The Art of the Sister Chapel: Exemplary Women, Visionary Creators, and Feminist Collaboration 1351546376, 9781351546379

Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Notes
1 From Genesis to Revelation: The Origins, Development, and Realization of The Sister Chapel
… And It Was Very Good
In the Beginning …
Prospective Collaborators
Meetings, Additions, and Departures
Revelation
Notes
2 Ilise Greenstein, Ceiling of the Sister Chapel, Elsa M. Goldsmith, Joan of Arc
Ilise Greenstein (1928–85)
Elsa M. Goldsmith (1920–2005)
Notes
3 Betty Holliday, Marianne Moore, Shirley Gorelick, Frida Kahlo
Betty Holliday (1925–2011)
Shirley Gorelick (1924–2000)
Notes
4 June Blum, Betty Friedan as the Prophet, Alice Neel, Bella Abzug—the Candidate
June Blum (b. 1929)
Alice Neel (1900–1984)
Notes
5 Sylvia Sleigh, Lilith, Cynthia Mailman, God, Diana Kurz, Durga
Sylvia Sleigh (1916–2010)
Cynthia Mailman (b. 1942)
Diana Kurz (b. 1936)
Notes
6 May Stevens, Artemisia Gentileschi, Sharon Wybrants, Self-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero)
May Stevens (b. 1924)
Sharon Wybrants (b. 1943)
Notes
7 Martha Edelheit, Womanhero, Maureen Connor, Chapel Structure
Martha Edelheit (b. 1931)
Maureen Connor (b. 1947)
Notes
8 Epilogue: The Resurrection of The Sister Chapel
Notes
List of References
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Index

Citation preview

the art of the sister chapel The Sister Chapel (1974–78) was an important collaborative installation that materialized at the height of the women’s art movement. Conceived as a nonhierarchical, secular commemoration of female role models, The Sister Chapel consisted of an 18-foot abstract ceiling that hung above a circular arrangement of 11 monumental canvases, each depicting the standing figure of a heroic woman. The choice of subject was left entirely to the creator of each work. As a result, the paintings formed a visually cohesive group without compromising the individuality of the artists. Contemporary and historical women, deities, and conceptual figures were portrayed by distinguished New York painters—Alice Neel, May Stevens, and Sylvia Sleigh—as well as their accomplished but less prominent colleagues. Among the role models depicted were Artemisia Gentileschi, Frida Kahlo, Betty Friedan, Joan of Arc, and a female incarnation of God. Although last exhibited in 1980, The Sister Chapel has lingered in the minds of art historians who continue to note its significance as an exemplar of feminist collaboration. Based on previously unpublished archival materials and featuring dozens of rarely seen works of art, this comprehensive study details the fascinating history of The Sister Chapel, its constituent paintings, and its ambitious creators.

Andrew D. Hottle, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Art History at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, USA.

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For all the women, remembered or forgotten, who have shaped the history of art.

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The Art of the Sister Chapel Exemplary Women, Visionary Creators, and Feminist Collaboration

Andrew D. Hottle Rowan University, USA

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First published 2014 by Ashgate Publishing Published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © Andrew D. Hottle 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Andrew D. Hottle has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows: Hottle, Andrew D. The art of the Sister Chapel : exemplary women, visionary creators, and feminist collaboration / by Andrew D. Hottle.  pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4724-2139-5 (hardcover ) 1. Sister Chapel (Art installation) 2. Installations (Art)-United States. 3. Women in art. 4. Group work in art--United States. 5. Feminism and art-United States. I. Title. N6512.5.I56H68 2014 704’.04209730747471—dc23 2014002726

ISBN 9781472421395 (hbk)

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Contents

List of Figures   Acknowledgments  

Introduction  

1

1

FromGenesistoRevelation:TheOrigins,Development,and RealizationofThe Sister Chapel  

2

IliseGreenstein,Ceiling of the Sister Chapel,ElsaM.Goldsmith, Joan of Arc  

63

3

BettyHolliday,Marianne Moore,ShirleyGorelick,Frida Kahlo  

95

4

JuneBlum,Betty Friedan as the Prophet,AliceNeel, Bella Abzug—the Candidate  

5

SylviaSleigh,Lilith,CynthiaMailman,God,DianaKurz,Durga  153

6

MayStevens,Artemisia Gentileschi,SharonWybrants, Self-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero)  

7

MarthaEdelheit,Womanhero,MaureenConnor,Chapel Structure  229

8

Epilogue:TheResurrectionofThe Sister Chapel  

List of References   Index  

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5

125

199

261

265 291

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List of Figures

Black and White 1 From Genesis to Revelation: The Origins, Development, and Realization of TheSisterChapel 1.1 IliseGreenstein,AliceNeel,and JuneBlumattheopeningofThe Sister ChapelatP.S.1,LongIslandCity,NY (January15,1978).Photo:MauriceC. Blum.©JuneBlum.Behindtheartists areMaureenConnor’sschematicdesigns andmaquetteforThe Sister Chapel structure 1.2 AudreyFlack,Macarena Esperanza (1971),oiloncanvas,66×46in.Private collection.©AudreyFlack.Image courtesyofLouisK.MeiselGallery 1.3 JaneKogan,Interiorized Self-Portrait (1969),oiloncanvas,80×31½in.©Jane Kogan 1.4 RobertH.Goldsmith,Schematic diagramofproposedstructureforThe (1974), graphite on paper, paper Sister Chapel (1974),inkonpaper,11× 11 × 8½ in. Private collection. Courtesy 8½in.Privatecollection.Courtesyofthe of the Estate of Robert H. Goldsmith. EstateofRobertH.Goldsmith 1.5 RobertH.Goldsmith,Roofplan, sideview,andcross-sectionofproposed structure for The Sister SisterChapel Chapel(1974),ink (1974), structureforThe graphite on paper, 11 ×× 8½ 8½ in. in. Private Private paper 11 onpaper,11×8½in.Privatecollection. collection. Courtesy of the Estate of CourtesyoftheEstateofRobertH. Robert H. Goldsmith. Goldsmith 1.6 FirstmeetingoftheartistsofThe Sister Chapel,heldattheresidenceof

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SylviaSleighinManhattan(January20, 1975).Photo:©JuneBlum.Standing,left toright:JuneBlum,AliceNeel,Martha Edelheit,MarciaMarcus,SylviaSleigh, CynthiaMailman;seated,lefttoright: SharonWybrants,ElsaM.Goldsmith, BettyHolliday,AliceLandes 1.7 GatheringoftheartistsofThe Sister Chapel atthehomeandstudioofBetty HollidayinPortWashington,NY(April 21,1976).Photo:©JohnPinna.Leftto right:JuneBlum,ElsaM.Goldsmith, IliseGreenstein,SylviaSleigh,Shirley Gorelick,BettyHolliday 1.8 MarciaMarcus,Self-Portrait as Athena(1973),oilandgoldleafoncanvas, 58×36in.©MarciaMarcus 1.9 AliceLandes,Libby in the Black Chair (1976),acryliconcanvas,76×65½in. CourtesyoftheEstateofAliceLandes 1.10 SylviaSleigh,Listofparticipants inThe Sister Chapelwitharendering ofaproposed9×19ft.ceilingtobe constructedoffour9×5ft.canvases (1976),pencil,blackink,andwaterbasedmarkeronpaper,8½×11in.The GettyResearchInstitute,LosAngeles (2004.M.11),giftofSylviaSleigh 1.11 RonniBogaev,Immigrant Mother (1976),graphiteonpaper,dimensions andwhereaboutsunknown.©Estateof RonniBogaev

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1.12 SharonWybrantsinherstudio, posinginfrontofherunfinishedSelfPortrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero)(April14,1977).Photo:MauriceC. Blum.©JuneBlum 1.13 GatheringoftheartistsofThe Sister ChapelinthestudioofMartha Edelheit(April14,1977).Photo:© MauriceC.Blum.Lefttoright:Sylvia Sleigh,CynthiaMailman,Martha Edelheit,JuneBlum,IliseGreenstein, SharonWybrants,BettyHolliday 1.14 GatheringoftheartistsofThe Sister Chapel attheresidenceofJuneand MauriceC.BluminBrooklyn(April17, 1977).Photo:MauriceC.Blum.©June Blum.Lefttoright:SharonWybrants, BettyHolliday,CynthiaMailman,June Blum,SylviaSleigh,ShirleyGorelick; seatedintheforeground:Maureen Connor 1.15 ExhibitionposterforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1(InstituteforArtandUrban Resources),LongIslandCity,NY(1978), 20×20in. 1.16 OpeningofThe Sister Chapelat P.S.1,LongIslandCity,NY(January15, 1978).Photo:©JohnPinna.Picturedare ShirleyGorelick(ontheleft,inprofile), BettyHolliday(center,wearingacloche hat),LeonardGorelick(center),and SharonWybrants(atright,withherback turned) 1.17 InstallationphotographofThe Sister ChapelattheStateUniversityof NewYorkatStonyBrook(November 1978).Privatecollection.Lefttoright: Lilith(1976)bySylviaSleigh,Ceiling for the Sister Chapel(1976)byIlise Greenstein,Artemisia Gentileschi(1976) byMayStevens 1.18 InstallationphotographofThe Sister ChapelatCayugaCountyCommunity College,Auburn,NY(November1979). TheGettyResearchInstitute,LosAngeles (2004.M.11),giftofSylviaSleigh.Leftto right:Betty Friedan as the Prophet(1976) byJuneBlum,Artemisia Gentileschi(1976) byMayStevens,God(1977)byCynthia Mailman,Bella Abzug—the Candidate (1976)byAliceNeel

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2 Ilise Greenstein, CeilingoftheSister Chapel, Elsa M. Goldsmith, JoanofArc 2.1 IliseGreenstein,A Particle Lives Here (1964),acrylicandoiloncanvas,48×60 in.©GreensteinFamilyPartnership 2.2 IliseGreenstein,Dutchess(1966), Magnaonunprimedcanvas,67½× 67½in.,projections5in.diameter, 13½in.diameter,and7in.diameter.© GreensteinFamilyPartnership 2.3 IliseGreenstein,Flower Form(1967), acrylicandPlexiglas,28×28in.© GreensteinFamilyPartnership 2.4 IliseGreenstein,Ego, Id, She (1972),acryliconcanvas,60×50in. Privatecollection.©GreensteinFamily Partnership 2.5 IliseGreenstein,If a Line Is the Edge of a Plane Then This Canvas Has 6 Sides (1975),mixedmediaoncanvaswith clotheslineandfourclothespins,80×56 in.©GreensteinFamilyPartnership 2.6 IliseGreenstein,Her Idea Grows: Study for a Ceiling Work(1973–74),mixed mediaonpaper,46×35in.©Greenstein FamilyPartnership 2.7 IliseGreenstein,A Study for the Ceiling of the Sister Chapel(1973–74), acrylicandmixedmedia,48×36in.© GreensteinFamilyPartnership 2.8 IliseGreenstein,Ceiling Work: Study for “The Sister Chapel”(1974),acrylicon canvas,72in.diameter.©Greenstein FamilyPartnership 2.9 IliseGreensteinpaintingCeiling of the Sister Chapelinherstudioin Aventura,FL(1976).©GreensteinFamily Partnership.Greenstein’sCeiling Work: Study for “The Sister Chapel”(Figure2.8) isonthewallinthebackground 2.10 IliseGreenstein,Kite (“Art is a Language”)(1978),fromtheseriesArt is a Language,acrylicandaluminumpowder oncanvas,100×100in.©Greenstein FamilyPartnership

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2.11 IliseGreenstein,Any Child Can (1972),acrylicandaluminumpowderon canvas,50×60in.©GreensteinFamily Partnership

2.22 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Annie Oakley (c.1978),Contécrayononpaper,29 ×23in.CourtesyoftheEstateofElsa M.Goldsmith.Photo:KarenMauch Photography

2.12 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Time Out (1964–65),oiloncanvas,40×50in. CourtesyoftheEstateofElsaM. Goldsmith

3 Betty Holliday, MarianneMoore, Shirley Gorelick, FridaKahlo

2.13 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Morning and Afternoon(1965–66),oiloncanvas,36× 48in.Privatecollection.Courtesyofthe EstateofElsaM.Goldsmith 2.14 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Long Ago and Far Away(c.1971–72),oiloncanvas,50 ×40in.CourtesyoftheEstateofElsaM. Goldsmith 2.15 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Thought(1968), oiloncanvas,40×30in.Courtesyofthe EstateofElsaM.Goldsmith 2.16 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Brave New World(c.1970–72),oiloncanvas,48× 24in.CourtesyoftheEstateofElsaM. Goldsmith 2.17 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Faith(1974), lithograph,12½×6in.(image).Courtesy oftheEstateofElsaM.Goldsmith 2.18 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Head Study for “Joan of Arc”(c.1974–75),coloredpencil andwashoncanvas,40×30in.Courtesy oftheEstateofElsaM.Goldsmith 2.19 ElsaM.Goldsmith,In the Great Hall—Voices(1976),coloredpencilon linen,36×20in.CourtesyoftheEstateof ElsaM.Goldsmith 2.20 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Light from the Right (1976),Contécrayon,oil, andcoloredpencilonlinen,36×20 in.CourtesyoftheEstateofElsaM. Goldsmith 2.21 InteriorofElsaM.Goldsmith’s studioinGreatNeck,NY,withthe full-scalecoloredpencilstudyandthe unfinishedJoan of Arc(1976).Courtesyof theEstateofElsaM.Goldsmith

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3.1 BettyHolliday,My Father(1960),oil andcaseinoncanvas,79×71in.©Estate ofBettyHolliday 3.2 BettyHolliday,On the Grass III (1965),oiloncanvas,84×96in.©Estate ofBettyHolliday 3.3 BettyHolliday,Model for an Improbable Billboard(1967–69), photographsaffixedtopaperboard, steel,chrome,andplastic,mountedona lazySusan,11½×19½×14½in.Private collection.©EstateofBettyHolliday 3.4 BettyHolliday,Marie-Louise (Nurse) (1975),charcoaloncanvas,108×60 in.Privatecollection.©EstateofBetty Holliday 3.5 BettyHolliday,Marianne Moore/ Marie-Louise (1976),acryliconcanvas, 108×60in.Whereaboutsunknown, presumablydestroyed.©EstateofBetty Holliday 3.6 BettyHolliday,Marianne Moore at the Loeb Center (1976),charcoaloncanvas, 108×60in.Whereaboutsunknown, presumablydestroyed.©EstateofBetty Holliday 3.7 BettyHolliday,Marianne Moore Seated (1976),charcoalandacrylicon canvas,108×60in.Overpaintedas Marianne Moore for The Sister Chapel (1977).©EstateofBettyHolliday 3.8 BettyHolliday,Marianne Moore (1976–77),fourthstate(left)andfifth state(right),acrylicandcollageon canvas,108×60in.©EstateofBetty Holliday 3.9 BettyHolliday,Marianne Moore as Orlando(1977),charcoalandacrylicon canvas,108×60in.Privatecollection.© EstateofBettyHolliday

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3.10 BettyHolliday,The Crane(1982), charcoalonpaper,114×60in.Private collection.©EstateofBettyHolliday 3.11 BettyHolliday,Raised Ukulele IV(1984),charcoalonpaper,96×60 in.Privatecollection.©EstateofBetty Holliday

3.21 ShirleyGorelick,Frida Kahlo II (1976),silverpointonpreparedMasonite, 20×24in.Privatecollection.©JamieS. GorelickandStevenM.Gorelick

3.12 ShirleyGorelick,Japanese Robe No. 2(1964),acryliconcanvas,60¼× 40in.©JamieS.GorelickandSteven M.Gorelick.Photo:KarenMauch Photography

3.22 ShirleyGorelick,Tess in a Blue Dress (Dr. Tess Forrest) (1980),acrylicon canvas,70×70in.©JamieS.Gorelick andStevenM.Gorelick.Photo:Karen MauchPhotography

3.13 ShirleyGorelick,Giorgione’s Meadow(1964–65),acryliconcanvas,60 ×70in.©JamieS.GorelickandSteven M.Gorelick.Photo:KarenMauch Photography

4 June Blum, BettyFriedanasthe Prophet, Alice Neel, BellaAbzug—the Candidate

3.14 ShirleyGorelick,Three Graces III(1968),acryliconcanvas,70½×80 in.©JamieS.GorelickandSteven M.Gorelick.Photo:KarenMauch Photography 3.15 ShirleyGorelick,Willy, Billy Joe, and Leroy(1973),acryliconcanvas,80 ×80in.©JamieS.GorelickandSteven M.Gorelick.Photo:KarenMauch Photography 3.16 ShirleyGorelick,Three Sisters IV(1974),acryliconcanvas,55¼×67 in.©JamieS.GorelickandSteven M.Gorelick.Photo:KarenMauch Photography 3.17 ShirleyGorelick,Frida Kahlo (1976),detail,photographedinprogress, acryliconcanvas,108×60in.©JamieS. GorelickandStevenM.Gorelick 3.18 ShirleyGorelick,Study for the Head of “Frida Kahlo” (1976),pencilon paper,25½×20in.©JamieS.Gorelick andStevenM.Gorelick.Photo:Markam KeithAdams 3.19 ShirleyGorelick,Frida Kahlo I (1976),silverpointonpreparedMasonite, 24×20in.Privatecollection.©JamieS. GorelickandStevenM.Gorelick

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3.20 ShirleyGorelick,Frida and Diego (1976),silverpointonpreparedMasonite, 24×20in.Privatecollection.©JamieS. GorelickandStevenM.Gorelick

4.1 JuneBlum,Bonnie with Bride Doll (1973),oiloncanvas,30×26in.©June Blum 4.2 JuneBlum,Pat Mainardi Reading TFAJ(1974),oiloncanvas,48×50in.© JuneBlum 4.3 JuneBlum,Judith Van Baron(1975), oiloncanvas,48×50in.©JuneBlum 4.4 JuneBlum,Betty Friedan(1976),oil oncanvas,22×16in.©JuneBlum 4.5 JuneBlum,Betty Friedan Seated (1976),oiloncanvas,58×36in.©June Blum 4.6 JuneBlum,Betty Friedan Standing (1976),oiloncanvas,72×38in.©June Blum 4.7 JuneBlum,Transformations(1976), fromThe Dress Series,detail,conceptual documentationof14photographsby MauriceC.Blum.©JuneBlum 4.8 JuneBlum,Betty Friedan Head Study #1 (1976),oiloncanvas,23¼×21¼in.© JuneBlum 4.9 JuneBlum,The Metamorphosis of June Blum (1976),fromThe Dress Series, detail,conceptualdocumentationof17 photographsbyMauriceC.Blum.©June Blum

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4.10 JuneBlum,June Blum as Betty Friedan (1976),fromThe Dress Series, detail,conceptualdocumentationof17 photographsbyMauriceC.Blumand JuneBlum.©JuneBlum

5.2 SylviaSleigh,Modello for an “Altarpiece of the Resurrection” (1954),oil onpaper,mountedoncardboard,15× 9¾in.(asmounted),12×9½in.(image). CourtesyoftheEstateofSylviaSleigh

4.11 JuneBlum,The Individual Museum: The Amusing of Modern Art(July11, 1977),performanceatthecornerof53rd Streetand5thAvenue,NewYork.Photo: MauriceC.Blum.©JuneBlum

5.3 SylviaSleigh,Court of Pan (after Luca Signorelli)(1973),oiloncanvas,76 ×113in.CollectionofLoisN.Orchard. CourtesyoftheEstateofSylviaSleigh

4.12 AliceNeel,June Blum(1972),oilon canvas,60×40in.Privatecollection.© TheEstateofAliceNeel

5.4 SylviaSleigh,Annunciation: Paul Rosano (1975),oiloncanvas,90×52¼in. Privatecollection.CourtesyoftheEstate ofSylviaSleigh

4.13 AliceNeel,Mayor Koch (1981),oil oncanvas,65¾×40in.Privatecollection. ©TheEstateofAliceNeel 4.14 AliceNeel,Toby Urbont (1965), oiloncanvas,70×32in.©TheEstateof AliceNeel 4.15 AliceNeel,PregnantBetty Homitzky (1968),60×36in.Privatecollection.© TheEstateofAliceNeel 4.16 AliceNeel,Margaret Evans Pregnant (1978),oiloncanvas,57¾×38 in.Privatecollection.©TheEstateof AliceNeel 4.17 AliceNeel,Archbishop Jean Jadot(1976),oiloncanvas,60×40in. CollectionofSt.CharlesBorromeo Seminary,Wynnewood,PA.©The EstateofAliceNeel 4.18 AliceNeel,Abdul Rahman(1964), oiloncanvas,46×34in.©TheEstateof AliceNeel 4.19 AliceNeel,Kate Millett (1970), acryliconcanvas,39¾×28½in.National PortraitGallery,SmithsonianInstitution, Washington,DC,giftofTimemagazine. ©TheEstateofAliceNeel 5 Sylvia Sleigh, Lilith, Cynthia Mailman, God, Diana Kurz, Durga 5.1 SylviaSleigh,The Flight into Egypt (1950),oiloncanvas,35×45¾in. CourtesyoftheEstateofSylviaSleigh

