On March 8, International Women’s Day, London-based art books publisher Lund Humphries and Getty Publications in Los Angeles announced a collaborative venture. The two art-book publishers are combining forces over “Illuminating Women Artists,” a new book series that highlights the careers and achievements of women artists.
Featuring beautifully illustrated books, “Illuminating Women Artists” launches at a critical moment in our culture. It represents a significant contribution to a movement currently underway in the wider world of cultural heritage to re-assess the contributions of women artists. The first sub-series focuses on artists from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Read the Lund Humphries blog post Illuminating Women Artists: The Fifteen Volumes Under Contract, Spring 2021 for an update on which artists will feature in volumes in this series.
The inaugural volume in the series, by Catherine Hall-van den Elsen, presents the first overview in English of the life and work of Luisa Roldán (1652–1706). Roldán was a prolific and celebrated sculptor of the Spanish Golden Age. The book, due for publication in September 2021, is replete with invaluable insights into Roldán’s technical innovations and artistic achievements. It also includes a list of all known extant works by the artist.
Read Cathy’s Art Herstory guest post Finding Luisa Roldán: A North American road trip.
The Luisa Roldán volume will be followed in February 2022 by a volume featuring the Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–c.1654). This artist was recently celebrated in a solo exhibition at London’s National Gallery. Through the lens of cutting-edge scholarship, recent archival discoveries, and new painting attributions, author Sheila Barker offers an engaging overview of Gentileschi’s dramatic and exceptional life story.
Among the female artists to be highlighted in an evolving list of future volumes are:
- Sofonisba Anguissola (Italian, c. 1532–1625)
- Mary Beale (English, 1633–1699)
- Rosalba Carriera (Italian, 1673–1757)
- Judith Leyster (Dutch, 1609–1660)
- Barbara Longhi (Italian, 1552–1638)
- Louise Moillon (French, 1610–1696)
- Plautilla Nelli (Italian, 1524–1588)
- Josefa de Obidos (Spanish-born Portuguese, c. 1630–1684)
- Clara Peeters (Flemish, 1594–c.1657)
- Rachel Ruysch (Dutch, 1664–1750)
- Elisabetta Sirani (Italian, 1638–1665)
Lund Humphries and Getty Publications have committed to join forces on the publication of at least four “Illuminating Women Artists” volumes, including the books Luisa Roldán and Artemisia Gentileschi. Getty Publications will distribute these books in North America. In the rest of the world, they will be available from Lund Humphries.
Read the full press release here.
More Art Herstory blog posts about “Illuminating Women Artists”:
Lund Humphries Announces a New Book Series, “Illuminating Women Artists”
Lund Humphries Announces the First Six “Illuminating Women Artists” Books