Gallery: National Museum of Women in the Arts

It's never been easier to get to know the National Museum of Women in the Arts and its vast and diverse collection of art.

By Doug Rule

We need connection and community now NEED CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY NOW more than ever, and the arts can provide that bridge,” says Susan Fisher Sterling, director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. “Museums have often served as places ofrefuge and solace.”

Of course, we’ve had to sacrifice such notions of refuge and solace for the time being, with all museums, including NMWA, closed due to COVID-19. Interestingly enough, however, in certain respects it’s never been easier to get to know the museum and its vast and diverse collection of art. Since the COVID-19 shutdown, the museum’s staff has worked diligently to bolster its digital content and presence.

Last month, the museum launched a special portal, NMWA @ Home, which offers many resources and ideas for exploring and discovering the museum and women in art. Most notably, guests can now peruse the museum’s full collection, featuring more than 1,000 artists and 5,000 objects, searching by name, time period, medium, or theme. Additionally, the portal includes hundreds of profiles of women artists.

Visitors can also wander the collection in a manner similar to how they do in person — by exploring nearly a dozen online exhibitions, including the recently added Wanderer/ Wonderer: Pop-Ups by Colette Fu. This fascinating display of intricate, large-scale pop-up books focuses on those that the artist, a Philadelphia native, has created to capture “haunted landmarks around her hometown,” as well as others portraying the myths, legends, and little-known minority cultures found in China’s Yunnan Province, her ancestral homeland.

Naturally, the most popular woman artist in the world — Frida Kahlo — is well-represented in the collection of “the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.” Explore the online exhibition Mamacita Linda: Letters between Frida Kahlo and her Mother, which examines the storied Mexican artist’s bond with her mother. More significantly, you’ll find online Kahlo’s Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky, which is the only Kahlo painting hanging in any museum in Washington, D.C.

PATRICIA PICCININI, THE STAGS, 2008; FIBERGLASS, AUTOMOTIVE PAINT, LEATHER, STEEL, PLASTIC, AND RUBBER, 69 3/4 X 72 X 40 1/4 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF HEATHER AND TONY PODESTA COLLECTION; © PATRICIA PICCININI

PHOTO BY GRAHAM BARING

JOANA VASCONCELOS, VIRIATO, 2005; FAIENCE DOG AND HANDMADE COTTON CROCHET, 29 1/2 X 17 3/4 X 15 3/4 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF HEATHER AND TONY PODESTA COLLECTION; © JOANA VASCONCELOS

PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH

CLARA PEETERS, STILL LIFE OF FISH AND CAT, AFTER 1620; OIL ON PANEL, 13 1/2 X 18 1/2 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF WALLACE AND WILHELMINA HOLLADAY

SHIRIN NESHAT, ON GUARD FROM THE SERIES “TURBULENT,” 1996; GELATIN SILVER PRINT WITH INK, 11 X 14 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF TONY PODESTA COLLECTION; © SHIRIN NESHAT

YAEL BARTANA, WHAT IF WOMEN RULED THE WORLD, 2016; NEON, 98 1/2 X 38 1/2 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, MUSEUM PURCHASE, BELINDA DE GAUDEMAR ACQUISITION FUND, WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE MEMBERS’ ACQUISITION FUND; © YAEL BARTANA

PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH

MICKALENE THOMAS, A-E-I-O-U AND SOMETIMES Y, 2009; PLASTIC RHINESTONES, ACRYLIC, AND ENAMEL ON PANEL, 24 X 20 X 1 1/2 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF DEBORAH CARSTENS; © MICKALENE THOMAS, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND LEHMANN MAUPIN

PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH

MWANGI HUTTER, STATIC DRIFT, 2001; 2 C-PRINTS ON ALUMINUM (DIPTYCH), 29 1/2 X 40 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF THE TONY PODESTA COLLECTION, WASHINGTON, DC

PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH

LOÏS MAILOU JONES, ARREAU, HAUTES-PYRÉNÉES, 1949; OIL ON CANVAS, 19 1/2 X 23 5/8 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF GLADYS P. PAYNE; © LOÏS MAILOU JONES

PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH

Visit www.nmwa.org/nmwa-at-home