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5.5 SylviaSleigh,Manhattan Landscape with Figures(1968),oiloncanvas,78×48 in.CollectionofR.V.Bendrat.Courtesy oftheEstateofSylviaSleigh 5.6 SylviaSleigh,The Bride II(1950), oiloncanvas,24×20in.Courtesyofthe EstateofSylviaSleigh 5.7 SylviaSleigh,Study for “Lilith:” Susan Kaprov and Paul Rosano (1975), graphiteonpaper,115½×62in.Rowan UniversityArtGallery,Glassboro,NJ. CourtesyoftheEstateofSylviaSleigh. Photo:KarenMauchPhotography 5.8 SylviaSleigh,Scheherezade: Cynthia Mailman (1974),oiloncanvas,52×56in. AkronArtMuseum,Akron,OH,giftof theBroidoFamilyCollection.Courtesy oftheEstateofSylviaSleigh.Photo: AkronArtMuseum 5.9 SylviaSleigh,Nükua, The Divine Woman: Kim Hardiman(1984),oilon canvas,50×20in.Privatecollection. CourtesyoftheEstateofSylviaSleigh 5.10 SylviaSleigh,Gloria Orenstein (1977),oiloncanvas,36×24in.Private collection.CourtesyoftheEstateof SylviaSleigh 5.11 SylviaSleigh.Alice Attie and Ken Antes (1977),graphiteonpaper, 78×47½in.CourtesyoftheEstateof SylviaSleigh.Photo:KarenMauch Photography

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5.12 CynthiaMailman,View from the Kitchen while Watching My Husband Doing the Dishes,formerly Door and Window (1970),acryliconcanvas,72×58in. Destroyed.©CynthiaMailman

5.24 DianaKurz,Party, Yaddo(1969),oil oncanvas,64×64in.©DianaKurz

5.13 CynthiaMailman,Two Roads Diverge (1974),acryliconcanvas,42½× 50in.©CynthiaMailman

5.26 DianaKurz,Double Francesca(1981), oiloncanvas,56×72in.©DianaKurz

5.14 CynthiaMailman,Looking Back (1975),acryliconcanvas,50×60in. Destroyed.©CynthiaMailman 5.15 CynthiaMailman,Judith Tannenbaum (1979),acryliconcanvas,19 ×30in.Destroyed.©CynthiaMailman 5.16 CynthiaMailman,Leslie—Eastern Parkway (1974),acryliconcanvas,108 ×72in.Privatecollection.©Cynthia Mailman 5.17 CynthiaMailman,Self-Portrait (1976),acryliconcanvas,62×54in. Destroyed.©CynthiaMailman 5.18 CynthiaMailman,Study for “God” #1 (First God Study) (1976),penciland acryliconpaper,11×6⅞in.(sheet),9½× 5⅝in.(image).SylviaSleighCollection, RowanUniversityArtGallery, Glassboro,NJ.©CynthiaMailman 5.19 CynthiaMailman,Study for “God” #2 (Christian God Study)(1976),pencil andacryliconpaper,11×6⅞in.(sheet), 9½×5⅝in.(image).©CynthiaMailman 5.20 CynthiaMailman,Study for “God” #3 (Walking on Water)(1976),penciland acryliconpaper,11×6⅞in.(sheet),9½× 5⅝in.(image).©CynthiaMailman 5.21 CynthiaMailman, Study for “God” #5 (1976),pencilandacryliconpaper, 11×6⅞in.(sheet),9½×5⅝in.(image). Privatecollection.©CynthiaMailman 5.22 CynthiaMailman,“She is beautiful in ways we have almost forgotten”(1977), fromThe Origins of God,acrylic,pencil, ink,andcollageonpaper,14×19in.© CynthiaMailman 5.23 DianaKurz,Sylvia and Lawrence (1978),oiloncanvas,60×54in.©Diana Kurz

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5.25 DianaKurz,S.D. with Mirror(1972), oiloncanvas,60×54in.©DianaKurz

5.27 DianaKurz,Study for “Durga” (1977),oilandpenciloncorrugated cardboard,9×5¼in.Privatecollection. ©DianaKurz 5.28 DianaKurz,Study for “Durga” (Durga with Ten Arms),sketchedina lettertoSylviaSleigh(July1977),pencil onpaper,14×10in.(sheet),8¼×5in. (sketch).TheGettyResearchInstitute, LosAngeles(2004.M.11),giftofSylvia Sleigh.©DianaKurz 5.29 DianaKurz,Study for “Durga” (Torso with Ten Radial Arms) (1977),pencil onpaper,27½×21½in.©DianaKurz 5.30 DianaKurz,Study for “Durga” (1977),pencilonpaper,18×14½in.© DianaKurz 5.31 DianaKurz,Durga (1977), photographedinprogress,oiloncanvas, 108×60in.©DianaKurz 5.32 DianaKurz,Study for “Durga” (Lions) (1977),pencilonpaper,19¼×24¾ in.©DianaKurz 5.33 DianaKurz,Three (1990–91),from theseriesRemembrance (Holocaust),oilon canvas,98×77in.©DianaKurz 6 May Stevens, ArtemisiaGentileschi, Sharon Wybrants, Self-Portraitas Superwoman(WomanasCultureHero) 6.1 MayStevens,Big Daddy in Vietnam (1968),oiloncanvas,60×40in.©May Stevens.CourtesyoftheartistandRYAN LEEGallery,NewYork 6.2 MayStevens,Dark Flag(1976), acryliconcanvas,60×60in.Whitney MuseumofAmericanArt,NewYork,gift oftheartist(2005.34).Photo:SheldonC. Collins.©MayStevens.Courtesyofthe artistandRYANLEEGallery,NewYork

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6.3 MayStevens,Drawing Big Daddy (1973),inkandgouacheonpaper,8×7 in.©MayStevens.Courtesyoftheartist andRYANLEEGallery,NewYork 6.4 MayStevens,Soho Women Artists (1978),acryliconcanvas,78×142in. NationalMuseumofWomenintheArts, Washington,DC,museumpurchase:The LoisPollardPriceAcquisitionFund.© MayStevens.Courtesyoftheartistand RYANLEEGallery,NewYork 6.5 MayStevens,Mysteries and Politics (1978),acryliconcanvas,78×144in.San FranciscoMuseumofModernArt,gift ofMr.andMrs.AnthonyGrippa.©May Stevens.CourtesyoftheartistandRYAN LEEGallery,NewYork 6.6 MayStevens,Forming the Fifth International(1985),acryliconcanvas,78 ×120in.©MayStevens.Courtesyofthe artistandRYANLEEGallery,NewYork 6.7 MayStevens,Artemisia Gentileschi (1979),acryliconcanvas,72×38in. Privatecollection.©MayStevens. CourtesyoftheartistandRYANLEE Gallery,NewYork.Photo:KarenMauch Photography 6.8 MayStevens,Artemisia Gentileschi (1979),lithograph(editionof50with19 artist’sproofs),printedonArchespaper, 39×23in.©MayStevens.Courtesyof theartistandRYANLEEGallery,New York 6.9 SharonWybrants,Revolutionary Woman(1973),acryliconMasonite,42× 28in.©SharonWybrants 6.10 SharonWybrants,Artist in the Nursery(1971),mixedmediaonpaper,14 ×17in.SylviaSleighCollection,Rowan UniversityArtGallery,Glassboro,NJ.© SharonWybrants.Photo:KarenMauch Photography 6.11 SharonWybrants,Portrait of the Artist in Her Studio(1974),acrylic onMasonite,30×30in.Whereabouts unknown,presumablydestroyed.© SharonWybrants

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6.12 SharonWybrants,Self-Portrait in Superwoman Costume with Rauschenberg in the Background(1975),pastelonhot pressArchespaper,30×38in.Private collection.©SharonWybrants 6.13 SharonWybrants,Self-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero) (1975),pastelonpaper,144×60in. Whereaboutsunknown,presumably destroyed.©SharonWybrants 6.14 PosterforERAWorkConference, heldatNewYorkUniversityCatholic Center,March13,1976,withSelf-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero) by SharonWybrants,inkonpaper,22×17in. VictoriaandAlbertMuseum,London,gift oftheAmericanFriendsoftheV&A,gift totheAmericanFriendsbyLeslie,Judith, andGabrielSchreyerandAliceSchreyer Batko.©VictoriaandAlbertMuseum, London/SharonWybrants 6.15 SharonWybrants,During the Separation (February1976),oiloncanvas, 24×18in.Privatecollection.©Sharon Wybrants 6.16 SharonWybrants,Cathartic Conversation with Al Hansen(November 1976),oilonpaper,24×18in. Whereaboutsunknown,presumably destroyed.©SharonWybrants 6.17 SharonWybrants,Mommy, Mother, Virgin, Whore(1978),performance. Photograph©SharonWybrants 6.18 SharonWybrants,Bar Star(1978), performance.Photograph©Sharon Wybrants 6.19 SharonWybrants,Queen Kong (1978),detail,charcoalonpaper,approx. 144×60in.Whereaboutsunknown, presumablydestroyed.©Sharon Wybrants 7 Martha Edelheit, Womanhero, Maureen Connor,ChapelStructure 7.1 MarthaEdelheit,Study for Hero Woman(1977),acrylicandDesign MARKetteonwatercolorpaper,23×14 in.Privatecollection.©MarthaNilsson Edelheit

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7.2 MarthaEdelheit,View of the Empire State Building from Sheep Meadow (1970– 72),acryliconlinen,76×94in.©Martha NilssonEdelheit

7.14 MaureenConnor, Study for “The Sister Chapel” Structure (1976),colored pencilandcollageonpaper,9¾×7¾in. ©MaureenConnor

7.3 MarthaEdelheit,First Study for Womanhero: Anna and David(1976), graphiteonragpaper,27½×22½in.© MarthaNilssonEdelheit

7.15 MaureenConnor,Palimpsest (1977),installationandperformanceat41 East65thStreet,NewYork,dimensions variable.©MaureenConnor

7.4 MarthaEdelheit,Mr. America’s Cutout Dream(1961),inkandwatercolor onricepaper,12×18in.©Martha NilssonEdelheit

7.16 MaureenConnor,Linens(1980), installationatAcquavellaContemporary Art,NewYork(1980),starchedand foldedorgandy,dimensionsvariable.© MaureenConnor 

7.5 MarthaEdelheit,Tattooed Lady on a Stage (1961),inkandwatercoloron ricepaper,12×18in.©MarthaNilsson Edelheit 7.6 MarthaEdelheit,King Jagiello(1973), acryliconcanvas,24×18in.Private collection.©MarthaNilssonEdelheit

7.17 MaureenConnor,Birth of the Bustle (1981),reed,organdy,andpaper,44×33 ×16in.,andLindsay(1981),caningand organdy,35×27×14in.,installationat AcquavellaContemporaryArt,New York(1982).©MaureenConnor

7.7 MarthaEdelheit,Study for “Womanhero” (1976),acryliconlinen, 36½×27½in.©MarthaNilssonEdelheit

7.18 MaureenConnor,Turbanite(1984), concreteovercloth,17½×13½×14in.© MaureenConnor

7.8 MarthaEdelheit,Tattoed Lady II (1964),acryliconcanvas,50×45in.© MarthaNilssonEdelheit

7.19 MaureenConnor,The Bride Redressed (1989),steelandlace,54×24× 24in.©MaureenConnor

7.9 MarthaEdelheit,Fleshcycle (1969), acryliconcanvas,84×68in.©Martha NilssonEdelheit.Photo:MarkamKeith Adams

7.20 MaureenConnor,Thinner Than You (1990),stretchnetoverstainless-steel dressrack,60×16×8in.©Maureen Connor

7.10 MarthaEdelheit,Tool in Landscape (1976),acryliconlinen,35×51in.Private collection.©MarthaNilssonEdelheit

7.21 MaureenConnor,Ensemble for 3 Female Voices(1990–91),installation ofmuslincurtains,steelstands,light fixtures,hiddenspeakers,motionactivatedtapeplayers,andcastsof tonguesandlarynxesinlipstick.© MaureenConnor

7.11 MarthaEdelheit,Annie and Paddy (1968–69),acryliconlinen,67¾×98½in. ©MarthaNilssonEdelheit 7.12 MaureenConnor,A Landscape of Breathing Flowers (1971–73),installation atSOHO20Gallery,NewYork(October 1973),velvet,satin,chiffon,vinylairudders,andelectrifiedmotors,77–125in. high.©MaureenConnor 7.13 MaureenConnor,Little Lambs Eat Ivy (1977),clothing,36×33×44in.© MaureenConnor

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7.22 MaureenConnor,The Bedroom: The Morning After Game, from Love (at first) Site(1998),installationofslide projections,bedwithvinylcover, projectionofinteractivecomputergame, andnylonscreens,dimensionsvariable. Oneofthreeadjoiningvideoinstallations createdfortheCurtMarcusGallery, NewYork.©MaureenConnor

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8 Epilogue: The Resurrection of The SisterChapel 8.1 SharonWybrants,Self-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero) (2010),oiloncanvas,108×60in.Rowan UniversityArtGallery,Glassboro,NJ, giftoftheartist.©SharonWybrants. Photo:KarenMauchPhotography

Color Plates 1 InstallationphotographofThe Sister ChapelatP.S.1,LongIslandCity,NY (January1978).Privatecollection.Left toright:Betty Friedan as the Prophet (1976)byJuneBlum, Marianne Moore (1977)byBettyHolliday,Lilith(1976) bySylviaSleigh,Artemisia Gentileschi (1976)byMayStevens,Bella Abzug—the Candidate (1976)byAliceNeel.Above: Ceiling of the Sister Chapel(1976)by IliseGreenstein.God(1977)byCynthia Mailmanisontheleft,perpendicularto theviewer 2 InstallationphotographofThe Sister ChapelatP.S.1,LongIslandCity,NY (January1978).Privatecollection.Leftto right:Self-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero)(1977–78)bySharon Wybrants,Durga(1977)byDianaKurz, Frida Kahlo(1976)byShirleyGorelick, Joan of Arc(1976)byElsaM.Goldsmith, Womanhero(1977)byMarthaEdelheit. Above:Ceiling of the Sister Chapel(1976) byIliseGreenstein

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5 JuneBlum,Betty Friedan as the Prophet (1976),oiloncanvas,108×60in.Rowan UniversityArtGallery,Glassboro,NJ, giftofJuneBlum.©JuneBlum 6 BettyHolliday,Marianne Moore (1977),acrylic,charcoal,andcollageon canvas,108×60in.CollectionofAnne andVincentMai.©EstateofBetty Holliday 7 SylviaSleigh,Lilith(1976),acrylic oncanvas,108×60in.SylviaSleigh Collection,RowanUniversityArt Gallery,Glassboro,NJ.Courtesyofthe EstateofSylviaSleigh.Photo:Karen MauchPhotography 8 MayStevens,Artemisia Gentileschi (1976),acryliconcanvas,108×60in. CourtesyoftheartistandRYANLEE Gallery,NewYork 9 AliceNeel,Bella Abzug—the Candidate (1976),oiloncanvas,108×60in.Rowan UniversityArtGallery,Glassboro,NJ, giftofananonymousdonor.©The EstateofAliceNeel.Photo:KarenMauch Photography 10 SharonWybrants,Self-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero) (1977–78),oiloncanvas,108×60in. Whereaboutsunknown,presumably destroyed.©SharonWybrants 11 DianaKurz, Durga(1977),oilon canvas,108×60in.RowanUniversity ArtGallery,Glassboro,NJ,giftofthe artist.©DianaKurz.Photo:Karen MauchPhotography

3 IliseGreenstein,Ceiling of the Sister Chapel(1976),acryliconcanvas,216× 208in.RowanUniversityArtGallery, Glassboro,NJ,giftoftheGreenstein FamilyPartnership

12 ShirleyGorelick,Frida Kahlo(1976), acryliconcanvas,108×60in.Rowan UniversityArtGallery,Glassboro,NJ, giftofJamieS.Gorelick.©JamieS. GorelickandStevenM.Gorelick.Photo: KarenMauchPhotography

4 CynthiaMailman,God(1977),acrylic oncanvas,108×60in.RowanUniversity ArtGallery,Glassboro,NJ,giftof CynthiaMailmanandSilverSullivan.© CynthiaMailman.Photo:KarenMauch Photography

13 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Joan of Arc (1976),oiloncanvas,108×60in.Rowan UniversityArtGallery,Glassboro, NJ.CourtesyoftheEstateofElsa M.Goldsmith.Photo:KarenMauch Photography

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14 MarthaEdelheit,Womanhero (1977),acryliconunprimedlinen,108 ×60in.RowanUniversityArtGallery, Glassboro,NJ,giftoftheartist.©Martha NilssonEdelheit.Photo:KarenMauch Photography 15 MaureenConnor,Maquette for The Sister Chapel pavilion(1976),nylon,velvet, plastic,andpinswiththreephotographs andtwominiaturepaintings,approx. 18in.diameter.Destroyed.©Maureen Connor 16 InstallationphotographofThe Sister ChapelattheStateUniversity

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ofNewYork(SUNY)atStonyBrook (November1978).Photo:©MauriceC. Blum.Clockwise,fromleft:Artemisia Gentileschi(1976)byMayStevens,Joan of Arc(1976)byElsaM.Goldsmith,Bella Abzug—the Candidate(1976)byAlice Neel,Betty Friedan as the Prophet(1976) byJuneBlum,Durga(1977)byDiana Kurz,Frida Kahlo(1976)byShirley Gorelick,Marianne Moore(1976)by BettyHolliday,God(1977)byCynthia Mailman,Self-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero)(1977–78)by SharonWybrants,Womanhero(1977)by MarthaEdelheit,Lilith(1976)bySylvia Sleigh

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Acknowledgments

Thisbookwasresearchedoveraperiodofsixyearsandbenefitedfromthe generosity of many individuals who recognized the historical and cultural valueofThe Sister Chapel.IfIhaveomittedanyone,itshouldbeunderstood as a mere oversight, attributable to the passage of time. First, I thank the surviving artists—June Blum, Sharon Wybrants, Martha Edelheit, Diana Kurz,CynthiaMailman,MaureenConnor,andMayStevens—whoindulged my enthusiasm and placed their trust in a scholar who was, at the outset, completely unknown to them. They gave of their time, answered countless questions, engaged in stimulating conversations, and located documents, slides,andothermaterials.IamalsogratefultothefamiliesofShirleyGorelick (JamieS.Gorelick,RichardE.Waldhorn,StevenR.Gorelick,AlyssaGorelick), ElsaM.Goldsmith(CrisandCarolynGoldsmith,JoAnnGoldsmith),andIlise Greenstein(StanleyGreenstein,RobinGreenstein,StevenGreenstein,Aimee Greenstein).IalsothanktheEstateofAliceNeel,especiallyGinnyNeel.All provided invaluable assistance with archival materials, access to works of art, and/or images. Further, the Greenstein Family Partnership generously offeredfundstoallowtheinclusionof16colorplatesandmanyblack-andwhiteillustrations.IexpressmysincerethankstoPaulaEwinandDouglas John,theexecutorsoftheEstateofSylviaSleigh,whofacilitatedmyfrequent visitswhileshewasaliveandgavemeunfetteredaccesstoartandmaterials afterherdeath.JohnPinna,JoyceKubat,TerryScheiner,andAnneMaiwere veryhelpfulinmyeffortstoresearchBettyHolliday,whowasincapacitated with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, I am grateful to Mary Ryan (Mary RyanGallery),whopermittedmetoexamineMayStevens’sworkatlength, andCourtneyWillisBlair(RYANLEEGallery),whosecuredreproductions. ToKarenMauch,Ioffersincerestgratitudeforherbeautifulphotographsof sevenpaintingsfromThe Sister Chapel,aswellasotherworksintheRowan UniversityArtGallery. I also wish to thank Helen Meyrowitz, Marcia Marcus, Jane Kogan, and Betty Dodson for their kind assistance when I was researching their work. LouisK.MeiselandThomasE.Caruso(LouisK.MeiselGallery),FeliciaRentz andthelateEleazerGreenstein(EstateofRonniBogaev),andthefamilyof

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AliceLandes(StevenR.Landes,BonniePritzker,JamesLandes)generously facilitated the reproduction of works by Audrey Flack, Ronni Bogaev, and Alice Landes, respectively. Many others responded to my inquiries or otherwise providedinformationfor this book: PamelaAllara,R.V. Bendrat, TracyBoyd(EstateofBuffieJohnson),AnnBranton,ShirleyAleyCampbell, Mary D. Garrard, Betty Gimbel, HelenA. Harrison, Patricia Hills, Marjorie Kramer, Edvard Lieber, Jeremy Lewison, Julie Lomoe, Helen MacDiarmid, WilliamBrendanMcPhillips,VirginiaMiller,SabraMoore,LoisN.Orchard, GloriaFemanOrenstein,BorisOurlicht,AnitaShapolsky,LisaStrahl-Allen, and Silver Sullivan. I also wish to acknowledge the following and their respectiveinstitutionsfortheircooperation:MarisaBourgoinandElizabeth Botten (Archives ofAmericanArt); Loisann Dowd White and Kate Ralston (Getty Research Institute); Shannon Pritting (Cayuga Community College Library); Faustino Quintanilla (Queensborough Community College Art Gallery);AlanFranciscoandCatherineBade(NationalMuseumofWomen intheArts);KennethGoergandJulieEifel(ArtistsArchivesoftheWestern Reserve);KarenL.Keenan(TheMacDowellColony);YoulandaLogan(Jimmy Carter Library and Museum); Stephen D. Corrsin (Dorot Jewish Division, New York Public Library); Jackie Kelly (Port Washington Public Library); Roxanne Peters (Victoria & Albert Museum); Arnold Tunstall (Akron Art Museum);NancyAzara,DarlaBjork,andLucyHodgson(SOHO20Gallery); SribaI.Kwadjovie(SanFranciscoMuseumofModernArt);KiowaHammons and Anita Duquette (Whitney Museum of American Art); Cait Kokolus (St.CharlesBorromeoSeminary);andtheDavidZwirnerGallery. Throughoutthepreparationofthisbook,myfriendsandfamilyremained constant in their support. My friend and colleague, Lisa Hatchadoorian, encouraged me from the beginning. I am grateful to my dear friends, ChristaIrwinandRachelBomze,whowerealwaysinterestedtohearabout the project and eagerly engaged in countless conversations about art and research.Thanksalsotomymother,Linda,whotaughtmetohaveintegrity, astrongworkethic,andrespectforallpeople.Finally,Iexpressmysincerest gratitudetoMatthewJewell,whosefriendshipandgenerositycouldneverbe adequatelydescribed.

