Ladies First at The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum
January 30, 2021 - April 18, 2021: curated by Caitlin McGurk and Rachel Miller
Ladies First ushers in the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment and calls attention to the transformative work of women artists in the field of cartooning then and now.
The exhibit features works by Nina Allender, Dale Messick, Edwina Dumm, Aline Kominsky Crumb, Nell Brinkley, Lynda Barry, June Tarpe Mills, Dori Seda, Barbara Brandon-Croft, Trina Robbins, Marie Severin, Rose O’Neil, Jackie Ormes, Lynn Johnston, Liana Finck, Wendy Pini, Kate Salley Palmer, Carta Monir, Alison Bechdel and dozens more.
Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists at The Library of Congress
November 18, 2017–October 20, 2018: curated by Martha H. Kennedy
This exhibition from the rich collections of the Library of Congress brings to light remarkable but little-known contributions made by North American women to two popular art forms—illustration and cartooning. In fields traditionally dominated by men, many women have long earned their livelihoods creating art intended for reproduction and wide dissemination in newspapers, periodicals, and books. Women pursuing careers in the visual arts, as in nearly every other profession, encountered limitations in training, permitted subject matter, and adequate work environments. A host of challenges and longstanding social restrictions in a traditionally male-controlled system impeded many from advancing in their chosen fields.