Great Women Painters

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Frida Kahlo was a groundbreaking famous Mexican artist known for her captivating self-portraits and surrealistic style. Her artwork often incorporated elements of Mexican culture, making her an influential figure within the country’s artistic community. It's good to see the auction houses finally giving more women a chance. For money is a powerful symbol of cultural worth.' – Economist

French portrait artist Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun created an impressive body of work totaling nearly 1,000 portraits and landscape paintings. As the daughter of a painter, she received early instruction from her father and was painting portraits professionally by the time she was a teenager. Her big career break came when she was named as Marie Antoinette's portrait painter and she was later granted entry to numerous art academies. Sofonisba Anguissola was born into an aristocratic family during the Italian Renaissance period. Her father recognized her talent at a young age and allowed her to receive a formal art education and school training alongside her brothers. In 1559, she became the court painter for King Philip II of Spain, where she painted portraits for his court.O’Keeffe’s approach to painting was shaped by her interpretation of modern scenes and use of evocative forms, which made her one of the most famous female artists of the 20th century.

Her work is perplexing and compels you into deep-thinking as it depicts ordinary landscapes but in a more theatrical and performative way. In 2019 she received a commission from Tate Britain and produced The Depth of Darkness, the Return of the Light, The polka dots in Kusama’s work were also inspired by her childhood experiences with hallucinations and culminated in her passion for art as a coping mechanism. King Philip loved her works to such an extent that he appointed her as a lady-in-waiting, enabling Anguissola to dedicate most of her time to painting. Anguissola’s style was shaped by the popular Caravaggisti aesthetic, which inspired Anguissola’s unique approach and made her one of the best painters of the style. Later in her career, Anguissola moved to Genoa, where she started art classes to teach other women how to paint. The anonymous group Guerrilla Girls wrote in 1988 that one of the advantages of being a woman artist is “Not Having to undergo the embarrassment of being called a genius”. But each woman on the following list is definitely a visionary, resistant and fighting spirit and, as a pioneer in her specific painting segment, has radically changed the way we perceive and experience the art of today. Ghada Amer Yayoi Kusama’s wax model at Louis Vuitton for 2012 collection unveiling; Garry Knight, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsAnguissola was the first woman to achieve global recognition for her talents in portraiture, with her most famous works being her self-portraits, which were also recognized by the Duke of Alba. The Duke recommended her to the Spanish royal court, where she painted portraits of King Philip II and the rest of the royal family.