Credits for Quotations Everyattempthasbeenmadetoobtainpermissiontoreproducecopyrighted material. If any proper acknowledgment has not been made, copyright holdersareinvitedtoinformtheauthoroftheoversight.Allquotationsfrom personalcorrespondenceandexcerptsfromunpublisheddocumentsareused bypermissionandreprintedcourtesyofthefollowing: AllwritingsbyJuneBlumcourtesyofJuneBlum. AllwritingsbyRonniBogaevcourtesyoftheEstateofRonniBogaev.

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acknowledgments

xix

ExcerptfromShirleyAleyCampbell,interviewbyJamesEllis,courtesyof theArtistsArchivesoftheWesternReserve. AllwritingsbyMarthaEdelheitcourtesyofMarthaNilssonEdelheit. All writings by Ilise Greenstein courtesy of the Greenstein Family Partnership. ExcerptsfromIliseGreenstein,interviewbyDorothyHorowitz,courtesy oftheGreensteinFamilyPartnershipandtheWilliamE.WeinerOral History Library oftheAmerican JewishCommitteeat the New York PublicLibrary. All writings co-authored by Ilise Greenstein and Elsa M. Goldsmith courtesy of the Greenstein Family Partnership and the Estate of Elsa M.Goldsmith. All writings by Elsa M. Goldsmith courtesy of the Estate of Elsa M. Goldsmith. ExcerptsfromElsaM.Goldsmith,interviewbyShirleySamberg,courtesy oftheEstateofElsaM.Goldsmith. AllwritingsbyShirleyGorelickcourtesyofJamieS.GorelickandSteven M.Gorelick. AllwritingsbyBettyHollidaycourtesyoftheEstateofBettyHolliday. AllwritingsbySylviaSleighandLawrenceAllowaycourtesyofTheGetty ResearchInstitute,LosAngeles,GiftofSylviaSleigh(2004.M.4). AllwritingsbySharonWybrantscourtesyofSharonWybrants.

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Introduction

“Beware of men who buy us off with one group show, or cash in on ‘the scene’ but do no serious criticism or study of our work!”1 Ilise Greenstein madethisstatementintheWomen Artists Newsletterwhenhercollaborative project, The Sister Chapel, was about halfway completed. Lamentably, her admonition is still relevant to the work of numerous pioneering feminists wholaunchedthewomen’sartmovementbutremainlargelyunrecognized by historians and major museums. In too many instances, their work languishesinstorageor,evenworse,hasbeendiscardedwithoutanyserious attempt to assess and understand their contributions to the history of art.2 Although The Sister Chapel was well-received by both critics and viewers in a succession of four exhibitions between 1978 and 1980, the project has likewise fallen into obscurity over the last 30 years. Admittedly, it was one of many collaborative feminist endeavors of the 1970s;3 however, its successfulunionofasingle-themedinstallationand13highlyindividualized contributionswasquiteunusualandtrulyremarkable.The Sister Chapelwas conceivedbyIliseGreensteinasasecular,nonhierarchicalcommemoration ofwomen’sachievements.Eachoftheparticipatingfiguralpainterscreated animageofanindividualfemale“rolemodel”onanine-footcanvas,yetthe subjectwasselectedsolelybytheartist,whowaspermittedtoworkinher own style. The result was a cohesive group of images whose authenticity wasnotcompromisedbyanoverridingaestheticprinciple.The Sister Chapel, therefore, stands in striking contrast to the individualistic artistic visions of the celebrated modernist chapels by Henri Matisse (1869–1964), Mark 4 Sister Chapel is Rothko(1903–70),andLeCorbusier(1887–1965). Rothko (1903–1970), and andLe LeCorbusier Corbusier(1887–1965).4 (1887–1965).4Infact,The Infact, fact,The TheSister SisterChapel In is atestamenttoitsexemplarywomen—thoseportrayedandtheartistswho selectedthem—aswellasthelargermessageofsolidaritythatcharacterized thewomen’sartmovementoftheearly1970s. Unliketheaforementioned,well-researchedmodernistchapels,The Sister Chapelhasnotheretoforebeenthesubjectofadetailedscholarlystudy.Prior to its premiere in January 1978, the project was featured in Gloria Feman Orenstein’s illuminating and indispensable article, “The Sister Chapel: A Traveling Homage to Heroines,” which was published in Womanart,

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a short-lived feminist art periodical, and stood for 35 years as the most extensive account in the literature of art history.5 More recent scholarship, particularlyJudithE.Stein’sessayinThe Power of Feminist Art: The American Movement of the 1970s, History and Impact,6 reiterated the significance of The Sister Chapelasamajorcollaborativeeffortbywomen.Afullinvestigation oftheoverallprojectanditsconstituentpaintingsis,however,longoverdue. Thisbookproffersa“serious…study,”asIliseGreensteinadmonished,that resultedfromsixyearsofresearch.Forthepresentauthor,avisitinJuly2006 to the National Museum of Women in theArts in Washington, DC, led to anepiphanicmoment,althoughnotinthewaythatonemightexpect.While searchingfortheindividualpaintingsfromThe Sister Chapel,Iarrangedtosee MayStevens’sArtemisia Gentileschi,whichwasthenonloantothemuseum. Afterviewinghercanvasinstorage,Iperusedtheartistfilesinthemuseum library for information about the other contributors to The Sister Chapel. AmongthedocumentsinCynthiaMailman’sfilewerelettersconcerningthe artist’soffertodonateGod,herpaintingforThe Sister Chapel,totheNational MuseumofWomenintheArts.Despiteaconcertedeffortbythemuseumto acquireThe Sister Chapelin1992and1993,Mailman’sGodwasrefused“after carefulconsiderationbythecuratorialstaffandtheWorksofArtCommittee” onlyeightyearslater.7Thedecisionto“decline”thegiftofMailman’spainting was fateful. With the rejection letter still in my hands, I realized that I had topreserveThe Sister Chapelanditsextraordinarypaintingsforposterity.In theensuingyears,Ilocatedworksunseenfordecades,foundandexamined hundreds of unpublished documents and photographs, conducted more than a dozen interviews with the artists, and visited studios in New York, Massachusetts,andFlorida. As a major feminist collaboration, The Sister Chapel owes its existence to the women’s art movement of the 1970s, from which it cannot and should not be disentangled. For the reader who is unfamiliar with this important andcomplexhistoricalperiod,The Power of Feminist Artprovidesafarmore comprehensive introduction than the present volume can offer. The Sister Chapelanditsparticipantsare,nevertheless,discussedthroughoutthisbook aspartofthelargerwomen’sartmovement.Earlyfeministorganizations— theNationalOrganizationforWomen(est.1966),NewYorkRadicalWomen (1967–69),Redstockings(est.1969),andWomenintheArts(est.1971)—were influential,bothdirectlyandindirectly,whenIliseGreensteinconceivedThe Sister Chapel.Cooperativeandcollaborativeexhibitionvenues—includingthe Women’sInterartCenter(est.1971),SOHO20Gallery(est.1973),andCentral Hall Artists Gallery (est. 1973)—promoted women’s work and established networksthatwereessentialforgatheringparticipants.Groundbreakingallwomen exhibitions—Open Show of Feminist Art (1971), Unmanly Art (1972), Erotic Garden (1973),Women Choose Women (1973),Works in Progress (1974),and Works on Paper—Women Artists (1975)—furtherrecognizedwomen’screative achievements by drawing attention to a breadth of experiences and artistic expressions.Withouttheseambitiouseffortsbyhundredsofwomeninand aroundNewYorkCity,The Sister Chapelcouldnothavebeenenvisioned.

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introduction

3

The Sister Chapel is simultaneously a cohesive, collectively developed installation and a group of discrete, separately executed works; therefore, I have elucidated the project through a detailed history of its evolution (Chapter 1) and a series of individual studies of the constituent works (Chapters2through7),followedbyabriefcharacterizationofitssubsequent history (Chapter 8). This investigation is primarily historical, with a basis in archival materials, interviews, and, most importantly, careful attention to the art. While the first chapter addresses the origins, development, and exhibitions of The Sister Chapel, the next seven chapters situate each component work within the larger context of the creator’s oeuvre. To preservethenonhierarchicalspiritofthecollaboration,theartistsarepaired or grouped according to professional, historical, or personal associations. SincethesuccessofThe Sister Chapel dependedlargelyonitsdiversityofstyles andsubjects,Ihaveavoidedthepretenseoflinkingtheworksaccordingto artisticoriconographicsimilarities.Becausesheconceivedtheproject,Ilise Greenstein is the first artist to be discussed monographically (Chapter 2). Her ceiling and Maureen Connor’s maquette for the chapel enclosure are unlike the large figurative canvases; thus, Connor is placed at the end of the single-artist studies to achieve an organizational balance (Chapter 7). In some instances, an individual artist’s work is discussed in roughly chronological order. This is especially useful when her creative evolution substantiallyinformedhercontributiontoThe Sister Chapel.Forothers,the monumental painting serves as a starting point. In such cases, an artist’s progressivedevelopmenthasrelativelylittleimpactonanunderstandingof hercontributiontotheproject.Ingeneral,thetextfocusesonworkscreated in the 1970s, even though June Blum, Maureen Connor, Martha Edelheit, Diana Kurz, Cynthia Mailman, and Sharon Wybrants remain active as artists.Somevariationis,nevertheless,imperativebecausetheprojectwasan intergenerationalundertaking.Theeldestparticipant,AliceNeel,wasborn in1900andhadenteredthefinalstagesofhercareerwhenshepaintedBella Abzug—the CandidateforThe Sister Chapel.Bycontrast,MaureenConnorwas 47yearsherjuniorandhadonlyrecentlycompletedhergraduatestudies when she designed the maquette for the chapel structure. When deciding how to approach each artist, I simply allowed her work to guide me. The Sister Chapel embracedtheuniquenessofitscontributors,asdoesthisbook. To preserve the project’s spirit of parity, each artist is afforded roughly the same amount of text in Chapters 2 through 7 and an equal number of illustrations, with the exceptions of Alice Neel and May Stevens, whose workshavebeenreproducedmoreoftenthanthoseoftheotherparticipants. Whenaworkofartismentionedbutnotillustrated,itisusuallyidentified by title with the date and location in parentheses. If the whereabouts are unknownoraworkremainsinanartist’sestateorpossession,thelocation is not specified. When quoting from primary source material, especially unpublished correspondence, I have retained the original capitalization, spellings,punctuation,andtypographicalerrors.Someminorformattingwas

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requiredwhentranscribingthehandwrittenlettersofIliseGreenstein,who often ended sentences without a period and indiscriminately used dashes andhyphensbetweenthoughts.Inaddition,allofmycitedinterviews,e-mail correspondence,andconversationsarepreservedinaudiorecordings,printed records,andnotes,respectively.Finally,Ihaveorganizedthelistofsourcesto includetheletters,pressreleases,memoranda,andotherprimarymaterials thatarefundamentalinreconstructingthehistoryofThe Sister Chapel.

Notes

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1

IliseGreenstein,“WomenArtistsofFlorida,”Women Artists Newsletter2,no.5(November1976):5.

2

ThisbringstomindastatementmadebyLucyLippard,inasomewhatdifferentcontext,“One formofcensorshipisculturalamnesia.”SeeLucyR.Lippard,“TooPolitical?ForgetIt,”inArt Matters: How the Culture Wars Changed America,ed.BrianWallisetal. (NewYork:NewYork UniversityPress,1999),41.

3

AnumberofthemareaddressedinNormaBroudeandMaryD.Garrard,eds.,The Power of Feminist Art: The American Movement of the 1970s, History and Impact(NewYork:HarryN.Abrams, Inc.,1994).

4

SeeRenéPercheronandChristianBrouder,Matisse: From Color to Architecture,trans.Deke Dusinberre(NewYork:HarryN.Abrams,Inc.,2003);SusanJ.Barnes,The Rothko Chapel: An Act of Faith(Austin:UniversityofTexas,1989);DanièlePauly,Le Corbusier: la chapelle de Ronchamp (Paris: FondationLeCorbusier,1997).

5

GloriaFemanOrenstein,“TheSisterChapel:ATravelingHomagetoHeroines,”Womanart1,no.3 (Winter/Spring1977):12–21.

6

JudithE.Stein,“Collaboration,”inThe Power of Feminist Art: The American Movement of the 1970s, History and Impact,ed.NormaBroudeandMaryD.Garrard(NewYork:HarryN.Abrams,Inc., 1994),230–33.

7

SusanFisherSterling,CuratorofModernandContemporaryArt,NationalMuseumofWomen intheArts,toCynthiaMailman,August13,2001,photocopy,NationalMuseumofWomeninthe Arts,Washington,DC.

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1 From Genesis to Revelation: The Origins, Development, and Realization of TheSisterChapel

… And It Was Very Good In an emergent contemporary art center, housed in a dilapidated former public school, a new pantheon of monumental women was assembled for the first time on January 15, 1978 (Plate 1).An extraordinary group of paintings hung amid the peeling paint, exposed pipes, damaged wood floor,andagedradiatorsofasecond-floorroomattheInstituteforArtand Urban Resources at P.S.1 in Long Island City, New York.1 The formidable arrangement and uniform dimensions of the works were reminiscent of a cromlech,acharacteristicthatunitedtheirpotentiallydisparatesubjectsof historical, contemporary, and conceptual female figures (Plate 2). Viewers were enveloped by the circle of large paintings as they stood beneath an abstract ceiling, its mirrored center inviting the visitors to see themselves as part of this all-female Olympus. After almost four years of proposals, meetings, and changes in participants, The Sister Chapel had been realized. Asasecularspacededicatedtoexemplarywomen,its11nine-by-five-foot paintings,eighteen-by-eighteen-footceiling,anddesignsforafabricpavilion werecreatedby13femaleartistswhosoughttoraiseawarenessofwomen’s accomplishmentsinanoverwhelminglypatriarchalsociety. The Sister ChapeldébutedinNewYorkafull14monthsbeforethepremiere ofJudyChicago’scontroversialfeministinstallation, The Dinner Party(1974– 79;BrooklynMuseum),whichwasfirstexhibitedinSanFrancisco.2Despite some obvious similarities—such as monumental scale, the recognition of women, and the cooperation of numerous individuals—the projects were quitedifferent.Althoughseveralhundredpeopleassistedinthecreationof The Dinner Party, it was the manifestation of Chicago’s overarching vision. The Sister Chapel,ontheotherhand,wasthebrainchildofIliseGreenstein,who conceived a nonhierarchical “chapel,” for which each constituent “heroic” woman would be chosen and represented by one of her collaborators.

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Forthepurposeofunity,eachpaintingcontainedonefemalefigureonacanvas ofpredeterminedsize.Thechoiceofsubjectwasleftentirelytotheindividual participantandnoattemptwasmadetoalteranyartist’sparticularstyle.This ambitious and unprecedented artistic cooperation led to the creation of a dozenremarkablepaintingsthatcanstandbothindependentlyandaspartof The Sister Chapel.Thewholeis,nevertheless,greaterthanthesumofitsparts becausethepaintingsweremeanttobeseentogetherandonlyinitstotality canthefullspiritoftheprojectbeascertained. OnthatcoldJanuaryeveninginLongIslandCity,visitorstoP.S.1passed through a large opening between two of the paintings. Upon entering the chapelspace,viewerswereconfrontedby11imposingfemalefiguresunder IliseGreenstein’sexpansiveabstractceiling(Plate3).Totheleftoftheingress wasCynthiaMailman’sGod,apowerfullyevocativeandaudaciousdepiction ofthesupremedeityintheformofanudewoman(Plate4).Toweringamid thecosmoswiththesunasherhalo,sheexudescreativewill.Herassertive featuresarethoseofMailman,whichpromptedsometomaketheerroneous assumption that God is a self-portrait; others would simply condemn the painting as sacrilege.3 Next to God was June Blum’s Betty Friedan as the Prophet,aniconicimagethatcapturestheimpenetrabilityofthewomanwho championedwomen’srights(Plate5).WithThe Feminine Mystique underher arm,shestandsinthedesertlikeabiblicalprophetwhohasjustdescended the sacred mountain in the distance. Blum’s fascination with this titan of feminism led her to wear Friedan’s actual dress in order to connect more fullywithhersubject.BesideBlum’sportraitwasBettyHolliday’sMarianne Moore, which depicts the American poet as a brilliant woman wearing dowdyclothesandhersignaturetricornhat(Plate6).Hollidayobsessively worked and reworked her subject in numerous drawings and several full-scale canvases. Sylvia Sleigh’s Lilith, which was displayed next to Marianne Moore,ispresentedasaprimordialhumanbeing,bothfemaleand male(Plate7).Thewoman’sformdominates,buttheintermingledhirsute bodyofamanisclearlyvisible.Lilithstandsbeneathaskythatishalfnight and half day, surrounded by colorful and thriving flora. Beside Lilith was May Stevens’sArtemisia Gentileschi, a representation of the Italian Baroque painter in blue, green, and gold (Plate 8). The seventeenth-century artist isdressedinacostumefromoneofherownpaintingswithrowsofgoldlettered,biographicaltextasaglitteringbackdrop. Asvisitorsmovedclockwisethroughtheexhibitionspace,theyencountered Alice Neel’s Bella Abzug—the Candidate, which presents the American Congresswomanandsocialreformeragainstastarkfieldofwhite(Plate9). In her distinctive, somewhat caricatured style, Neel painted her energetic subjectwithopenarmsandacharacteristichat.At76,Neelallegedly“feared the ladder required to reach the 9-foot height;”4 thus,Abzug occupies only about85percentofthecanvas.NextwasSharonWybrants’sSelf-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero),inwhichthefigureisnarrowlybounded bytheedgesofthecanvas(Plate10).Theartist’sauthoritativestance,billowing

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hair, and superhero-inspired costume bespeak an empowered woman. Althoughshedesignedthisworkseveralyearsearlier,Wybrantscompleted Superwoman just in time for the opening of The Sister Chapel.Another form of power is conveyed by the next work, Diana Kurz’s Durga, the only non-Western subject in the group (Plate 11). In her eight arms, the Hindu goddesswieldstheattributesofherstrength.Atthesametime,herfootrests on the head of the vanquished buffalo-demon. In bright, Rubensian colors, KurzdeliberatelypaintedaWesternizedinterpretationoftheEasterndeity. Durga was followed by Shirley Gorelick’s Frida Kahlo, a representation of the Mexican painter who has since become a celebrated twentieth-century artist(Plate12).WithmotifsappropriatedfromKahlo’spaintings,including a miscarried fetus and an orthopedic corset, Gorelick effectively combined realism and bold color. In a curious echo of her predecessor’s suffering, Gorelick injured her back and had to paint while lying on her side.5 Next wasElsaM.Goldsmith’sJoan of Arc,aportrayalofthesaintasanordinary youngwomaninaverdantlandscape(Plate13).Goldsmith’suseofmuted anddilutedoilsiswell-suitedtothenaturalnessandhumilityofherprayerful subject.Beforecompletingthecircle,visitorssawMarthaEdelheit’sallegorical Womanhero, which was inspired by Michelangelo’s David (Plate 14). She is tattooedwiththeimagesofancientfemaledeities,eachwithacorresponding inscriptiontotherightofthefigure,andhastwohorn-likesnakesofMedusa protrudingfromherserpentinelocksofhair.Framedbyarainbowribbon, shegraspstheorboftheearthandstandslikeagiantintheValleyoftheGods. Outside the towering circle of heroic women, Maureen Connor’s three drawings and maquette for the unrealized chapel structure were displayed (Plate 15). The model sat on a table against the wall, opposite the opening betweenMailman’sGod andEdelheit’sWomanhero.Onedrawinghungabove it.Connor’ssculpturalenclosurewasdesignedasadodecagonalframewith 11sidesforthepaintingsandoneasanentrance.Whitenylon,whichformed a12-pointedstaratthebaseoftheexterior,createdaseriesofshallowbays behind several miniature reproductions of the large paintings. The model for the tent-like structure, later destroyed, was completed by a covering of redvelvetwithtaperedelementsthatdrapedoverthetriangularprojections of white fabric. The Sister Chapel was thus unveiled in January 1978 and remainedonviewatP.S.1untilFebruary19.Onlydaysaftertheopening,a majorsnowstormstruckLongIsland.AnothersweptthroughtheNortheast beforetheexhibitionclosed.WhileThe Sister Chapelfinallymaterializedona wintrydayinNewYork,itwasconceivedinthealtogetherdifferentclimate ofsouthernFlorida.

