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Women's Work: The Montana Women's Centennial Art Survey Exhibition (1889-1989)

About
Women's Work was an art exhibition which took place in the Custer County Art Center located in Miles City, Montana. The exhibition aimed at locating Montanan women in the western and modern art movements and creating more visibility for female artists. The show represents a larger reaction in the American art world responding to Linda Nochlin's 1979 article, Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists. The exhibition catalogue was published in 1989 and features an introduction by Suzanne Katzanek as well as a curator's statement by Gennie DeWeese. The catalogue features an essay outlining the importance of women's art being curated and presented in curation and education authored by Julie F Codell.

Introduction
The introduction to the official catalogue of the Women's Work was authored by Suzanne Katzanek, a past Executive Director of the Custer County Art Center. In her brief introduction, Katzanek acknowledges the national trend of curating women's shows. In step with the increase in interest in women artists, she states the show was mainly born out of curiosity, as she couldn't name one female artists form the period and location of Charlie Russell and was certain there must be some awaiting rediscovery. Katzenek reached out to the heads of various museums and institutions around the state of Montana such as Museum of the Rockies, University of Montana, and Montana State University. The collected works ranged from the 1890's through Montana's modernist movement in the early 1940's and 1950's. The show also expanded further to include works finished in the 1980's by contemporary female artists.

Curator's Statement
Gennie DeWeese, a profound figure in the Montana modernist movement, authored a curator's statement for the exhibition in which she identifies herself as a closeted feminist. She expresses her initial enthusiasm for the project, but also her initial expectation that she would be required to scrounge to fill space in such an exhibition. She was surprised to find there was no shortage of women's artists of quality to fill the show. She references Jesse Wilber and Frances Senka of Bozeman, Montana Isabelle Johnson of Billings Montana, Helen McAustin, Val knight, Sister Trinitas of Great Falls, and Lela Autias as amonst the very few women artists working in Montana in 1949 when Gennie Deweese and her husband moved to the state.

DeWeese describes the difficulty of being a women artist in Montana. From the necessity of holding down a regular job to the lack of available studio space it certainly isn't easy to create work of quality consistently. She felt the women in the show were simultaneously struggling yet succeeding at creating art work of consequence and deserved respect and recognition. She describes her personal philosophy as traditionalist; meaning tradition in art is traceable throughout all cultures across all geographical locations which all share a common denominator of deep personal statements as expressed through artwork.

Much difficulty was encountered in acquiring and tracking down as many were too fragile to travel and artists were relocating to pursue opportunities elsewhere. The acquisition of Native American artworks was particularly challenging as many pieces couldn't be located. Often the ones which were were too fragile to move. Of the found pieces which were able to travel, very few were loaned to the exhibition as the various institutions which housed them were unwilling to part with them for two years. Luck was found in Helena at the Montana Historical Society where twelve pieces were successfully retrieved for the show.

DeWeese affords special attention to a selection of artists in her statement. Amonst them are Frances Senska who is regaurded as the mother of ceramics in Montana and who is known for founding the ceramics department at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. She is represented in this show by a litogrph of Butte Montana entitled "the Richest Hill on Earth". Jessie Wilber and Olga Ross Hannon are also commended for their silk screens depicting native American life as informed by their time spent on Native American reservations.

Women's Artists and Women's Arts
This essay is also included in the catalogue of the exhibition. The essay by Julie F. Codell aptly summarizes Linda Nochlin's "Why have there been no Great Women Artists". It is important to note here this exhibition is illustrative of a larger national trend prompted by Nochlin's essayin which she unpacks and offers an explanation of for the absense and exclusion of female artists from the classical cannon of historical art.

In her section entitled "Women Artists of Montana", Codell cites the tendancy to explore a rich array of media and blur the lines between fine and commercial art as descriptive of most female artists working in Montana.

Codell wonders if it is possible to locate women's art in the contemporary sphere as women largely can and do take full advantage of art education and resources that were only afforded to men historically. Women now participate in a variety of genres which they were previously excluded from. Landscape is the most represented of these genres in this exhibition and accounts for most of the work featured. Codell hypothesizes this could be due to many of the artists originating from a background in science. Depictions of the human body are also highly represented in art works in relation to Native American cultures. Crafts also make up a large presense in the show as well. Many native peices could be describes as craft turned art. This could be because historically women's art was strictly sequestered to the world of craft, Codell proposes.

Featured Artists:
Fra Danna

Olga Ross Hannon

Franny Cory Cooney

Kent State

Deborah Butterfield

Susan Stewart

Sheila Miles

Danna Clark-Runs Above

___________

Historical
Harriet Bliss

Lady Cameron

Mary Carnahan

Elizabeth Frisk

Iva L. Glenn

Rosina Hash

Isabelle Johnson

Elizabeth Lochrie

Beatrice Howie Macky

Frederica Ellsworth Marshall

Dolly Schafer

Frances Senska

Myrta W. Stevens

Sr Trinintas

Mary C. Wheeler

Jesse Wilber

Belle Winestine

Contemporaty

____________________

Nina Alexander

Stephanie Alexander

Mary Amster

Lela Autio

Jacqueline Baran

Rosemary C. Bashor

Patricia Bushley

Karen Chin

Kathy jean Daniel

Suzanne H. Donnelly

Clarice Dreyer

Kris Ellingsen

Nancy Erickson

Patricia Forsberg

Edith Freeman

Anne Garner

Kristi Hager

Elloie Jeter

Jean Johnston

Suzin Kratina

Katherine Person Kress

Winnie Lloyd

Beth Lo

Mary Jo Maute

Leslie Van Stavern Millar II

Deborah Mitchell

Irine Muir

Catherine Murray

Sally Owens

Nan Parsons

Gayle Prunhuber

Katrina Rappold

Marcia Selsor

Roberta Spaar

Kathryn Stewart

Janet Sullivan

Penny Price Swanson

Cher Moua Thao

Bobby Tilton

Charlotte Trolinger

Jean M. Utzinger

Diane Volkersz

Geri Ward

Mary Warner

Diane West-Mott

Gretchen Bainum

Jennifer Bottomly

Jane Waggoner Deschner

Victoria Golding

Ann DeRosier Grant

Kate Hunt

Sarah Jaeger

Mary Ann Kelly

Beth Kennedy

Joyce Mackay

Kenda Minter

Lynda Mourque

Moss

Susan G. Newell

Ellen Ornitz

Diane Buckley Ostby

Betty Parsons

Anne Peckham

Francoise Perriot

Leslie Rykels

Kathy Schmidt

Lorene Senesac

Susan Stewart

Rebecca Webb

Rae Wilde