"Women Artists in Interwar France," by Paula J. Birnbaum

My University of San Francisco colleague Paula J. Birnbaum, of the Art Department, has just published a wonderful book on women artists, titled "Women Artists in Interwar France: Framing Femininities" (Ashgate, 2011). Birnbaum became curious about the women artists who belonged to a group called Societe des Femmes Artistes Modernes (FAM), and wondered why so few of them are known today. During the course of her research, she met some of the descendants of these women artists, found archives and artworks that had long been out of sight, and did a great amount of detective work in order to bring the artists' work back to light through her book. The stories of these women artists are fascinating, sad, and inspiring, and Birnbaum tells the stories well, in the context of art history as well as the context of gender studies. The book contains 58 gorgeous color plates of paintings, as well as a generous number of black and white photos of art works and of artists. Artists whose work Birnbaum focuses on include Suzanne Valadon, Maria Blanchard, Alice Halicka, and Marie Laurencin. Birnbaum writes about why these artists often chose subjects such as maternity; what their relationships were with their husbands, lovers, art dealers, and others; and how being part of FAM influenced them, among many topics. She truly celebrates these women artists, mourns their "near-total erasure," and reminds us of "the need for feminist art historians to continue our scholarly research and our work to ensure women their proper place in art publications, acquisitions, collections, and exhibitions." I was fortunate to watch some of the evolution of this book, as Paula and I were often at the same writing retreats and sessions over the past few years, and then just this week I was able to hear her speak about her book at our college Writing Salon. Paula is obviously passionate about her topic, and she has done a great thing by bringing the work of these interwar women artists to our attention in this informative, thoughtful, and beautiful book.