In the Beginning … The Sister Chapel had its origins in consciousness-raising, a “process” that appeared four years after the publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963)6andwasprevalentby1970.7Feministconsciousness-raising,

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which entailed the “study of the situation of women, not just … random action,” was the result of discussions among the participants in New York RadicalWomen(1967–69),oneofthefirstwomen’sliberationgroups.8C-R,as itwasoftenabbreviated,wassoonadvocatedinthe“RedstockingsManifesto” (1969), which declared the relevance of women’s “personal experience,” rejectedthe“existingideologies”as“productsofmalesupremacistculture,” and asserted the primary aim of developing “female class-consciousness throughsharingexperienceandpubliclyexposingthesexistfoundationofall ourinstitutions.”9Accordingtothemanifesto,“Thefirstrequirementforraising class-consciousnessishonesty,inprivateandinpublic,withourselvesand otherwomen.”10UndertheauspicesoftheNationalOrganizationforWomen (NOW; est. 1966), consciousness-raising emphasized open communication amongwomenand“awareness—orconsciousness—ofthepoliticalnatureof theirproblems.”11IliseGreenstein(Figure1.1),anexuberantabstractpainter and former thespian, became involved in this new expression of women’s experienceswhilelivinginGreatNeck,NewYork.Anacquaintanceinvited hertoaconsciousness-raisinggroupin1969,asshelaterrecalled, AndIwascuriousandsoIwent.Ifounditextremelyenlightening.Whatwedid wastogoaroundtheroom,brieflytellwhowewereandwhywehadcome,and whatwehopedtogainoutofthesituation.Therewasasyllabusdesignedby ShulamithFirestone,whowroteThe Dialectic of Sex,onsubjectstobediscussed, like“Whendidyoufirstdiscoverthatyouwerealittlegirlasopposedtoalittle boy?”…Inagroupoftenorfifteenwomen,[wewere]discussingtheseissues. Andthesyllabushaddifferentquestions,andeveryweekwewouldtackle anotherquestion,andgoaroundtheroom,eachonecontributing.…AndIwas developingaconsciousnessofmyfemaleness.AndIbegantorealizethatallthe thingsthatIthoughtwerespecificallyhappeningtomewerenotmyfault.They wereconditioningbysocietybecauseIwasafemaleinthatsociety.Iwassoeager tolearnthatIjoinedthreedifferentconsciousness-raisinggroups.So,threetimes aweekIwasgoingtogroupswithdifferentmakeups.…Beforelong,wewere goingoutintothecommunity,intosynagogues,doingC-R.…Butthenucleusof thesethreegroupscontinuedforaperiodoftwoyearsforme.12

HerburgeoningawarenessledGreensteintojoinasmallgroupofartists andwriterswho,inApril1971,foundedWomenIntheArts(WIA);theword In was not consistently capitalized and eventually lowercased. The goal of WIAwas“toexploresolutionstoenddiscriminationagainstwomeninthe artworld.”13Greensteinandherfriend,theartistJoyceWeinstein(b.1931), becametheorganization’streasurers.14Twoyearsafteritsestablishment,the membershipnumberedmorethan400andWIAadvocated“arevolutionary conceptofmuseumexhibitions.”15Thiswasrealized,inpart,asWomen Choose Women, held at the New York Cultural Center in January and February 1973.16 Because the prevailing exhibition system was “impoverished by discriminatorypracticesagainstwomen,”thefeaturedworkswere“selected bythemembershipofWomenIntheArtstoincludethelargestnumberof known and unknown talents.”17 Ilise Greenstein, who was a self-described “ardentfeministworkingonbehalfofthewomeninthearts,”had“suddenly

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1.1 Ilise Greenstein, AliceNeel,and JuneBlumatthe openingofThe Sister Chapelat P.S.1,LongIsland City,NY(January 15,1978).Photo: MauriceC.Blum. ©JuneBlum. Behindtheartists areMaureen Connor’s schematicdesigns andmaquette forThe Sister Chapel structure

found home” in WIA.18 One of her paintings, Alpha (1971–72), was among theworksshowninWomen Choose Women.Alsoincludedwerepaintingsby Shirley Gorelick, Alice Neel, Sylvia Sleigh, and May Stevens, all of whom eventually participated in The Sister Chapel. Greenstein’s close involvement withWIAwas,however,short-lived.Herhusband,Stanley(b.1925),owned a business that operated in Miami. For several years, he divided his time betweenNewYorkandFlorida,whileIliseandtheirthreechildrenremained inGreatNeck.Accordingtoher, WestillhadthefantasythatwewouldmaintainourconnectioninNewYork.At onepoint,afteraboutfourteenyearsinmystudio,hisbusinessbegantogetsour. Hewasfacingbigfinancialproblems.HecalledmethedaybeforeChristmas andaskedmetodisposeofmystudioandgetdownasfastasIcould.AndIdid. IwenttoFloridainthehopesofsavingamarriage.Itriedforsixyears.Itdidn’t work.19

When she movedto North Miami Beach in 1973, Greenstein sought a local consciousness-raising group, but was unable to find one. She had similar difficulties in locating other artists.Amid the sun, golf courses, and tennis courts,shehad“noonetotalkartto”andherneighbors“didnotknowwhat anartistwas—mosthadneverseenone.”20Shelaterexplainedthatthiswas an“intenseperiodofself-explorationthatresultedintheSister Chapel.”21 Theallusivetitle—The Sister Chapel—appearsinGreenstein’searliestextant descriptionoftheproject.22Herovertreferencetosisterhoodanditsimplicit solidarityunderscorestheimportanceofconsciousness-raisinginGreenstein’s nascent concept, as does Gloria Feman Orenstein’s characterization of

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The Sister Chapel asa“celebrationoftheemergenceofanewwomanspiritin art.”23Atthesametime,thereferencetoMichelangelo’sSistineChapelceiling (1508–12)isplainlyevident.Inherreviewofthepremiereexhibition,Amei WallacharticulatedthedangeroflinkingMichelangelo’sfrescoandThe Sister Chapel:“Iftheideawerenotsuchanambitiousone—iftheworkwerepermitted tostandonitsown,withoutcomparisonstotheSistineChapel—thepaintings atPS1mightseemevenbetter.”24Otherreviewersseemedtodisregardthe connection, perhaps because it was unmistakable. Helen Meyrowitz, who knewseveraloftheartistsandparticipatedinearlydiscussionsofpotential collaborators,initiallythoughtThe Sister Chapelprojectwas“corny”andthe allusion to Michelangelo “too obvious.”25 Orenstein, however, provides an eloquent explanation for a feminist reference to the illustrious Florentine artist.The Sister Chapel,shesuggests, “directlychallengestheSistineChapel foritspatriarchalvisionofcreation”and“strikesachordthatresonatesdeeply withinwomen,onewhichactivatestheirlong-denieddesiretogivevisionto theconceptofcreationandtogiveformtotheexperienceoftranscendence.”26 ThiscertainlyreflectstheviewsofIliseGreenstein,whoexplained,“Ibegan toquestion:wherewaswomaninman’srelationshiptoGod?It’saperfectly normal question. Where was I? Where was Eve? … I decided that I would challengetheMichelangeloconcept.…AndsoIretoldthemythofcreation fromawoman’spointofview.”27 Initsdefinitivestate,The Sister Chapel admittedlyrecallsthegrandprophets andsibylsofMichelangelo’sceiling,yetIliseGreenstein’searlyoutlinesfor theprojecthavelittleincommonwiththesixteenth-centuryfrescoes.28Inher originalproposal,typewrittenentirelyinmajusculewiththeheading“WORK IN PROGRESS,” Greenstein described The Sister Chapel as “a hall of fame forwomen”thatwouldbelocatedinWashington,DC.29Shelaterspecified that it should be constructed “opposite the Lincoln Memorial” because he “freedtheslaves”and“itwasincumbentuponwomentofreethemselves.”30 Greenstein anticipated that the ceiling would be a “dome to depict the act of creation with Eve in it” and the center would contain “a circular mirror reflecting each woman who enters the circle as the center of her universe.” Pillars were to represent “figures of women painted by women artists to cover all ages, colors etc.;” the subjects, called “candidates” by Greenstein, were“womeninthearts:humanities:science:sports.”Tochooseparticipants, shesomewhatawkwardlyproposeda“selectioncommitteetobedrawnby lotteryfromthosechosenbyapreliminarylistdraftedbywomenleaders.” Her description concludes, with the overt reverberations of consciousnessraising and nonhierarchical collaboration, “History of Women—I envision thisasagroupprojectandwelcomesuggestions[,]dialogueandassistance.”31 The proposal was prepared expressly for Works in Progress, an exhibition mountedbytheWomen’sInterartCenterinNewYorkCity,whichmayhave beentheimpetusforGreensteintomemorializeherconceptinwriting.32The organizationwasfoundedin1970byJacquelineSkiles(b.1937),whoserved asco-directorwithDorothyGillespie(1920–2012).Theevolutionofthecenter

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is grounded in consciousness-raising, as explained in the following excerpt fromanundated“HistoryandStatementofPurpose:” TheWomen’sInterartCenterconceptgrewoutoftheexperienceofwomen artistswhohadcometogetherbecauseoftheirfeelingofisolation.Aswetalked andsharedourworkandworkexperience,therealizationthatwewerehaving aprofoundeffectuponeachotherbecameobvious.Mostofourearlyexperience togetherfocuseduponwhatwehadtosaytooneanotheraboutoursimilar experiencesaswomenandasartists.Thesenewexperiencessoonbegantoaffect ourwork,andwebegantoworktogether.33

The consciousness-raising aspects of the Women’s Interart Center certainly would have appealed to Greenstein. Moreover, her fundamental idea of The Sister Chapel as a collective creation has affinities with the concept of “interart.” According to the center, “Interart is an organic art form, and differsfrom‘mixed-media’inbothitsprocessandresult.Thefinalworksor ‘experiences’arenotconceivedofinadvancebythegroupinvolvedincreating them,butrathergrowoutoftheinteractionbetweenvariousindividualsand thedisciplinestheyrepresent.”34 In1973,JacquelineSkilesinitiatedErotic Garden,35anexhibitiondescribed as“anartisticstatementaswellasanactofliberation—liberationfromthe traditional taboos that have prevented women from publicly expressing theirsensualoreroticfeelings.”36MaureenConnorshowedBreathing Flowers (see Figure 7.12) and Martha Edelheit screened her experimental film, The Albino Queen and Sno-White in Triplicate;bothartistswerelaterparticipantsin The Sister Chapel.Works in Progress,whichwasonviewattheWomen’sInterart Center for two weeks in February 1974,37 was likewise unconventional but featured“ideasformonumentalorlarge-in-scopeprojectsthathavenotbeen fullyrealizedforlackoffundsorinterestofonekindoranother.Theprojects are in various stages of completion, some indeed, still in the conceptual stage.”38IliseGreenstein’scontributiontoWorks in Progresswasdescribedin theexhibitioncatalogueasfollows: Themostmodestpresentationoftheshow,butonewhichrathersetthetonewas Ilese[sic]Greenstein’styped3″x5″cardsproposingaHallofFameforwomen— “TheSisterChapel,”tobeplacedinWashington,D.C.Ms.Greensteinimpliesthat womenhaven’tgottenafairshakeinhistoryandit’stimesocietymadeupforit.39

ThetextofGreenstein’sproposalwasabridgedforthecatalogue,butitstill articulatesherplanforahalloffame,adomedceilingwithamirror,group participationbylottery,andalocationintheDistrictofColumbia.Consistent with the collaborative spirit of her project, Greenstein’s catalogue entry succinctlyconcludes,“Anysuggestions?”40Inthisway,The Sister Chapelwas firstpresentedtothepublic. Greenstein’s conceptualization of The Sister Chapel remained tentative at thecloseofWorks in Progress.Whencontemplatingwhichwomentohonor, for example, Greenstein later said, “Who were our heroines going to be?

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Weweregoingtohaveaballotbox,andpeoplewouldsuggestnames.And theywouldbepickedoutatrandomfromtheballotbox.”41Herprovisional concept,nevertheless,begantoevolveinthemonthsaftertheexhibitionatthe Women’sInterartCenter.“Ifolloweditup—oncetheyacceptedthepiece—by writingtwentyletterstovariousartistsinthefield,”Greensteinrecalled.42In actuality,shepennedthefollowinginvitationatthebottomofaxerographic copyofherproposalforWorks in Progress: DearArtist I’veselectedyou—Now— Wouldyoubeinterestedindoingapainting10ft.high—3–6ft.wideofthe womancandidate,“rolemodel”nomineeyouwouldchoose(onspeculation)The UnitedNationsisconsideringTheSisterChapelasanartsprojectfor1975Yearof theWoman.I’maskingfor$1000honorariumfortheartistandtheartistkeepsthe work—butthereisnoguaranteethatwe’llgetthefunds—oreventhatamockup willbebuilt.Thereare10–18womenartistsinvolvedintheproject.Chooseany womansubject—anypalette.We’lltryforaNov.1975exhibitiondateinN.Y.C. Noguarantees.Hopefullytherewillbeaquartetofsculpturessignifyingbirth[,] marriage,childbirth,deathbyLouiseNevelson.Thinkabouttheideaandletme knowhowyoufeel.IG.43

Greensteinhandwrote“Womans[sic]InterartCenter”atthetopofthepage andunderlinedthedescriptionofthepillarfigures.Shethenmadeanumber of photocopies and distributed them; regrettably, most of her recipients can no longer be identified.44 The United Nations had designated 1975 as the International Women’s Year, which was later expanded to become the Decade for Women (1976–85). Greenstein’s optimistic reference to the UN actuallypertainedtoWomenintheArts,whichwasdevelopingan“Armory Show” for October 1975.45 If accepted by the Fine Arts Committee of the UN,theexhibitionwouldbepartoftheInternational Women’s Arts Festival.46 No specific venue had been secured, however, and attempts to rent the 69th RegimentArmory and the 7th RegimentArmory were unsuccessful.47 The WIA Bicentennial Committee, chaired by Elsa Goldsmith, oversaw the planningofthemisnamed“ArmoryShow,”whichwasapprovedbytheUN committeeinNovember1974.48 OnSeptember30,1974,Greensteinpreparedanotherhandwrittenversion ofherconcept,titled“WomenintheArtsProposalforBiCentennial[sic],” inwhichshemaintainedthatThe Sister ChapelwastobeaHallofFame.In this latest effort, directed toward WIA and the International Women’s Arts Festival, Greenstein suggested that the armory “be renamed Sister Chapel during [the] bicentennial year.”49 Echoing both the communal philosophy of the Women’s Interart Center and the advocacy of WIA, Greenstein proposed that the armory serve as “an umbrella for various activities run byWomenintheArts”and“eachfeministartgroup”would“doadifferent activityasagroup,eachresponsibleforselection,mountingandmanning the installation and event.” As the central element, “arena fashion,” she envisionedthefollowing:

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HallofFameforwomenintheArts Science.Sports.Humanities. (Groupprojectisalreadyinprogress) Pillarsoffiguresofwomentobe paintedbywomenartiststocover allages—colorsetc. Centerdometobearoundmirrorto reflecteachwomanasapotential candidate Historyofwomenreveredbywomenartists.50

Greenstein noted parenthetically that The Sister Chapel was “already in progress,” presumably because some of her colleagues had responded favorablytoherinvitation.Attheveryleast,Greenstein’sowncontribution toThe Sister Chapel waswellunderwaybeforeshewrotetheWIAproposal. By February 1974, she had completed Ceiling Work: Study for the Sister Chapel,acolorful,nearlycircularsix-footcanvasthatcontainsasquarewith superimposedtriangularelementsthatframeasmaller,roughlyrhomboidal form(seeFigure2.8).ItwasexhibitedatCentralHallArtistsGalleryinMarch 1974,51shortlyafterGreenstein’sconceptdébutedinWorks in Progress atthe Women’sInterartCenter.Althoughapreciseearlychronologyisotherwise difficulttoestablish,52theWIAproposalunequivocallymarkedthebeginning of an accelerated period of activity. Greenstein evidently submitted her ideatoWomenintheArts,butwithoutsuccess.InalettertoJuneBlumon February12,1975,shelamentedthatherarmoryproposal“wasrejectedfor aforeigninternat’l‘star’show.That’sthetruth.”53Significantly,thenotionof adomedHallofFamewithfiguralpillarswassoonabandonedinfavorof anenclosed,columnedstructurehungwithrepresentationalpaintingsand surmountedbyapaintedceiling.

Prospective Collaborators The Sister Chapel advancedsubstantiallyintheremainingmonthsof1974,in partbecauseElsaGoldsmith,theearliestsupporterofGreenstein’sendeavor,54 becamemoreheavilyinvolved.Foranumberofyears,thetwoartistsrented adjacent studios in a building on Steamboat Road in Great Neck.55 In late OctoberorearlyNovember,Goldsmithpreparedahandwrittendraftwiththe heading“ProposalforaSisterChapel.”56Itismorethoroughthantheearlier conceptualizationsandwasdevelopedcollaborativelywithGreenstein,who mailedapreliminarytexttoGoldsmithinOctober.57Includedareitemsfor which funds would be needed, such as materials, construction, lighting, transportation,advertising,insurance,andphotography.Moreover,theHall ofFamegavewaytothefollowingnewvisualization: TheSisterChapelisasymboliccollaborationofhowwomenartists(inthefieldof paintingandsculpture)paintwomenhistorically,spirituallyandsymbolically.

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Thiswillbeafreestanding,roundstructuralenclosurewithten9′tallpanelswith columnsseparatingthepaintingsandthesculpturewouldbeinthecenter.A ceilingpaintingwillcontainalargeroundmirror. Thecirclesymbolizessisterhoodandtheworld.Themirrorwillreflectthose walkingbeneathitinthestructureandbyreflectionbecomepartofthetotal feeling. Thisprojectwillbeacollaborationofindividualestablishedartistsinthefield ofpaintingandsculpturewhobytheirunitedeffortswillbemakingamajor statementonwomen.58

The proposal parenthetically identifies the project coordinators as “Ilise Greenstein—ElsaGoldsmith?”Onthereverseisalistofprospectiveartists. Inthe“Painters”column,Greensteinisidentifiedasthecreatorofthe“ceiling piece” and nine others are enumerated as follows: 1. Martha Edelheit; 2. Alice Neel; 3. Elaine de Kooning; 4. Betty Holliday; 5. Elsa Goldsmith; 6. Sylvia Sleigh; 7. Muriel Castanis; 8. Shirley Gorelick; 9. Audrey Flack. Louise Nevelson is designated “sculpture” and the column labeled “other suggested names to substitute” consists of Therese Schwartz, Jane Kogan, MayStevens,HelenMeyrowitz,andHannahWilke;thelatterisfollowedby aquestionmark.Eightoftheseartists—Greenstein,Edelheit,Neel,Holliday, Goldsmith,Sleigh,Gorelick,andStevens—wouldeventuallybeamongthe 13womenwhobroughtThe Sister Chapeltocompletion. Although Greenstein conceived the project in Florida, most of her professionalartist-friendswereinNewYork.Severalofhercolleaguesfrom LongIslandwere,predictably,amongtheinitialparticipants.BettyHolliday was once Greenstein’s teacher, although her influence can be seen more readilyintheworkofElsaGoldsmithandShirleyGorelick,whoalsostudied withher.HelenMeyrowitzattendedhighschoolwithGreenstein,wasaclose friend of Holliday, and was a founding member of Central Hall Artists in Port Washington,59 the first cooperative gallery on Long Island, which was establishedby18womenin1973.60Greenstein,Gorelick,andHollidaywere alsoamongitsmembers,aswereJuneBlumandAliceLandes,61whowould soon join The Sister Chapel. Of the 16 women listed in the “Proposal for a Sister Chapel,” nine—Greenstein, Edelheit, de Kooning, Holliday, Sleigh, Castanis, Nevelson, Schwartz, and Stevens—were represented in Unmanly Art,anexhibitioncuratedbyJuneBlumandheldattheSuffolkMuseumin 1972.62Furthermore,Greenstein,Goldsmith,andSleighwereinstrumentalin the aforementioned Women Choose Women, a major exhibition of 109 works thatwasmountedbyWomenintheArts.MembersofWIAchosesomefive hundredartistsforinclusion,butspacelimitationscompelledthemtoreduce thenumber.Asmallpanelofjurors,oneofwhomwasSylviaSleigh,made the final selections.63 Greenstein, Neel, Sleigh, Castanis, Gorelick, Flack, Kogan,Stevens,andWilkewereamongthosechosen.Additionally,worksby Castanis,Greenstein,Gorelick,andMeyrowitzwerefeaturedinPoints of View: 19 Women Artists,anexhibitionatthePortlandMuseumofArtinlate1974.64 Thus,alloftheartistsonElsaGoldsmith’shandwrittenlisthadrecentlybeen involvedinimportantall-womenshows.

