Great Women Artists

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Happy Women’s History Month!  

Women have historically been underrepresented in art museums, galleries, and art resources.  I have a book called “50 Artists You Should Know” (Thomas Köster and Lars Röper, 2006), and the book features 49 male artists and just ONE female artist!  How can women make up about half of the population, but only 2% of “artists you should know”??  Fortunately, this is beginning to change, as women and other underrepresented populations are beginning to gain more and more recognition in the art world.  We still have a long, long way to go before we achieve a fair level of representation and recognition across all populations.  

Here is a list of 20 awesome women artists you can teach your students about during Women's History Month, and all year long!  Download the FREE Printable PDF here!



I use PowerPoints to teach my students about several of these artists, including Mary Cassatt, Artemisia Gentileschi, Frida Kahlo, Hilma af Klint, Edmonia Lewis, Judith Leyster, Berthe Morisot, Grandma Moses, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Alma Thomas. Download the Berthe Morisot PowerPoint for FREE to check them out!

The presentations include a short student-friendly biography of the artist along with several examples of their work and commentary on their style.  


These PowerPoints are available in my Teacher Pay Teachers store, either individually or bundled together for a discount in my Celebrate Women's History PowerPoint Bundle and my 50-Artist PowerPoint Bundle.


 

I teach my students about an “Artist of the Month” each month, using the presentations in my TpT store. I make sure to include a diverse variety of artists from different genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Students need to know that ANYONE can be an artist and that there are great artists from all backgrounds!

I also sometimes do art projects inspired by our “Artist of the Month”. Here are two of my favorite art projects inspired by artists Georgia O'Keeffe and Faith Ringgold:


I introduced my 8th graders to Georgia O’Keeffe by showing them this PowerPoint, and we studied how O'Keeffe zoomed way up close into her flowers, recreating the details, textures, and shading within the forms. 

The students then chose their own subject matter to zoom in on for an art project.  We introduced the grid method to recreate these images as accurately as possible and then used oil pastels to reproduce the colors, texture, and shading in our images.  The results are stunning!

View the blog post about Georgia O’Keeffe Close-Ups here.

This full O'Keeffe Close-Up Lesson with grid method worksheet, custom rubric, and over 100 pre-gridded reference photos is available on Teachers Pay Teachers and Classful.



I introduced my first graders to Faith Ringgold by reading her book Tar Beach and showing them images of her art and story quilts.

Students drew different patterns and designs to decorate the border of their own paper “quilt”. In the center of this “quilt” border, students illustrated a story from their own lives.  From pet store visits, to football games, to trips to the playground, the stories are personal and precious!


This full Faith Ringgold Story Quilt Lesson with quilt design templates to color, cut, and paste is available on Teachers Pay Teachers, Classful, and Made By Teachers

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