Overview

Venus, maiden, wife, mother, monster—women have been bound so long by these restrictive roles, codified by patriarchal culture, that we scarcely see them. Catherine McCormack illuminates the assumptions behind these stereotypes whether writ large or subtly hidden. She ranges through Western art—think Titian, Botticelli, and Millais—and the image-saturated world of fashion photographs, advertisements, and social media, and boldly counters these depictions by turning to the work of women artists like Morisot, Ringgold, Lacy, and Walker, who offer alternative images for exploring women’s identity, sexuality, race, and power in more complex ways.

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9780393542080

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Reviews

[An] illuminating look at how women's bodies have been depicted in the arts...This eye-opening work will leave readers with plenty to ponder. -- Publishers Weekly (starred) A timely, succinct, aesthetic inquiry into debates about sexuality, objectification, and representation. -- Kirkus Reviews On this grand tour of western visual culture, you couldn't ask for a better guide. -- Bridget Quinn, author of Broad Strokes Catherine McCormack succeeds in the nearly impossible task of discussing both the representation of women throughout the history of art as well as how women artists have challenged these male-centric images. -- Kathy Battista, author of New York New Wave The art book we've all been waiting for. -- Helen Gorrill, author of Women Can't Paint I'm glad this book was written because it felt like the scales were falling from my eyes as I read it. -- Jan Patience - Herald

""Women in the Picture mounts a sensitive and probing critique of the motifs, the preordained poses and affectations of the female figure in art. If feminism aspires to render itself obsolete, McCormack’s project too yearns for a future when critiquing such postures...will no longer be necessary."" -- Jasmine Sanders, New York Times Book Review ""A passionate, serious, yet often entertaining introduction to issues that will be with us for the foreseeable future, their historic context and their implications for women."" -- Cathryn Keller, Washington Post ""McCormack moves seamlessly between feminism's academic and popular iterations…Women in the Picture gave me new ways to think about feminist art and feminist art history…[E]legant, precise, inviting."" -- Kimberly Lann - Women's Art Journal ""[An] illuminating look at how women's bodies have been depicted in the arts…This eye-opening work will leave readers with plenty to ponder."" -- Publishers Weekly (starred) ""A timely, succinct, aesthetic inquiry into debates about sexuality, objectification, and representation."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""On this grand tour of western visual culture, you couldn’t ask for a better guide."" -- Bridget Quinn, author of Broad Strokes ""Catherine McCormack succeeds in the nearly impossible task of discussing both the representation of women throughout the history of art as well as how women artists have challenged these male-centric images."" -- Kathy Battista, author of New York New Wave ""The art book we’ve all been waiting for."" -- Helen Gørrill, author of Women Can’t Paint ""I’m glad this book was written because it felt like the scales were falling from my eyes as I read it."" -- Jan Patience - Herald

Author Information

Catherine McCormack is author of The Art of Looking Up, as well as curator and lecturer in historic and contemporary art history. She is the founder and course director of the Women and Art study program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art and lives in London.

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