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Ofthepotentialcollaboratorsspecified in the proposal for The Sister Chapel, four do not recur in subsequent lists or correspondence.MurielCastanis,Therese Schwartz, and Hannah Wilke were unlikelycandidates,butAudreyFlackwas aptly recommended. With the project’s emphasisonpaintedfigurativepanels,the inclusionofMurielCastanis(1926–2006)is peculiar because she worked exclusively as an autodidact sculptor. She initially painted over fabric that she pasted on board, but her fascination with shaped rags, which were stiff with excess glue, led her to create large-scale sculptures of muslin and epoxy that resemble draped furnishings or covered objects.65 Therese Schwartz (1915–2005), who had recently authored a four-part article about the politicization of contemporary art,66 was an equally incongruous nominee. At the time, she was creating collages made of newspaper, to which she applied paint washes that obscured the underlying elements.67 In a solo show at the A.M. Sachs Gallery in 1969, Schwartz exhibitedagroupofsixlarge,similarlyconceivedcanvases,eachofwhich has several horizontal rows of repeated, abstracted forms derived from a truncated,bikini-cladabdomenandthighs.68Despitethecorporealoriginof theabstractions,shewasnotconcernedwithmonumentalhumanfigures,69 nor was Hannah Wilke (1940–1993). The latter’s vaginal ceramic forms of the norwasHannahWilke(1940–93).Thelatter’svaginalceramicformsofthe 1960sweresupplantedin1971bypouredanddriedsheetsoflatex,which she made into flower-like, quasi-labial forms that were gathered by metal snaps.70AlthoughWilkejoinedFightCensorship(est.1973),asmallgroup of artists who confronted the suppression of erotic imagery by women,71 noneofhercoevalworksareparticularlysuitedtothethemeofThe Sister Chapel. By contrast, the rationale for listing Audrey Flack (b. 1931) can be inferred from her four large paintings of Spanish Baroque Madonna sculptures,includingMacarena Esperanza (1971;Figure1.2),threeofwhich wereexhibitedatFrench&Companyin1972.72Whilenonearefull-length figures,theheightoftheMadonnapaintings—from66to78inches—would haveconveyedFlack’sabilitytoworkpowerfullyonalargescale.Theiconic religiousmotifs,whicharebasedonthesculpturesofLuisaRoldán(1650– 1704),haveanobvious,ifonlysuperficial,relevancetotheconceptionofa chapel that is dedicated to women. Flack’s paintings have been indirectly linked to the contemporaneous interest in the Great Goddess, which

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1.2 Audrey Flack,Macarena Esperanza(1971), oiloncanvas,66 ×46in.Private collection.© AudreyFlack. Imagecourtesy ofLouisK. MeiselGallery

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provided an alternative for women dissatisfied with traditional maleorientediconography.73Nevertheless,herlatersculpturesofgoddessesand medicinewomenmoreexplicitlyembody,inFlack’swords,the“returnof thegoddess.”74 The project coordinators soon refined and clarified The Sister Chapel in a revised proposal, again handwritten by Elsa Goldsmith,75 which was the draft for a more formal typed document, dated November 12, 1974.As the typewrittenversionarticulates, TheSisterChapelisaportrayalofhowwomenartistsseeotherwomen… historically,spiritually,symbolicallyandinreality. Approximatelytwelveartistsworktogetherinthiseffort. Weplantohaveafree-standingcircularstructure,about,say,thirtyfeetin diameter,withasuspendedcircularpaintingforaceiling.Theartists’paintings, (eachofapproximatedimensiontenfeethighbyfivefeet),willbespacedaround theinsideofthecircleandfourpiecesofsculpturewillbeincluded.Theexterior oftheciruclar[sic]structurewillbedecorativelypainted. TheSisterChapel,thus,willbeacollaborationofworkofindividual,established artistsinthepaintingandsculpturefieldwho,bytheirunitedandcoordinated efforts,willbemakingamajorstatementonwomen. TheSisterChapelisplannedfortheArmoryExhibit.Itwouldalsobesuitablefor exhibitioninamuseumoraculturalcenter.76

The draft, which was obviously prepared with the WIA “Armory Show” in mind, contains an “Accepted List [of]ArtistsAsked to Participate” with the names of Greenstein, the first six painters in the earlier numerical list, and LouiseNevelsonasthesculptor.77TothoseareaddedMarciaMarcus,Betty Dodson, Buffie Johnson, and Ronni Bogaev.78 Goldsmith’s husband, Robert, isalsoidentifiedasthe“ConsultingStructuralEngineer,”althoughheisnot mentionedinthetypewrittenversion.ThelatterstatesthatGreenstein,Sleigh, Edelheit,Holliday,Goldsmith,andJuneBlum—whoisnotmentionedinany ofthepreviousdrafts—“haveagreedtoparticipatethusfar,”while“replies areawaitedfrom”Marcus,Dodson,Johnson,Neel,deKooning,andNevelson. Perhaps not coincidentally, paintings by June Blum, Marcia Marcus, and BuffieJohnsonwereselectedfortheaforementionedexhibition,Women Choose Women,in1973.AmongElsaGoldsmith’spapersarefivephotocopiesofthe typed proposal for The Sister Chapel. One is unmarked, but the others have notations.ThreeshowElainedeKooning’snamewithalinedrawnthroughit. Ontwoofthosecopies,LouiseNevelsonhasalsobeenstricken,whileBogaev’s nameisadded—andmisspelled—ononeofthem.79AnothershowsEdelheit withastrikethrough,perhapsbecauseshe“initially…thoughtitwasapretty sillyidea.”80Goldsmithaddedcheckmarkstotwoofthephotocopiestodenote that invitations had been sent and that artists had accepted.81Another copy of the proposal, found in Sylvia Sleigh’s papers, includes Elsa Goldsmith’s handwrittenadditionsofAliceLandesandRonniBogaev,againmisspelled. Atthebottomofthepage,sheaddedJaneKogan’snameunderthecomment, “Junesuggest[s]ifneeded.”82

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The painters named in the typed proposal, unlike the earlier draft, were primarilyfigurativeartists.Severalstrikethroughsonthephotocopiedlists, in addition to a parenthetical “No” beside her name in a letter written by demonstratethatElainedeKooning(1918–89) GreensteininJanuary1975, Greenstein in January 1975,8383demonstrate that Elaine de Kooning (1918–1989) declinedtocontributeapaintingtoThe Sister Chapel.Herworkwasindeed compatiblewithsuchaproject,asevincedbyherfrontal,verticallyoriented, oftenfull-lengthportraitsinwhicheachfiguredominatesthepictorialspace while retaining a sense of immediacy and informality. She was, however, disinclinedtopaintallegoricalworks,whichappearedonlyatthebeginning ofhercareer.84Shealsoindicatedthatshewas“temperamentally,hostileto ideologicalart”becauseit“alwayscanbetranslatedintowords…Theother thingaboutideologicalartisthatit’sveryexclusive.Itsays,‘Iwilltakethis areaandworkwithinthesespecifiedlimitations.’”85Likehercontemporary, Grace Hartigan (1922–2008),86ElainedeKooningwasmoreconcernedwith beinganartistthanidentifyingherselfbygender;87sheoncestated,“Tobe putinanycategorynotdefinedbyone’sworkistobefalsified.”88Instriking contrast, Betty Dodson (b. 1929) emphasized female sexuality and had recentlyattainedanationalreputationafterthereleaseofherself-published book,Liberating Masturbation: A Meditation on Self Love(1974),whichshealso illustrated. The book frankly confronted romantic illusions about sex and encouragedwomentoexploretheirownorgasms.LikeGreensteinandmany other women of the period, Dodson was involved in consciousness-raising groups, but she became a “sister-teacher” by openly discussing sexuality.89 In her earlier works, Dodson’s sexual frustration was manifested in ways that were sometimes amusing and often unsubtle. The New Hat (1962), for example, depicts an unfulfilled, seated woman with her pale blue peignoir open to reveal her body, while her head is covered by an elaborate and vibrant red hat. Dodson’s husband advised her to buy a new hat in order toresolvehereroticdiscontentandfeelingsofdepression.90Hermoreovert Masturbating Nude(1968),whichwasexhibitedin1968withsomehesitationby theowneroftheWickershamGallery,91wasamongDodson’sworksthatwere decorouslydescribedas“sensational,butnotpornographic.”92Lessthantwo yearslater,areviewerremarkedthather“skillandsensibility”were“—even forthelibertines—aseye-stoppingashersubjectmatter.”93AlthoughDodson continued to create art in the 1970s, her attention shifted demonstrably to sexualeducation.GreensteincommunicatedwithheraboutThe Sister Chapel inFebruary1975,butsheevidentlyfailedtorespondordeclinedtoparticipate shortlythereafter.94Asarealistfigurepainterwhoworkedcomfortablyona largescale,Dodsonwasacomprehensiblechoice;however,acontributionto The Sister Chapelmightwellhavebeenmorescandalousthanempowering. Considering the work that she was creating at the time, Jane Kogan (b.1939)wouldalsohavebeenanappropriatechoiceforThe Sister Chapel,but she was never asked to participate.95 The artist, who had recently had solo showsinNewYorkattheGriffinGallery(1967)andPhoenixGallery(1971), wasrepresentedinWomen Choose WomenbyherlargeInteriorized Self-Portrait

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1.3 JaneKogan, Interiorized SelfPortrait(1969), oiloncanvas, 80×31½in.© JaneKogan

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(1969; Figure 1.3). The painting is 80 inches high and the bespectacled image of the artist occupies the greater part of the canvas. She stands, breasts and abdomen bared, wearing a bowler hat, shirt, and blazer. Her legs are paintedtosuggestpants,buttheytransitionto flesh above the knees. On one foot is a shoe, while the other is unshod. Her three-quarter positionallowshertoholdanuprightflowerin onehandandatruncheonintheother.Vertical plants flank her in an indistinct landscape withafragmentary,non-prismaticrainbowat the upper right. Interiorized Self-Portrait was the first of 13 large figurative canvases that were executed by Kogan between 1969 and 1982. They were dubbed “Amazon paintings” becauseoftheirsize,althoughtheartistneither chose nor encouraged this designation.96 Further, the group is non-serial and has no overarchingtheme,butthepaintingsareunited by their representation of strong women and theirtendencytocommingle“theconventional, the beautiful, and the weird,” according to Kogan.97 The men’s clothing in Interiorized Self-Portrait hints at the artist’s identity as a lesbian,98buttheimageisnon-narrativeandthe individual motifs lack conscious symbolism.99 Nonetheless,onereviewercalledita“ravishing andpowerfulfeministwork,”100whileanother saw it as evidence “that in order to make a dent on a male dominated world, woman mustofferherself.”101Notably,Interiorized SelfPortraitapproachesthecomposition,scale,and spiritofthecanvasesin The Sister Chapel.The same is true of Kogan’s subsequent “Amazon paintings,” such as Black Woman in Cosmos (1976),Nut, Sky Goddess (1979),Creation: Goddess Dancing the World (1981),andYogi (1982). Buffie Johnson and Helen Meyrowitz, on the other hand, were perhaps the least suited to the monumental figural orientationofThe Sister Chapel,althoughbothidentifiedasfeminists.102Buffie Johnson(1912–2006)executedanumberofportraitsasayoungartist,butthey arelessprevalentinherlaterwork.Fromanearlyage,shewasfascinated bytheGreatMotherandthecyclicalnatureoflife,whichwerethemesthat shemaintainedfortherestofhercareer.Glyphsandabstractedshamanistic

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animals,bothevocationsoftheGoddess,enteredherworkinthe1960s,103but sheturnedtomorerepresentationalimageryinthefollowingdecadewithher large,expressive,closeviewsoffruitandflowers,whichlikewisealludeto ancientgoddesses.104InPomegranate (Persephone) (1972),whichwasexhibited inWomen Choose Women,anobviousuterineallusionisunderscoredbythe somewhatvulvarelementsatthestem,aswellastheruptureintheskinof thepomegranate.105Johnsonwasunquestionablyadeptwhenworkingona monumentalscale,buthercontemporaneousemphasisonfruitsandflowers wasnotespeciallywell-suitedtothescopeofThe Sister Chapel.106Incontrast, HelenMeyrowitz(b.1928)haslongexploredself-reflective,representational figural imagery in which she identifies with women’s experiences,107 but her compositions have always been relatively small. Consequently, she was hesitant to attempt a monumental work for The Sister Chapel.108 This explains her status as an alternate and her eventual departure from the project. At the time, Meyrowitz had recently completed her Weightless Series (1968–73),inwhichfemalefiguresaresoftlyrenderedinContécrayon and graphite against hard-edged geometric forms that are painted with acrylics.109 In Weightless Series V, Composition #14 (1972; private collection), forexample,aforeshortenedfigure,withherleftarmextendedandherlegs outstretched toward the viewer, floats unbounded in an ambiguous space composedofarchitectonicandatmosphericforms.Theworksinthisseries reflectMeyrowitz’spersonalthoughtsaboutherownlifeandaboutwomen morebroadly.WhenshebegantheWeightless Series,shewasraisingchildren and trying to finish her education. Women were in a man’s world, “out thereinspace,”theirfeetnotplantedontheground;thus,theserieswasa “metaphorforthestrengthandpowerofwomen.”110 In December 1974, Elsa Goldsmith and Ilise Greenstein, who was on an extended visit to New York,111 packaged and sent photocopies of “more defined plans for the Sister Chapel” to each potential contributor.112 In her enclosed letter, dated December 19, Greenstein stipulated that “we must haveacommitmentfromyoubyJanuary6th.Weneedyourbiographyand an 8 × 10 photograph that represents your work.” She also requested “the subjectofyourpainting,10feethighandnomorethan6feetwide,”aswell as “the approximate completion date.” Respondents were directed to send theirmaterialstoElsaGoldsmith,towhomGreenstein“entrusted”The Sister Chapel.113Afewweekslater,onJanuary10,1975,GreensteintoldSylviaSleigh, We’veaskedover10artiststoparticipate—7haveagreedbutIdon’tbelievethe paintingshavebeenfinishedorevenstarted.Yourself,JuneBlum,ElsaGoldsmith, RonniBogaev(Florida),Marty[sic]Edelheit,AliceNeel.ElainedeKooning(No), MarciaMarcus,BettyDodson,BuffieJohnsonwereasked.ShirleyGorelick,Helen Meyrowitz,AliceLandesarealternates.114

She inadvertently omitted Betty Holliday, who had already agreed to participate.MarciaMarcus’seventualassent,whichwasnotedbyGoldsmith onthreecopiesofthetypedproposal,evidentlypostdatedthelettertoSleigh.

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1.4 Robert H.Goldsmith, Schematic diagramof proposed structurefor The Sister Chapel Chapel (1974),inkon (1974), graphite on paper,11×8½in. paper, 11 ×× 8½ 8½ in. in. paper 11 Privatecollection. Private collection. Courtesyofthe Courtesy of the EstateofRobert Estate of Robert H.Goldsmith H. Goldsmith.

The “more defined plans” consisted of an updated statement about The Sister Chapel, two diagrams for a portable structure to house the paintings, and a breakdown of estimated costs that totaled $8,100.115 Robert H. H. Goldsmith Goldsmith (1915–1988), (1915–88), known Bob was was Robert known informally informally as as Bob, previously identified as the “Consulting Structural Engineer,” in which capacity he prepared schematic drawings for a dodecagonal aluminum enclosure.116 He conceived a structure, 14 feet high and 31 feet in diameter,with12sidesthatwereeacheightfeetwide(Figure1.4).Onthe exterior, each side was subdivided to form a vertical arrangement of four 42-inch-high rectangles, to be used for “photo decoration or [the] like.” Two entrances, positioned opposite each other, were designed with seven-foot-high openings. In this plan, the interior could accommodate 10 paintings—each “about 5 × 10 ft.”—and had a six-foot “center area for sculpture” (Figure 1.5). The ceiling painting was to be tautly suspended from a “part-ceiling” with lashing that would be visible in the three-foot “air space” between the perimeter of the canvas and the chapel structure. Theundersideofthe“part-ceiling”wasintendedtosupportspotlightsthat wouldilluminatethepaintings.AlthoughbasedonIliseGreenstein’snewest revisions,117themodifieddescriptionofThe Sister Chapelthataccompanied Robert Goldsmith’s schematic drawings was conspicuously organized aroundhisdesigns:

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1.5 RobertH. Goldsmith,Roof plan,sideview, andcross-section ofproposed structurefor The Sister Chapel (1974), graphite on (1974),inkon paper, 11 ×× 8½ 8½ in. in. paper 11 paper,11×8½in. Private collection. Privatecollection. Courtesy of the Courtesyofthe Estate of Robert EstateofRobert H. Goldsmith. H.Goldsmith

TheSisterChapelisa[sic]exhibitionstructurethatwillcontainlarger-than-lifesizepaintings.Itspurposeistoportrayhowwomenartistsseeotherwomen, historically,spiritually,symbolicallyandinreality. Twelveestablishedwomenpaintersandsculptorswillcollaborateinthiseffort. Theprefabricatedindoorstructure(Seeaccompanyingdiagrams)maybeeasily assembledanddisassembledfortraveling. Thesubjectandexecutionoftheartworkisbytheindividualartists.Therewillbe tenwall-hungpicturesandfourpiecesofsculpture,andtheceilingwillconsistof asuspendedcircularpainting.Theexterioroftheexhibitionstructureissuitable foradditionalexhibiting,suchasphotographs. Byitsverynatureofsubject-matter,scale,executionandmannerofpresentation, thisexhibitwillmakeamajorstatementonwomenbywomenartists. Theexhibitissuitablefordisplayinamuseum,culturalcenterorcivichall.118

The statement unambiguously positions The Sister Chapel as a potential touring exhibition. After receiving the materials, Sylvia Sleigh criticized Robert Goldsmith’s enclosure as “servicable [sic]” but “rather pedestrian” and“gracelessinitsproportions.”119 Despitetherefinementsintheproject’sconcept,The Sister Chapel wasstill nowhere near realization. For months, Ilise Greenstein had envisioned a centralgroupofsculpturesbyLouiseNevelson(1899–1988),althoughothers recommendedMarisol(b.1930),albeitonlyinpassing.120Itiscertainlyno coincidencethatNevelsonwasboththepreferredsculptorandafriendof

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Betty Holliday, who was Ilise Greenstein’s colleague and former teacher. ThetwoapparentlybecamegoodfriendswhileworkingfortheGreatNeck Adult Program, where Nevelson taught sculpture classes (1954–60) and Hollidayservedasthefineartscoordinator(1955–84).121Afewyearsbefore theinceptionofThe Sister Chapel,Nevelsonwascommissionedtocreatean installationforTempleBeth-ElinGreatNeck,whereGreensteinthenlived. The White Flame of the Six Million(1970–71)isamemorialtotheJewswho perishedintheHolocaust,butalsoservesastheBemaWall,TorahArk,and Eternal Light.122 Similarly allusive qualities are found in the white purity andimplicitredemptionofDawn’s Wedding Feast (1959),thecommingling ofthecolorblackandthesenseofnightinherpaintedwoodassemblages, andthecontrastofcelestialandelementalformsthatarereferencedinher gold-painted installations.123 Perhaps Nevelson’s work for the interior of TempleBeth-EllingeredinGreenstein’smind.Regardless,heranticipated “quartet of sculptures” did not materialize and Nevelson’s name ceased tobementionedafter1974.124Theideaofsituatingsculptureinthecenter of The Sister Chapel was abandoned entirely at the beginning of 1975, although one of Greenstein’s acquaintances later suggested the inclusion ofacrucifiedwoman.125AsGreensteinexplained,“Thegroupofartists… feltthatsculpturewouldkillthesightlines,becausethiswasgoingtobea circle.Andbigsculptureswouldkillthesightlinesofthepaintings.…The sculptures could not be used. It would have to be done on the ceiling.”126 If Robert Goldsmith’s cross-section of the projected enclosure is any indication, Greenstein’s colleagues were probably correct; the sculptures ratherawkwardlyoccupyacentralspaceonthefloor.127Intheend,theidea ofawoman’slifecyclepersistedinGreenstein’sceiling,whichbecamean abstractcelebrationof“theseasonsinawoman’slifefrombirthtodeath.”128

Meetings, Additions, and Departures ThecollaboratorsfirstgatheredtodiscussThe Sister Chapel onJanuary20, 1975,nearlythreeyearsbeforetheprojectpremieredatP.S.1.Tenartists— Ilise Greenstein, Martha Edelheit, Elsa Goldsmith, Betty Holliday, Sylvia Sleigh, Alice Neel, June Blum, Marcia Marcus, Alice Landes, and Ronni Bogaev—were prepared to participate. The revised proposal called for 12 contributors, although Robert Goldsmith’s structure was designed to accommodate only 10 vertical paintings and Greenstein’s ceiling.129 The group was, nonetheless, completed by Cynthia Mailman and Sharon Wybrants,130whowereevidentlybroughttothecollaborationthroughtheir connections with SOHO 20 Gallery (est. 1973), a self-identified feminist organization and the second all-women cooperative exhibition space in New York City.131 Shirley Gorelick, a member of SOHO 20 and still an alternateforThe Sister Chapel,invitedhergoodfriend,CynthiaMailman.132 Two photographs by June Blum record the initial meeting (Figure 1.6).

