Gutierrez, Lotte Jacobi, Käthe Kollwitz, Marie Laurencin, Joan Semmel, Cindy Sherman, and others.

Images:

Lotte Jacobi (German, 1896–1990), Käthe Kollwitz, ca. 1930. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Adam Werner in memory of Gloria (OC 1962) and Newton Werner, 2022.49.3.

Marie Laurencin (French, 1885–1956), The Red Fan, 1927. Drypoint and roulette. Gift of Harry A. Kleinert, 1961.38.

Emma Amos (American, 1937–2020), Billie Holiday as Leda and Black Swan, 1984. Monoprint with pochoir and hand-coloring. Oberlin Friends of Art Fund, 2023.46.