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1.6 First meetingofthe artistsofThe Sister Chapel,held attheresidence ofSylviaSleigh inManhattan (January20, 1975).Photo: ©JuneBlum. Standing,left toright:June Blum,AliceNeel, MarthaEdelheit, MarciaMarcus, SylviaSleigh, CynthiaMailman; seated,leftto right:Sharon Wybrants,Elsa M.Goldsmith, BettyHolliday, AliceLandes

AllwerepresentexceptIliseGreensteinandRonniBogaev,bothofwhom livedinFlorida.ThegroupassembledinSylviaSleigh’sstudio,locatedon thethirdfloorofherresidenceintheChelseaneighborhoodofManhattan.In Blum’sphotograph,severalofthewomenareseatedonadistinctivesofathat appearsinanumberofSleigh’spaintings.133Theblankcanvasbehindthem was to become Sleigh’s Fête Champêtre (1975–76; private collection), which wascompletedinJanuary1976;134twoofthemodelsinthatpainting,Susan KaprovandPaulRosano,werealsousedforLilith,Sleigh’scontributionto The Sister Chapel. Attheinitialgathering,theartistsdebatedtheuniformsizeofthefigural canvases,whichwaseventuallysetatnine-by-fivefeet.Ultimately,the108inch height was established for a pragmatic reason, not an aesthetic one; namely,mostoftheirstudioscouldonlyaccommodateanine-footstretcher.135 Following the meeting, Sylvia Sleigh expressed her concerns about the dimensionsandtheapparentlackofcohesioninalettertoIliseGreenstein: ThelastideaIdiscussedwithyouwasforpaintingsofheroinesmeasuring10by3 feet.Thisformathasnowchangedto9×5.Irealisethat9feetismoreconvenient forpeoplewhohavelowceilingsbutIdothinkthattheincreaseis[sic]width commitsustoaveryclumsyshape.4feetisperhapsthemaximumwidththat wouldlookwell. Itappearsthattheheroinethemehasfadedalso.Whentheartistsmettogether here,atmyhouse,…thedifferencesinintentionemergedclearly.WhatIhad beenthinkingofaftertalkingtoElsaanddiscussionswithMarti[sic],Marsha

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[sic],Cynthia,andSharonwasthatitwasnecessarytohavesomekindofunifying estheticthread.Thiscouldtaketheformofsinglefiguresofheroinesoragradation fromlighttodarkinthepicturesviewedcollectivelyorsomesequenceofspectrally judgedcolorswhichwouldrunthroughouttheschemeasawhole.AsIsaidatthe meeting,withoutsuchcooperationsthechapelwillbejustanothermixedshowof womenpaintingwomen.Theopportunityforacohesiveenvironment,whichis whatwassointerestingaboutyouroriginalproject,willbelost.136

OnFebruary6,JuneBlumsuccinctlyreiteratedtheseconcernsinaletterto Greenstein,notingthattherewere“manyvariousideasconcerningtheSister Chapelonthepartofallconcerned.Eventhesizewasdisputed.Pleasesend outtoallparticipantsexplicitmaterial,alsoadatetoaimatforcompletion.”137 Lessthanaweeklater,Greensteinrepliedthattheyshould“aimtocomplete theS.C.byJune”andadded,“anothermeetingisinorder.”138 By the middle of March, the figural parameters were clarified, much to the satisfaction of Sylvia Sleigh, who wrote to Ilise Greenstein, “If we are alldoingmonumentalwomen—mostlystanding—oratanyratefillingthe canvasthetotaleffectshouldbefine.IunderstoodthatatAlice’ssuggestion, and agreed upon by Elsa and all, we were to paint on canvases 9′ × 4′ or 5′.”139 Otherwise, there was no pressure to depict a particular woman and each individual worked independently. Any aesthetic risk, however, was mediated by the caliber of the participating artists. As Cynthia Mailman explained, “Don’t forget that the women all came through other women … and you knew whose work you were getting.”140 Overall, the artists interacted harmoniously and without competitiveness, which was quite unprecedented.141WithcollaborationasthefoundationofThe Sister Chapel, Greensteinwasdisinclinedtoimposeherownaestheticsunless“absolutely necessary.”142Otherthandeterminingthefundamentalcharacteristicsofthe figuralcompositions,onlyfragmentsremainofthesundryideasthatcirculated at the meetings. Presumably impelled by Robert Goldsmith’s diagram of the chapel structure, one artist proposed an exhibition of photographs, The Family of Woman,ontheexterior.143Meanwhile,Greensteinpursuedleads forshowsofThe Sister Chapel attheLeMoyneArtFoundationinTallahassee andArtistsSpaceinNewYork.144Thelatter,analternativespaceforemerging artists, was suggested by Eunice Golden (b. 1927), an inventive artist and memberofSOHO20,whoalsowanted“todoafigurefortheSisterChapel,” accordingtoGreenstein.145NothingfurtherismentionedofGolden’sdesire to contribute a painting, but she spoke to Irving Sandler, the organizer of Artists Space, about Greenstein’s idea of exhibiting documentary material foraproposedbookofessays,Breaking the Sex Barrier in the Visual Arts.146The feministartistandactivistIrenePeslikis(1943–2002)expressedaninterestin thebook,accordingtoGreenstein,whoalsoreportedthatessayshadalready beencontributedbyJuneWayne(1918–2011)andJacquelineSkiles;147Sylvia Sleighwasalsoplanningtowriteone.148FollowingEuniceGolden’sadvice, GreensteinapproachedJudySullivan,theauthorofMama Doesn’t Live Here Anymore(1974),toserveaseditorofBreaking the Sex Barrier in the Visual Arts.149

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Intheearlymonthsof1975,Greensteinmaintainedherambitiousvisionof The Sister ChapelasacomponentofthecurrentInternationalWomen’sYear andtheupcomingbicentennialcelebrations.150InFebruary,sheconcededthat herproposalfortheWIA“ArmoryShow”hadbeenrejected;151afewmonths later,JuneBlumtoldher,“Thearmoryshowisoff.”152Onthesamedaythat she wrote to Blum, Greenstein contacted the New York Cultural Center to suggest an exhibition called Consciousness Raising—Year of the Woman.153 She quickly received a reply from the Associate Curator, Leslie Cohen, who wished to discuss The Sister Chapel.154 Greenstein hoped to exhibit the collaboration,perhapsconceptually,andintroduceBreaking the Sex Barrier in the Visual Arts.155SheimmediatelyinformedSylviaSleighandAliceNeelthat theCulturalCenterwasavailableinthesummerandaskedforsuggestions aboutfundraising,whichwastheresponsibilityoftheartists;156asGreenstein succinctlyputit,“Theproblemismoney.”157Sherecommendedanexhibition oftheexistingpaintingsorstudies,aswellasBobGoldsmith’s“architectural drawing,theconcept&theballotboxforwomentoplacetheirnominees.”158 Thelatter,whichwasavestigeofGreenstein’searlierproposalforaHallof Fame,wasnotmentionedagain.TheshowattheNewYorkCulturalCenter didnotmaterialize,nordidBreaking the Sex Barrier in the Visual Arts.159 BetweenFebruary andJune,progress onThe Sister Chapel stalled.160No paintingswerefinished,butenthusiasmfortheprojectbrieflyreturned.In alettertoGreenstein,JuneBlumwrote,“IhadacallfromSylviaSleigh… PerhapsIcandothepaintingfortheSisterChapelinJuly.Shegotmeexcited aboutitagain.Shedidtwostudies.Anyoneelsedoany?”161Blumreferred tothefull-scaledrawingsofSusanKaprovandPaulRosano,datedMay10, 1975,whichareside-by-sideonasinglesheetofpaper(seeFigure5.7);162the modelsaresuperimposedinSleigh’sfinalpaintingtoformtheprimordially hermaphroditicLilith.Abouttwomonthsearlier,theartistpurchasedwhite ragpaperandbeganhernine-footdrawings.163Fewdocumentspertaining toThe Sister Chapel existfortheperiodbetweenJuneandDecember1975, butSharonWybrantscreatedafull-scalepastelstudyofherSelf-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero) (seeFigure6.13).Itwasillustratedand discussedinJohnPerreault’sreviewofShowing Off,agroupexhibitionthat openedthethirdseasonatSOHO20GalleryinSeptember.164Heexplained that Wybrants’s “‘Self-Portrait’ [as Superwoman] is a sketch for a large paintedpanelthatwillbepartoftheportablesisterhoodchapelnowinthe works.SylviaSleighisworkingonLilith,andtherewillbepanelsbyAlice Neel,MarciaMarcus,Judith[sic]Blumandothers.”165Anothermeetingof collaborators was held on November 14.166 On January 22, 1976, just over eightmonthsaftersheexecutedthepencilstudies,Sleighsignedanddated Lilith; thus, it was the first of The Sister Chapel paintings to be completed. She immediately exhibited the canvas in her solo show at A.I.R. Gallery, whichopenedonJanuary31.167Itwasaccompaniedbyherpoem,“TheSong of Lilith,”168 which was subsequently printed on the exhibition poster for The Sister Chapel.

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1.7 Gathering oftheartistsof The Sister Chapel atthehomeand studioofBetty HollidayinPort Washington, NY(April21, 1976).Photo: ©JohnPinna. Lefttoright: JuneBlum,Elsa M.Goldsmith, IliseGreenstein, SylviaSleigh, ShirleyGorelick, BettyHolliday

In a letter dated February 17, Greenstein obliquely but cheerfully acknowledgedafavorablereviewofLilith,169butalsoexpressedconcernsabout the lull in the project. She was reinvigorated by a visit from Elsa Goldsmith and the attendant discussion about The Sister Chapel.170 After a lengthy and digressive postscript, she concluded, “What can we do Sylvia to ease the way? … Lets [sic] lead the way to getting us unstuck just as we helped the movementinitsearlydays.”171Inreply,SleighreportedthatCynthiaMailman’s husband,SilverSullivan(b.1938),hadbuiltstretchersforGorelick,Wybrants, Edelheit,andhiswife.172Foreaseoftransportation,hedesignedthemtofold horizontally across the middle.173 Around that time, Elsa Goldsmith finally commenced work on Joan of Arc after visiting a psychologist, who helped her to overcome the malaise that followed surgery to remove a cancerous lung tumor, a broken foot, and the prolonged illness of her husband.174 By March, she had completed a full-scale colored pencil study of the figure andthefinalpaintingwasunderway(seeFigure2.21).175Joan of Arc waswelladvancedbythetimetheartistsgatheredforameetingonApril21.Afterward, Sleigh enthusiastically wrote to Goldsmith, “I much admire your ‘Joan’— andBettys[sic]‘Nurse’—it’sgoingtobegreat!”176Atthetime,BettyHolliday plannedtocontributeMarie-Louise (Nurse)toThe Sister Chapel (seeFigure3.4), althoughshewasalreadyexploringtheimageofMarianneMoore,onwhom she settled as her “role model” several months later. In addition, Shirley Gorelick transitioned from alternate to full participant, presumably because therewasuncertaintyaboutthecommitmentofAliceNeel,whohadmissed two recent meetings.177 Gorelick completed Frida Kahlo before the end of the

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year.178InearlyJune,whileIliseGreenstein was visiting New York between teaching obligations,179 she joined June Blum, Elsa Goldsmith, Sylvia Sleigh, and Shirley Gorelick at the home and studio of Betty Holliday, who lightheartedly described the gathering as “our ‘historic meeting’ of the S.C. in the wilds of Port Washington” (Figure 1.7).180 The artists stood, struck poses, and playfully donned hats in the studio, where several photographs were takenbyHolliday’scompanion,asculptor namedJohnPinna(b.1945).Behindthemis Marie-Louise (Nurse),Holliday’spreliminary compositionforThe Sister Chapel. Despitenotableprogress,twovacillating collaborators abandoned The Sister Chapel altogether. At the beginning of March 1976, Sleigh told Greenstein that “Marcia Marcusdoesnothavetimetodoherpanel assheisverybusyfinishingpaintingsand teaching.”181Atthetime,MarciaMarcus(b. 1928)wascaptivatedbyAthena,asuitable subjectforaheroicpanel,“becauseofher virtuesandtheimpliedindependencethat is a result of her power.”182 Nowhere is her identification with the ancient Greek goddess more apparent than in SelfPortrait as Athena (1973; Figure 1.8). The artist wears a frilly pink sleeveless weddingdressfromthe1930s,183aswellasamilitaryhelmetwithagold-leaf plume.Shestands,withherhandonherhipandadeterminedexpressionon herface,beforetheAcropolisinAthens.Suchanachronisticcomminglingwas typical for Marcus. Fascinated by Egyptian tombs and Greek architecture, shefrequentlyandliterallypaintedherself—“withrelentlessrealism,”asone reviewernoted—intheseancientplaces.184InSelf-Portrait as AthenaandSelfPortrait on the Acropolis (1974),amongothers,Marcuscombined“asenseof personalaswellas…actualhistory.”185ReflectingonAthena at Sounion(1976), a six-foot horizontal canvas in which the monumental head of the goddess turnstowardadistantruinedtemple,Marcusrealizedthat“onasecondary level Athena’s presence in Poseidon’s precinct would be considered both asananalogytothepresentfeministpositionandamythologicaldesireto resumefriendshipwiththegodfromwhomshe’dwonAthens;”atthesame time,sheinsistedthat“thesubjectisnotimportant.”186Marcushaslongbeen reluctanttoexplainherworkstooextensively.Withrespecttoherfrequent self-portraiture,shedeclares,“IusemyselfbecauseIwantto.Whynot?Would youaskanabstractpainterwhyheusesredandblue?”187Nevertheless,her

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1.8 Marcia Marcus,SelfPortrait as Athena (1973),oiland goldleafon canvas,58×36in. ©MarciaMarcus

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protestationsdonotnegatethestrengthofherpictorialcontentandMarcus certainly had the potential to execute a compelling monumental painting ofaheroicwomanforThe Sister Chapel.Whensheexitedtheproject,Sleigh suggestedMayStevensor,ifshewasunable,DianaKurzasareplacement.188 Stevens,whowasmentionedasapotentialcontributorinoneoftheearlydraft proposals,consented.189HerArtemisia GentileschiwasfinishedbyNovember 1976, when it was exhibited at the Lerner-Heller Gallery. The painting was illustrated in a review by Grace Glueck, who dedicated four paragraphs to The Sister Chapel andArtemisia Gentileschi.190 OnMay10,GreensteininformedJuneBlumthat“Alice[Landes]isinand Ronni[Bogaev]isanalternate.Marciaisout.AliceNeelsaysyes,butshe’snot toowell.”191Eighteendayslater,however,Landesapologeticallywithdrew, citingunspecifieddistractions.192ShenotifiedSylviaSleigh,whohadbythen assumed the role of project manager for The Sister Chapel.193Alice Landes (1927–95)wasanimportantfriendduringIliseGreenstein’sformativeyears (1927–1995) was an important friend during Ilise Greenstein’s formative years asanartist.Landesandherhusband,Irwin(1926–2010),hadknownStanley Greensteinsincechildhood.In1960,asIliseGreensteinlaterexplained,Alice Landes “wanted to take a painting class and didn’t want to go alone, so shetookme.”194Foraboutayear,thetwoartistssharedastorefrontstudio in Great Neck. When the space next door became available, Greenstein rentedit.Asshelaterrecalled,Landeswas“atremendouslypowerfulartist. I would bounce off her work. There was too symbiotic a relationship. … Dialoguewasfine,butnottofeedoffeachotherconstantly.”195Intheirtwoperson exhibition, held in 1973 at the Eileen Kuhlik Gallery in New York, GreensteinshowedherrecentabstractWhite PaintingsandLandesexhibited “paintings of black women.”196 They were “two painters with similar life experiences” whose work was “disparate yet compatable [sic],” according totheirjointstatementfortheexhibition.197AliceLandesalsolivedonthe samestreetasShirleyGorelickandbothusedanAfrican-Americanwoman named Libby Dickerson Dickerson(1921–1995) (1921–1995)as asaamodel. model.198198Libby Libbyininthe theBlack BlackChair Chair (1976; Libby Chair (1976; namedLibbyDickerson(1921–95)asamodel. the Black Figure1.9),whichischaracteristicofLandes’swork,depictsthesubjectin repose. Unseen elements cast a heavy shadow on the flat expanse of bare wall, which is balanced by the irregular mass of the wrinkled rug below. Atthetime,Landes’sfrequentuseofanindistinctspace,definedbynearly abstractgeometricareasofcolor,wasdescribedas“anenvironmentaland psychologicalcompanion”that“fostersandnourishesthefigure’sneedfor dynamicinteraction.”199Beneaththeostensiblepeacefulnessofthemodellies a“psychologicalunease.”200Moreover,Landes’sfigureswerecharacterized by one contemporary as “a metaphor for all women, pressured by the exigenciesofthefemaleexperience.”201Theartist’sboldapplicationofpaint and nondescript spaces are also reminiscent of Betty Holliday’s works. Like Greenstein, Goldsmith, and Gorelick, Landes studied with Holliday, who profoundly influenced her style.202Although she joined Central Hall Artistsin1976,203Landeswasessentiallyunrecognizedasanartist.Herlarge figural compositions, however, unquestionably attest to her suitability for The Sister Chapel.

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1.9 Alice Landes,Libby in the Black Chair (1976),acrylic oncanvas,76× 65½in.Courtesy oftheEstateof AliceLandes

Besides the completion of several paintings and the departures of two participants,theceilingandstructureforThe Sister Chapelsubstantiallyevolved in1976.ByFebruary,MaureenConnor—alsoamemberofSOHO20Gallery— wasdesigninganewenclosure.InalettertoGreenstein,writtenonMarch1, Sleighasserted, IappreciatetheworkandthoughtBobGoldsmithputintothechapelbuttheend resultwasuglyandimpractical,noneofuslikeditatall.Inconsequence,asI toldyouonthe’phoneIthoughtwecouldcreateachapelbylightalone,holding thepanelsandceilingpaintingonalightmetalframe,whichyouseemedto approve.IdiscussedthepracticalsideofthematterwithMaureen…Shethen suggestedthatsheshouldmakedesignsforapavillion[sic]ofwhitefabric.We allliketheideaverymuch.…IamallformenhelpingusandIwouldcertainly haveacceptedBobs[sic]designifithadbeenanygood.OntheotherhandIthink thatitisreallymuchbettertogetayoungwomantodoitifpossibleasotherwise peoplewillsaythatwecannotdoitourselves.204

Connor’sexperiencewithtextilesandinstallationsbroughtadecidedlyartistic qualitytotheanticipatedchapelenclosure.Greenstein,whohadnotyetseen theplans,describeditas“astructureinaluminumtubes.Muchlikeanerector set.”205AfterreceivingConnor’sdesigns,however,shemoreaccuratelylikened itto“amedievaltent”with“paintingstoappearasstainedglasswindowsin whatappears[sic]tobeniches.”206

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1.10 Sylvia Sleigh,Listof participantsin The Sister Chapel witharendering ofaproposed9 ×19ft.ceilingto beconstructed offour9×5ft. canvases(1976), pencil,blackink, andwater-based markeronpaper, 8½×11in.The GettyResearch Institute, LosAngeles (2004.M.11),gift ofSylviaSleigh

Although Connor was now responsible for the enclosure, which was expectedtosupport100poundsintheareaoftheceiling,207RobertGoldsmith wasstillattemptingtosolvetheproblemofdisplayingGreenstein’senormous canvas,asyetunpainted,anditsmirroredcenter.AsshetoldSleigh, Theceilingwillbeanumbrella.…Asailmakermustdothesewinginordertohold thestress.It’llbeslightlybowedtohid[e]thesag.Itwillbehoistedupfromthe centerwitharigBobwillassemble.…ButImusthavethefinalsizeofthediameter [ofConnor’senclosure].… … Badnews.Bobsaysthemirrorcanbehoistedto[the]ceilingattremendouscost. Transportationwillbeabitch.Hefeelsrolledaluminum8milpolishedand reflectingplasticlikemirroredglasseswilldistortimages[,]reflectedasapebblein apoolofwater.Hesuggestselimiminating[sic]thiscentralidea.Hefeelsitwon’t workinanythingbutapermanentstructure.I’mstillhopingtosolvetheproblem.208

Greensteinlaterstressedthatshe“waslookingforanumbrella,likeWomen in theArts was an umbrella for the women artists’ movement.”209 In light of the difficulties, Sleigh suggested that the mirror be attached to a rod, passed through a small hole in the canvas, and supported by a sturdy wood armature positioned above and hidden by the painting. She also recommended a roughly circular two-part ceiling, mounted on stretchers, each measuring five-by-nine feet, which would limit wear, avoid a sag,

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and be easier to transport and assemble. If that size was too small, she encouragedGreensteintocreateaconfigurationofnine-footcanvaseswith twoabuttedonthelongsidesandoneplacedperpendicularlyateachend (Figure 1.10).210 Greenstein agreed to ponder Sleigh’s propositions.211 She eventually used the two-part arrangement, but nearly doubled the size. Afewweekslater,Sleighreported, MaureenwashereyesterdayandIthinkshehasherideasforthechapelverywell thoughtout.Especiallytheceiling.Shewillletmehaveexactdetailsinafewdays sothatyoucanorderyourmaterials.Ishowedheryourslidessothatshecouldsee whatyouarethinkingofdoing.Ithinkitwilllookbeautifulbutwouldsuggestthat yougivethoughttotheeffectsofcolour—thatistosayinyourslidesthecolour looksdarkandwarm,whichwillbringtheceilingdownwereas[sic]lighterand coolercolourswouldraiseitandgivealightandairyeffect,notoppressive;so[I] suggestmoreyellows[,](pale)greensandblues,ratherthanEarthreds.212

Within a few days, Greenstein commenced work on her painting, which was ultimately made of two strips of canvas that were mounted on a large frameworkwhenexhibited.TheeffectthatSleighenvisioned,aswellasthe increaseduseofgreensandblues,canindeedbeseeninthefinishedceiling. With a number of paintings completed, a more aesthetically pleasing structure designed, and the roster of artists seemingly set, eight of the collaboratorsmetagainonJune22,1976.CynthiaMailman,BettyHolliday, ElsaGoldsmith,ShirleyGorelick,JuneBlum,SharonWybrants,andMaureen Connor joined Sylvia Sleigh at her residence.213 Holliday summarized the meetinginalettertoIliseGreenstein,whohadreturnedtoFloridaaftervisiting New York earlier in the month: “It was delightfully cool in the garden, the modelreceiveditsfirstfacsimilesof‘worksinprogress,’possibleexhibition sites were noted, an excellent pie was consumed and all dispersed into the NewYorknight.”214Blummorefullyelucidatedthegathering,asfollows: Wemadeupalistofplacestowritetoforshowingit.ThefirstoneIsuggested wastheMuseumofModernArt.TheotherNYmuseumswereaddedtothelist afterthat. Weallbroughtin2½×4½[inch]colorphotosforMaureen’smodelofthe structure.Itlookedmarvelouswiththephotoshanginginit. Wediscussedthelighting.(I’msurprisedtofindoutamanisdoingit.Ithinkshe shouldfindawoman.)Howeversheseemedreluctanttodiscussanysuggestions. Ibroughtuplightingtheceiling.Shedidnothaveanylogicalreasonfornot lightingit(fromthedefensiveexplanationshegave.)… Maureenalsopassedaroundabudgetforherstructure.Didyougetone?When askedwhereshewouldgetthemoneyforthis,shereplied“Youaregoingtoraise it.”Didn’tyoutellmeshewasgoingtoraisethemoneyforit?215

ThemaquetteforThe Sister Chapel pavilionhadalreadybeenunveiledatthe meetingonApril21,buttheattendeesonJune22broughtsmallphotographs andminiaturerenderingstoenhanceit.Fiveofthemweredisplayedinthe nicheswhenSleighhadthemodelphotographedinSeptember.216Connor’s budgetproposalcarriedanestimatedcostof$7,878forthealuminum,nylon,

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andvelvetenclosure.ThisincludedlightingtobedesignedbyHarryGitlin (1914–1986), electricalwork, work,and andthe theexpense expenseof ofaa seamstress, seamstress, but but excluded excluded (1914–86), electrical packing and shipping.217 Blum’s query about finances was evidently prompted by Greenstein’s earlier assumption that Connor would persuade the Architectural League, with which she was affiliated, to sponsor the constructionoftheenclosure.218WhenThe Sister Chapel finallypremieredat P.S.1 in 1978, there was no pavilion. Only the maquette and a few framed planswereexhibited. In 1976, the artists pursued a number of leads for potential exhibition venues. Scattered references in the extant correspondence provide a sense of their ambitions to show The Sister Chapel. Besides the Museum of ModernArt,JuneBlumsuggestedtheBronxMuseum,219whereJudithVan BaronhadcuratedThe Year of the Womanin1975.220Shealsorecommended the Metropolitan Museum of Art, although she wisely cautioned against contacting Henry Geldzahler because “he would reject it.”221 Greenstein indicatedthattheNortonMuseumofArtinWestPalmBeach,Florida,might beinterested,222andapproachedtheLoweArtMuseumattheUniversityof MiamiinCoralGablesaboutexhibiting“aconceptualversionoftheS.C.”223 Inadditiontopossiblelocations,publicrelationsmaterialsandabrochure or small catalogue were discussed.224 Sylvia Sleigh pressed her colleagues for photographs and slides, which could be assembled in a promotional package for potential venues, and urged them to finish their paintings by the autumn.225 In the premiere issue of Womanart, released that summer, GloriaOrensteinreportedontheprogressofThe Sister Chapel.226Atthetime, Betty Holliday was still planning to contribute Marie-Louise (Nurse) and Alice Neel’s anticipated painting was Pregnant Woman with Child. Neel, in fact, settled on a different painting, Bella Abzug—the Candidate, which she completed in October 1976.227After three studies and several sittings with hersubject,JuneBlumfinishedBetty Friedan as the Prophet attheendofthe year.228 Further, Cynthia Mailman’s God evolved through a series of nineinch studies.229 At the close of the American bicentennial, more than half of the figural paintings for The Sister Chapel were finished. In December, Gloria Orenstein interviewed some of the artists for a lengthier article in Womanart.230Thosewhowerenotpresent,includingHolliday,gavewritten statementsorspoketoherbytelephone.231Orenstein’sbriefannouncement of The Sister Chapel was thusfollowedbyaninformative10-pagearticlein thejournal’sthirdissue,whichwasavailableinearlyMarch1977.232Joan of Arc,Frida Kahlo,Lilith,Betty Friedan as the Prophet,Artemisia Gentileschi,Bella Abzug—the Candidate,themaquette,andtheceiling wereillustrated;forthe remaininguncompletedworks,photographsofthestudieswerereproduced. Ronni Bogaev notablyabsent absentfrom from Orenstein’s Orenstein’s abbreviated abbreviated Ronni Bogaev(1924–1993) (1924–93) isisnotably account of The Sister Chapel in mid-1976, yet her work is discussed in the laterarticleforWomanart.Bythen,tensionshadarisenconcerningBogaev’s subjectandherfailuretoexecutethepaintinginatimelymanner.InFebruary 1975,shortlyafterGreensteininvitedtheFlorida-basedartisttoparticipate,

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Bogaev “suggested she’d like to do her mother as a role model”233 and wrote enthusiastically to Sylvia Sleigh about “thishistoricconception.”234Aslongasit was “heroic,” Sleigh averred, “it would make a fine panel. … I think that the subject must be personally based if it’s going to work—but at the same time be grand!”235 A year later, Bogaev had not started her painting, but Greenstein told Elsa Goldsmith that “Ronni will do her paintingafterhershowatGallery99[sic] inMarch.”236Threemonthspassedbefore Bogaev expressed her desire to “get my drawing done and sent in under the deadline!”237 Around that time, Bogaev composed a fragmented prose statement about “Mother.”238 Sleigh evidently advised her to make adjustments and questioned her choice of subject for The Sister Chapel. Bogaev defended the “artistic freedom” of her selection, but was disinclined to dispute the suggested editingbecauseshebelievedthepainting tobeheractualstatement.239Aftertalking withGreenstein,whoseconfidenceinher colleague had not waned, Bogaev was “making her decisions” in July.240 Nearly two months later, she informed Sleigh, “I’ve come around to simply continuing my present series— Immigration,Immigrant,etc.asyoupictured.”241Shereferredtoagroupof works that drew upon her family’s Ukrainian heritage and the emigration of her parents and grandparents, who escaped Soviet persecution and anti-Semitism.242 The easel-sized paintings of the Immigration series feature layered,collage-likeglimpsesofpeople,places,andobjects,243whichhintat abygoneerathatseemstofadeintohalf-rememberedmoments.Anearlier painting,Memorabilia (1971),wasaprecursor,buttheserieswaspromptedby thedeathoftheartist’sfather,David,in1974.244ForThe Sister Chapel,Bogaev decidedtopaintImmigrant Motherandcreatedapencilstudy(Figure1.11).It wasillustratedinOrenstein’ssecondarticleforWomanart andwasamongthe latestworksinBogaev’s13-yearretrospectiveattheMetropolitanMuseum and Art Center in North Miami in January 1977.245 The drawing depicts a seated, frontal woman with a careworn face and unwavering expression. Shewearsakerchief,collaredshirt,andsimplepatternedskirt,allofwhich suggestapeasantcostume. For Immigrant Mother, the artist merely adjusted her initial idea of depictinghermother,LubaVoloshinBogaev(1884–1952),byemphasizingthe “pioneering,messianicspirit”that“permitswomentoexploretheuncharted territory of the soul that the Sister Chapel exemplifies, and to experiment

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1.11 Ronni Bogaev, Immigrant Mother (1976),graphite onpaper, dimensionsand whereabouts unknown.© EstateofRonni Bogaev

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withnewidentities,newrolesandnewformsoflife,whileforgingadifferent society for their progeny to inhabit,” in Orenstein’s words.246 Bogaev’s revisedstatementandaphotographofherpencilstudyweredispatchedto SylviaSleighattheterminationofthebicentennialyear.247Shedescribedher anticipatedcontributiontotheChapelasfollows: Myheroinecannotbethefigureofotherpeople’slegends…aFlorence Nightingale,orJean[sic]ofArc.Theirportraitshavebeenpainted,theirwork illustrated.Noneofthisismine.Iamanartist.ImustpaintwhatIknowandfeel. Ihavepaintedanordinarywoman,wholikemostwomen,hasgoneaboutthe taskofdailylifeunsungandunrewarded.Ihavegivenhertheformofmyown EasternEuropeanmotherwhosepersonalstruggleonanewcontinentwithanew languageandnewcustomssymbolizestomeinaverypersonalwaythecourage andgreatnessofsoulofallthewomenwhopioneeredAmerica…whetherinthat firstbleaklostcolonyatRoanokeorinoxcartspushingwest. Forintruth,mymother,andmillionsofwomenlikeherwhoemmigrated[sic]to Americaduringtheearly20thCenturywasapioneer. Shefacedno“starvingtime”likeJamestown,nophysicalhardshipsasIndian warslikethosewhowentWest,noreligiouspersecutionliketheMormons. Insteadshemetthechallengeofraisingacivilizedfamilyinagoing[sic]new unculturedsocietywhoseprimaryvalueswerebasedonabrawlingcommercialist systemthatmusthaveseemedasterrifyinganddestructivetoherasany encounterwithIndiansontheWesternPlains. Whatshesetouttoaccomplishhasneverbeenwrittenexceptinherheart.I cannotsayit,Icanonlypaintit,withloveasitwasgiven.248

Bogaev’sremark,“ImustpaintwhatIknowandfeel,”echoesherresponse to Sleigh’s earlier critique: “I must create what I feel. … Mother is what I feel.”249 Despite her progress, Bogaev had missed the Labor Day deadline, onwhichtheartistsagreedinApril,andherpaintingwaslongoverdue.On thatoccasion,sheexplainedthatshewas“workingfeverishly…literallyday andnight”topreparepaintingsforherupcomingexhibition.250Thisclaimis corroboratedbycontemporarieswhoattestedtoBogaev’sworkingmethod.251 Shehasbeencharacterizedasa“perfectionist”who“wasneverprolific.”252 WithThe Sister Chapelgainingmomentumandreceivingsomepublicity inWomanart,asenseofurgencycharacterizedtheartists’effortsin1977.253 June Blum suggested that the premiere of The Sister Chapel coincide with the annual conference of the College Art Association (CAA), which was scheduledforJanuary1978inNewYorkCity.254AttheirmeetingonFebruary 15, the collaborators decided to apply for funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).255 Sylvia Sleigh subsequently solicited a numberofpotentialvenues.ShesentslidesandacopyofOrenstein’srecent article to William H. Spurlock, the director of the art galleries at Wright StateUniversityinDayton,Ohio.HehopedtosponsorThe Sister Chapel and secure a grant from the NEA to aid in the costs of transportation, travel for the artists, publication of a “first rate catalogue,” and other expenses associatedwithanexhibitionforthe1978–79season.256Meanwhile,Sleigh wroteandmailedmaterialstoThomasHovingattheMetropolitanMuseum

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ofArt.257TheletterwasforwardedtoLowery Sims, then Assistant Curator of TwentiethCenturyArt,whonotedthattheirexhibitions were scheduled through 1981.258 The Museum of Modern Art similarly rejected the proposal, citing “an immense backlog of exhibitions;”259 the Whitney Museum of American Art responded analogously.260 June Blum contacted the Guggenheim Museum, but the requested dates were already programmed.261 Ilise Greenstein even wrote to Rosalynn Carter (b. 1927) and Joan Mondale (1930–2014), the wives of the current President and Vice President of the United States, respectively.262 The latter, nicknamed “Joan of Art,” traveled widely to promote government support of the arts while her husband was in office. TheWomen’sInterartCenterwaswillingto offer the artists an exhibition space, but an unsightlycentralpillarposedachallenge.263 A potential solution came in a letter from Alanna Heiss (b. 1943), President and ExecutiveDirectoroftheInstituteforArtandUrbanResources,whoreplied to Sleigh’s inquiry in May. Although she had “never been particularly interestedinthisareaofpainting”andtheexhibitionspaceswerealready scheduled, Heiss noted that “the project as a whole intrigues me and the slides…areexciting.Iamtryingtothinkofawaytoaccommodateyour project…”264SleighhopedtousetheClocktower,265analternativespaceon LeonardStreetinManhattan,butaroomatP.S.1inLongIslandCitywas allthatHeisscouldmakeavailableforthepremiereofThe Sister Chapel.266 Whilemostofthecollaboratorshadcompletedorwereactivelyworkingon theirpaintings,RonniBogaev’sImmigrant Motherwasnotyetbegun,Martha Edelheit’s Womanhero and Sharon Wybrants’s Self-Portrait as Superwoman werefarfromfinished,andCynthiaMailman’sGod wasinprogress.267At theirmeetinginFebruary1977,thecollaboratorsimposedanewdeadline of St. Patrick’s Day. Edelheit was absent,268 but wrote that Womanhero “shouldbejustaboutfinishedbySt.Pats[sic]Day—atleastI’mgivingita GungHotry—.”269WhenIliseGreensteinvisitedthatspring,sheandfour oftheotherartists—SylviaSleigh,CynthiaMailman,JuneBlum,andBetty Holliday—wenttothestudiosofMarthaEdelheitandSharonWybrantson 270 April 14.270 Photographs by Maurice C. Blum (1913–85), June’s husband, April14. PhotographsbyMauriceC.Blum(1913–1985),June’shusband, showthatWomanhero andSelf-Portrait as Superwoman werereasonablywelladvanced (Figure 1.12). Each artist posed before her painting, mimicking

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1.12 Sharon Wybrantsinher studio,posing infrontofher unfinished Self-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero)(April14, 1977).Photo: MauriceC.Blum. ©JuneBlum

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1.13 Gathering oftheartistsof The Sister Chapel inthestudioof MarthaEdelheit (April14,1977). Photo:©Maurice C.Blum.Left toright:Sylvia Sleigh,Cynthia Mailman,Martha Edelheit,June Blum,Ilise Greenstein, SharonWybrants, BettyHolliday

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thestanceofthefigure.Anotherphotographcapturesthegroupofartists as they smile and embrace while flanking Womanhero (Figure 1.13). In a signofsisterlysolidarity,EdelheitandBlumreachtograsphandswithout obscuringthefigureonthecanvas.Threedayslater,MaureenConnorand ShirleyGorelickjoinedthesamegroup,exceptforGreenstein,atCynthia Mailman’s home and studio in Staten Island, where they lunched at an outdoorpicnictable.271AsdemonstratedbyMauriceBlum’sphotographof God,onlytheareabehindthefigure’sheadwasincomplete.Thatday,the artistsalsotraveledtoJuneBlum’shouseinBrooklyn,wheretheirgathering in the living room was likewise recorded by Maurice Blum (Figure 1.14). Four of June Blum’s head studies of Betty Friedan were propped against the window blinds (see Figure 4.8), while a wool rug with one of her black-and-whiteabstractions,Passion of Confucius (1975),wasonthefloor. BytheendofJune,BettyHollidaycompletedthedefinitiveMarianne Moore, afternumerousversionsandrevisions,272andMarthaEdelheit’sWomanhero wasfinished.273WybrantscontinuedtoworkonSelf-Portrait as Superwoman until shortly before the opening of the inaugural exhibition in January 1978,althoughitshowedthepromiseofcompletionwhenhercollaborators visitedthestudioeightmonthsearlier.274 In contrast to the exuberant and optimistic photograph of the seven painters in front of Martha Edelheit’s Womanhero, the correspondence

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between Sylvia Sleigh and Ronni Bogaev became acrimonious. In May 1977,GreensteininformedJuneBlumthatherFloridiancolleague“assured me the painting is begun and will be completed for our Jan. opening.”275 WithanimpendingpremiereofThe Sister Chapel,SleighcontactedBogaev in early July about her nonexistent picture. The latter cited “a lack of communicationbetweenN.Y.andMiami,”providedabriefencapsulation to prove that she had “complied” with every request, and assured her colleague that the painting would be finished “sometime in mid fall [sic] well in advance of what I thought was the deadline” of January 1978.276 Sleighrapidlyreplied, Wenowhaveeveryone’sworkbutyours.ThelastdeadlinewasMarch17,four monthsago.… IlisecametoNewYorkonJune27andwevisitedapossiblespace.She promisedtogoandseewhatyouhaddoneastherehadbeennowordfromyou andshesaidyouhadnotletherseethework.ShecalledonJuly7tosaythat youhadnotstartedandthatshenolongerconsideredyouaparticipatingartist, andthatIshouldaskDianaKurztostartonherpainting,asshehadalready madeasketch.Wehadfeltitnecessarytohaveastandbywhentherewerethree artistsmissing. IamsorrythatyourrelationshipwiththeChapelhastoendlikethis,butIfeel thatyouraloofnessfromtherestofusmaybetoblame.277

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1.14 Gathering oftheartistsof The Sister Chapel attheresidenceof JuneandMaurice C.Blumin Brooklyn(April 17,1977).Photo: MauriceC.Blum. ©JuneBlum.Left toright:Sharon Wybrants,Betty Holliday,Cynthia Mailman,June Blum,Sylvia Sleigh,Shirley Gorelick;seated intheforeground: MaureenConnor

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Bogaev disagreed with Sleigh’s final retort, but was “surprised, saddened, andsomewhatrelieved”byherrejoinderandremarked,“Thefactthatyou areaskinganotherartisttostartfromapointwhichIhavealreadyachieved indicates your preference.”278 Bogaev also reproached Greenstein for her “testimony” and “power in this project,” which, she believed, were “pretty much” to blame for her unceremonious dismissal from The Sister Chapel.279 Greenstein’s indignant response carried further accusations that Bogaev was “too pressured by commitments” and was “unable and unwilling” to executethepainting.280DespiteBogaev’sprotestations,GreensteinandSleigh obviously had concerns about the likelihood that she would complete the painting in time. Both had invested heavily in developing and promoting The Sister Chapel, which may explain why the repeated delays provoked theirire.Thedistancemayalsohavebeenafactor,ifonlybecausethenearer proximity of the New Yorkers made it possible for Sleigh to follow their progressmoreclosely.Nonetheless,DianaKurzreplacedBogaevattheendof July.281ShebegantomakenumerousstudiesforDurga,whichwasexecutedin OctoberandNovemberwhileKurzhadaresidencyattheMacDowellColony inPeterborough,NewHampshire.282

Revelation By autumn, P.S.1 was secured as the venue for the inaugural exhibition of The Sister Chapel. Not everyone was enthusiastic about the location. Elsa Goldsmithpennedherthoughtsinanunpublishedautobiography,inwhich shelamented, Weshouldhaveknownbetter.For3yearsIhadfantasiesofamuseumopeningof theshow.…SometimeinthefallwemetatSylviaSleigh’sandthediscussionwas whetheritwillbeattheWomen’sInterartCenterorP.S1.PS1—Ijustcouldn’t believeit.Thenameturnedmeoffanditwasn’teveninManhattan.“It’sjustover thebridgeandits[sic]veryprestigious.”283

Goldsmithdidnotattributethefinalquotationtoaspecificperson,butits inclusionemphasizesherdisdainandincredulity.Whenshe“calledtosay thatshe’dpreferanotherspacethanWomen’sInterart,”IliseGreensteintold SylviaSleigh,“Isuggestedthatshefindone.”284WithP.S.1asthemostviable option, the artists proceeded with plans for the introductory exhibition. On December 15, six of the artists met at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattantodiscusstheupcomingshow,theestablishmentofanonprofit organization, and their contacts in Washington. In the preceding two months,GreensteintraveledtwicetotheDistrictofColumbiatoestablish contactsandtoseekbothanexhibitionvenueandapermanentlocationfor The Sister Chapel.285Quiteunusually,Greensteinpreparedanagendaforthe latest meeting. Among the issues to discuss were publicity, funding, and travelingtheinstallationafteritclosedatP.S.1.286Themeetingwasattended

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1.15 Exhibition posterforThe Sister Chapel, P.S.1(Institutefor ArtandUrban Resources),Long IslandCity,NY (1978),20×20in.

by Greenstein, Edelheit, Blum, Kurz, Goldsmith, and Neel. Also present were Ellouise Schoettler, Executive Director of the Coalition of Women’s ArtOrganizations(CWAO),andBeverlyLandau,whowasenlistedto“help ussecureourV.I.P.women.”287Atthegathering,theartistsagreedthatThe Sister Chapel wouldfunctionasacollective.Ifitweresold,Greenstein’snotes reveal,itwouldbe“asatotalpackage”witha“priceminimum—$50,000.”288 ThesixartistsalsodecidedagainstsendingThe Sister ChapeltoIran,289where the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art had recently opened. Sylvia Sleighlaterrecalledthatsomeonewantedtosellittotheshah.290Amongthe modernizations implementedby byMohammed MohammedReza Reza Shah Pahlavi (1919–80), modernizations implemented Shah Pahlavi (1919–1980), the emperor of Iran, were advancements in women’s rights; moreover, his empressconsort,FarahDibaPahlavi(b.1938),wasanimportantadvocatefor collectingcontemporaryartandadrivingforceinthecreationofthemuseum inTehran.IntheculturalclimateofIranatthetime,theexhibitionofalarge feministinstallationwasnotanunreasonableproposition. For the exhibition at P.S.1, the artists decided to publish a square, 20-inch glossy poster with small photographs of each painting (Figure 1.15), except for Sharon Wybrants’s Self-Portrait as Superwoman, which was

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still unfinished and had to be represented by her full-scale pastel study. The poster was prepared by Sylvia Sleigh’s husband, the critic and curator Lawrence Alloway (1926–1990), (1926–90), and Lawrence Alloway andEllen EllenLubell, Lubell,291291 aa freelance freelance arts arts writer writer who frequently reviewed exhibitions by women. They avoided an artificial hierarchy and accentuated the enveloping nature of The Sister Chapel by arrangingtheimagesinacirclearoundadetailphotographofGreenstein’s ceiling.Themajusculetitle,location,anddateoftheinstallationwereprinted along each edge; thus, the poster could conceivably be positioned in any direction,althoughthecaptionaccompanyingtheceilingimpliesthe“correct” orientation. Elsa Goldsmith’s notes demonstrate that the artists actually chose the arbitrary order for the illustrations on the poster, as well as the placementofthecanvasesintheexhibitionatP.S.1;thetwowereintentionally different.292Eachcollaboratorwasalsoencouragedtocontributea200-word statement,293mostofwhichwereprintedonthereverseoftheglossyposter in a nonhierarchical radial pattern. Alice Neel did not provide one and Martha Edelheit’s was inadvertently excluded, much to her frustration.294 Instead,herswastyped,photocopied,andmadeavailableattheexhibition. AlthoughMaureenConnor’smaquettewasshownatP.S.1,hernameappears nowhereontheposterbecausetheotherartistsmistakenlybelievedthather recent absences were a sign of waning interest.295 Elsa Goldsmith prepared bothapressreleaseandapublicserviceannouncementforThe Sister Chapel.296 Withthedouble-sidedsquareposter,shesentthemtoindividualsontheP.S.1 mailinglist.ThevenuewasannouncedinthewinterissueofWomanartand a small advertisement was placed in the New York Times,297 both of which also excluded Connor. As anticipated, The Sister Chapel was scheduled to coincidewiththeannualconferenceoftheCollegeArtAssociation,aswellas thenationalmeetingoftheWomen’sCaucusforArt(WCA)inJanuary1978. TheWCAcharteredabustotransportinterestedpartiestoP.S.1andother venuesoutsideManhattanwherewomen’sworkwasexhibited.298Goldsmith later recalled, “Wires crossed or more correctly, disconnected. The people whoplannedthebustriptotheexhibit[atP.S.1]thoughtitwouldbeatthe InterartCenterandplannedaccordingly.”299JuneBlum,however,corrected the error300 and The Sister Chapel was among the “women’s art shows” to which “conferees made the rounds,” as reported in the New York Times by GraceGlueck.301 Ilise Greenstein, Elsa Goldsmith, Betty Holliday, Shirley Gorelick, June Blum,AliceNeel,SylviaSleigh,CynthiaMailman,DianaKurz,MayStevens, Sharon Wybrants, Martha Edelheit, and Maureen Connor had brought The Sister Chapel to fruition and it finally premiered—nearly four years after Greenstein conceived it—at P.S.1. The inaugural exhibition would be the closest The Sister Chapel came to Ilise Greenstein’s vision. Before it openedtothepublic,shepaintedawhitecircleontheslatsofthewooden floor to serve as a counterpoint to the reflective Mylar “mirror” attached to her abstract ceiling.302 She and a friend, Carl Sandler, spent the night in thecoldinterioroftheformerschoolbuildingtosafeguardthepaintings.303

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1.16 Opening ofThe Sister ChapelatP.S.1, LongIslandCity, NY(January15, 1978).Photo: ©JohnPinna. Picturedare ShirleyGorelick (ontheleft,in profile),Betty Holliday(center, wearingacloche hat),Leonard Gorelick(center), andSharon Wybrants(at right,withher backturned)

The opening on January 15 was well-attended, as attested by extant photographs, some of which were taken by Maurice Blum and John Pinna (Figure1.16).Mostoftheartistsandvisitorsarepicturedintheirwintercoats, owingtothelackofadequateheat.Asanticipated,thestrengthofthepaintings layintheirindividualityofstyleandsubject,nonhierarchicalarrangement, andmonumentalsize.Thesurvivingartiststendtoagreethateachparticipant achievedherresultsatatrulysuperiorlevel.304DianaKurzrecalled,“AtP.S.1, whenIsawitinstalled,…itwasreallywonderful.…Itwasveryspecial.”305 ThepremierewaspositivelyreviewedbyAmeiWallachandLaurieJohnston inNewsday andthe New York Times,respectively.306Asreportedbytheformer, “Thechapeltookontheattributesofaquest,withtheresultthatthereissome extremelyfineandmovingworkonviewintheSisterChapel;”itwas,she opined,“satisfyinglyexciting.”307Theproject’simmediatesuccessprompted Greenstein to askAlanna Heiss to extend the exhibition, but the room was committedtoanotherartistafterthecloseofThe Sister ChapelonFebruary19.308 Sylvia Sleigh subsequently thanked Heiss, remarking somewhat overstatedly, “It was most exciting to be at P.S.1 and we were delighted with the reception that the Sister Chapel received—both by the public andthemedia—Idonotthinkwewouldhavebeensofortunateifwehad been elsewhere.”309 On March 4, after the exhibition had already ended, The Sister ChapelwasfeaturedonYOU,alocaltelevisionprogramthataired onWABC-TVinNewYork.310JuneBlum,BettyHolliday,ShirleyGorelick, and Elsa Goldsmith wrote a joint letter to the producer, Miskit Airth, in praiseofthestory,asdidIliseGreenstein.311

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Sylvia Sleigh continued her dialogue with William Spurlock, in the hope that Wright State University would find the funds to sponsor an exhibition of The Sister Chapel.312 To that end, Maureen Connor provided the specifications for the projected structure, lights, and budget, as well as two diagrams that detail the plans for its electrification and illumination.313 Sleigh also investigated the possibility of exhibiting The Sister Chapel at Northwestern University under the auspices of the Program on Women.314 While serving as a visiting professor at the university, Sleigh met the programdirector,ArleneKaplanDaniels,anactivefeministandenthusiastic supporter,315 whose portrait she also painted (1977–79; private collection). Inaddition,SleighapproachedtheEversonMuseumofArtinSyracuse,where Sleigh’shusband,LawrenceAlloway,wasscheduledtojudgeanupcoming show.316 Greenstein also pursued a lead for an NEA grant, but noted that theprojectrequiredanadvisoryboardandtheindividualartistsneededto committheirpaintingsforthetravelingexhibition.317SheagainwrotetoJoan Mondale,whograciouslybutnoncommittallyrepliedbypraisingThe Sister Chapelas“acommendableprojectreflectiveofthetimesinrecognitionofthe contributionsmadetocivilizationbywomen.”318InMarch,theartistspursued thecreationofanunincorporatedassociation.Sleigh,Connor,Gorelick,Kurz, and Goldsmith met with Julia Coale, a lawyer and acquaintance of Diana Kurz.319CoaledraftedbylawsandarticlesofassociationforThe Sister Chapel, whichwouldhaveobligatedeachartisttotheprojectfortwoyearsfromthe dateofthenextexhibition;320however,thedocumentwasnotsignedandthe associationadvancednofurther.Inthefall,Greensteinappliedforcopyright “oncompilationofartworkandtext,”asshedescribedit.321Theregistration isfiledunder“visualmaterial”intheUSCopyrightrecordandtheexhibition poster was presented as supporting evidence.322 Thereafter, Greenstein usuallyprefixedthedefinitearticle—The Sister Chapel©—andinsistedonthe inclusionoftheofficialcopyrightsymbol,pursuanttothestipulationsofthe US CopyrightAct of 1976, which were subsequently modified to eliminate that requirement.323 She wrote to inform the other artists of this action withoutfurtherexplanation,althoughelsewhereinthelettershementioned ameetingwithJuliaCoaleonSeptember6“todiscusscontracts,structureof ourassociation—royaltiesforartists,copywrights[sic],etc.”324 AsecondexhibitionfollowedattheArtGalleryoftheFineArtsCenterat theStateUniversityofNewYork(SUNY)atStonyBrook,underthedirection ofLawrenceAlloway.ApreviewwithrefreshmentswasheldonNovember 9,1978;325theexhibitionofficiallyopenedthenextdayandcontinuedthrough December 15.Alloway arranged the canvases in a circle (Plate 16),326 again arbitrarily, but his configuration differed from the one at the premiere.327 Insteadofhangingthem,astheywereexhibitedatP.S.1,Allowaymounted themonbases,asnecessitatedbytheparticulararchitecturalfeaturesofthe space, which also precluded the display of Greenstein’s ceiling above the paintings. Alloway’s solution was to hang the large abstraction, without the Mylar “mirror,” on the wall nearest the “entrance” to the enclosure of

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canvases (Figure 1.17). In this way, it served as a kind of portal for visitors without significantly diminishing the enormityofGreenstein’screation.With limited funding available, Alloway enlisted the help of 12 students, each of whom wrote a short essay about one of the paintings in The Sister Chapel. Their texts were typewritten and mimeographed for distribution to visitors as a Guide to the “SISTER CHAPEL.”328 One thousand copies wererun,allofwhichweregoneasthe exhibitionentereditsfinalweek.329The show was again reviewed in Newsday, this time by Malcolm Preston.330 Michael Hart also gave his assessment of The Sister Chapel in the Three Village Herald and Susan Bridson wrote a review in the Village Times.331 Bridson’s positive assessment concludes, “The SisterChapelmustbeexperienced.See itifyouenjoyart,ifyouenjoywomen, ifyoulikeorlovewomen—maybeeven if you hate women.”332 Preston, who had previously seen only studies and one finished painting, remarked that they“didnotpreparemeforthesize,scale,strengthanddesignofthetotal, composite work. … The experience is spiritual, not unlike that of a Gothic Cathederal [sic].”333 Hart called it “clever, exciting and intriguing,” but asserted that “the show falls short of being something that’s truly moving. Why?Politics.Theygetintheway.”334Hefurthersuggeststhatthecanvases “cometoresembleposters,andtheshow—unwittingly?—appearsalmostto satirize itself,” but concedes that The Sister Chapel “is surely an eyeful (and a mindful) and well worth seeing. One only wishes in seeing all that, one could see more.”335 Hart’s closing wordplay evidently refers to his earlier remarksabouttheshow’sdepth.Visitors,nevertheless,musthaverecognized thestrengthofThe Sister Chapel becauseattendancesurpassed2,000people, whichbrokethegallery’spreviousrecords.336 An exhibition of studies for The Sister Chapel was also mounted at the ElizabethWeinerGalleryinNewYorkfromNovember25throughDecember 23,whichroughlycoincidedwiththeshowatStonyBrook.337Accordingto thepressrelease,

1.17 Installation photographofThe Sister Chapelatthe StateUniversity ofNewYork atStonyBrook (November1978). Privatecollection. Lefttoright:Lilith (1976)bySylvia Sleigh,Ceiling for the Sister Chapel(1976)by IliseGreenstein, Artemisia Gentileschi(1976) byMayStevens

ConsiderableresearchandpreparationwentintotheChapelandthisisthetheme ofthepresentshow.Thereisarangefromnotesforpreliminaryideasforthe womenheroes,throughfascinatingside-tracks,tofinaloverlife-sizedrawings. Theevolvingideasoftheartistsandthechangestheyeffectedintheiconography ofthediversefiguresis[sic]revealed.338

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Documentation of the exhibition is sparse, but Lawrence Alloway devised thelayoutofthespaceatEast73rdStreetinManhattan.339AliceNeel,who generallypainteddirectlyonhercanvaseswithoutusingstudies,isnotably absent from his diagram. Sylvia Sleigh, who was actively involved in negotiatingtheexhibitionattheElizabethWeinerGallery,340alsosubmitted materials about The Sister Chapel to Terry Wolverton for a forthcoming edition of Chrysalis: A Magazine of Women’s Culture, a short-lived quarterly publication.TheinformationwasdelayedinreachingWolverton“becauseof amix-upduetothemovingoftheChrysalisoffice,andsummervacations,”341 butMarthaEdelheit’sWomanhero wasreproducedinthe“Women’sSurvival Catalog” that accompanied a section about “Women’s Spirituality.” The unenlightening caption disappointingly describes The Sister Chapel as “a groupofpaintingsbyelevenwomencelebratingmanyimagesofwomen.”342 SituatedoppositeamoreilluminatingaccountofJudyChicago’sThe Dinner Party, the photograph of Womanhero was hastily added after the deadline forsubmissions.343Thatwinter,SandraLangerauthoredamoresubstantial articleaboutThe Sister ChapelforThe Southern Quarterly.344 NearlyayearpassedbeforeThe Sister Chapelwasexhibitedinitsthirdvenue, CayugaCountyCommunityCollegeinAuburn,NewYork.345Inthesummer of1979,SylviaSleighcorrespondedwithRuthAppelhof,whooptimistically foresawashowthatwouldincludesomeofthepreliminarystudies.346The Sister Chapelwasprogrammedtocoincidewithaweekendfestival,Women and Creativity,heldNovember2through4,whichfeaturedfilm,art,music, and dance; the scheduled keynote speaker was the controversial feminist scholar, Germaine Greer (b. 1939).347 The Sister Chapel came to the college through the efforts of Sylvia Sleigh and Lawrence Alloway,348 who gave talksatthefestival,asdidMayStevens.349The Sister Chapelwasdisplayed throughNovember30intheartgallery,whichwasactuallyarectangular room in the college library, but the show was incomplete (Figure 1.18). Muchtoherdisappointment,Greenstein’sceilingwastoolargetotransport or display; instead, she offered documentary photographs, a recording, or a written statement that would clarify the aims of the collaboration.350 Connor’s model for the structure was not exhibited, nor was Wybrants’s Self-Portrait as Superwomanbecauseit“didnotmakethedepotintime.”351 On the shipping receipt from Gallery Association Art Transport, which charged a total of $115.90 for shipping from New York to Auburn, SelfPortrait as Superwomanisstricken.352Eveniftheotherthreeworkshadbeen there,The Sister Chapelwasnotshowntoitsgreatestadvantage.Someofthe paintingswerehangingonthewalls,whileothersweremountedonbases that were either turned at angles to the corners of the room or placed in front of windows dressed only with vertical blinds. Disrupting the visual continuity of the installation were four doors at irregular locations on the long walls of the room. Extant photographs, most of which are poor in quality,giveasenseoftheunsatisfactoryplacementoftheworks.Gorelick’s Frida Kahlo, for example, was awkwardly situated in front of a door.

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Despite these circumstances, Carol Contiguglia wrote a lengthy review in a local newspaper, The Citizen, in which she praised The Sister Chapel as “thought-provoking,” while cautioning viewers about the artists’ “very valid‘axetogrind’”and“needofchampioningthecauseforwomenartists, ofshockingthepublicoutofitslethargy…,ofcreatingalternativeaesthetic forms,ofsettingupequivalentwomenheroinesequalto,ifnotsurpassing male forms.”353 She amusingly described Mailman’s God as “a 7.5 on the ‘Richter’scaleofshockelements.” Although it was intended to be a traveling installation, The Sister Chapel did not leave the state of New York. The paintings, no longer on view, remainedatCayugaCountyCommunityCollegeuntilthefollowingMarch. Thegallerydirector,MollyRudderStein,arrangedfortheirfourthandfinal exhibitionattheAssociatedArtistsGallery,locatedinaconvertedchurchin Fayetteville,asuburbofSyracusethatliesaboutthirtymileseastofCayuga CountyCommunityCollege.The Sister ChapelwasthecenterpieceoftheWomen in the Arts Festival,but“severebudgetaryproblems”preventedtheorganizers from transporting the absent portions.354 The installation was exhibited, betweenMarch30andApril27,withoutGreenstein’sceiling,Wybrants’sSelfPortrait as Superwoman, and Connor’s maquette. It was again reviewed, but thistimeintheHerald American,wheretheconceptandindividualworkswere primarily described without serious critical assessment.355 Meanwhile, the

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1.18 Installation photographof The Sister Chapel atCayugaCounty Community College,Auburn, NY(November 1979).TheGetty ResearchInstitute, LosAngeles (2004.M.11),gift ofSylviaSleigh. Lefttoright: Betty Friedan as the Prophet (1976)byJune Blum,Artemisia Gentileschi(1976) byMayStevens, God(1977)by CynthiaMailman, Bella Abzug—the Candidate(1976) byAliceNeel

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artists continued to pursue new venues. Greenstein revisited the possibility ofshowingThe Sister Chapel attheNortonMuseumofArtinWestPalmBeach andtheMetropolitanMuseumandArtCenterinMiami.356Sleighsubmitted materials to Powerhouse (est. 1973),357 a non-profit, all-women, artist-run contemporary art center in Montréal.358 In Fayetteville, the paintings were prepared for return on May 6, 1980,359 which proved to be their last trip together. Withoutanypromiseofafifthvenue,themomentumseemedtocontinue. Sixofthepaintingswereillustratedinahorizontalrowacrosstwopagesof GraceGlueck’sarticle,“WomenArtists’80,”whichappearedintheOctober 1980editionofArt News.360Thecoverfeatured20womenartists,including May Stevens, under the headline, “Where are the Great MenArtists?”—an obvious pun on the title of Linda Nochlin’s essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Despite the impressive photographic spread, Greensteinreactedstronglytotheomissionofseveralcollaborators’names, as well as the author’s failure to credit her as the project’s conceptualizer. She sent a xerographic reproduction of her copyright certificate to Milton Esterow,theeditorofArt News,todemonstrateher authorshipoforiginalnewartworkandtext‘TheSisterChapel’© Translated:Iownthecopyrighton“TheSisterChapel”©. Itiswonderfulthatyou’rerecognizingwomenartistsinagreatmagazine“Art News.”AlsoGraceGlueckdeserveshighestpraize[sic]forhersuperbarticle. CreditisduemeandI’maskingforit! IfcollaborativeprojectDinnerPartyiscalledJudyChicago’sDinnerParty,then collaborativeproject“TheSisterChapel”©deservesnolessthantobecalledIlise Greenstein’s“TheSisterChapel”©. Givecreditwherecreditisdue! Callmeanythingbutspellmynameright ILISEGREENSTEIN Ilookforwardtoacorrectionoftheinfringementofcopyrightinafutureissueof “ArtNews.”361

Inapostscript,sheenumeratedtheartistswhosenameswereexcluded.On the same day, she wrote to Grace Glueck, hailing her “marvelous article” andthankingher“forinclusionformyprojectandmyname,”butshealso explained,“ThenextphaseofC-Risassertiveness,insistingonrights—legal, ethical,moral.‘TheSisterChapel’©ismybabyalltheway.Somewoulddeny me.Ihopenotyou!”362Shehadsimilarlyproclaimedherauthorityoverthe project in 1979, when she wrote the following to RuthAppelhof, who was organizing the exhibition at Cayuga County Community College: “As you nowknowIhaveacopyrightonauthorshipandcompilationof‘TheSister Chapel’©,andallrequestsforpresentationshouldbemadeinwritingtome. Technically you need a written letter of consent from me to prevent a law suit.”363Theotherartistsdonotappeartohavebeenawareofthis. InDecember1980,GreensteinmadecopiesofherletterstoEsterowand Glueck,whichshesenttotheotherparticipantswithanotethatmentioned

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apossibleexhibitionopportunityatawomen’scooperativeinChapelHill, North Carolina.364 She also asked Lawrence Alloway to write an essay about The Sister Chapel for the catalog of her upcoming retrospective, Full Circle. Alloway replied, undoubtedly expressing both his and Sylvia Sleigh’sviews, Ithinknot,becauseofyourattitudetotheworkasawhole:youspeakof collaboration,butactuallyyouseempre-occupiedwithself-promotion.Itis typicalthatyouhavecopyrightedtheideainsomeform,althoughtheChapel dependsforitsexistenceonitsembodimentintheworkofvariousartists…Your efforttomaketheChapelyourspecialprovinceisinoppositiontoyourtalkof collaboration.ThecomparisonoftheChapeltotheDinnerPartyiswrong:the 2worksweredevelopedinentirelydifferentways,differentspirits.Ihavenot copyrightedthisletter,asIdonotbelieveinindiscriminatecopyrighting,but pleasedonotuseitoranypartofitinyourcatalogue.365

Greenstein’s unyielding claim of copyright evidently prompted a rift betweentheproject’stwostrongestadvocates.Regardlessofherintentions, the idealism of The Sister Chapel seems to have collided, like many other collaborative and cooperative efforts, with the harsh reality of individual ambition.366 After 1980, the correspondence is sparse, but Greenstein continuedtopromotetheproject.SheshowedA Study for the Ceiling of the Sister Chapel (seeFigure2.7)inInception,anexhibitionmountedin1981atthe MiamiBeachJewishCommunityCenter–North.367InApril1982,Greenstein sought to end the lacuna when she wrote to Sylvia Sleigh, “June Blum suggesteditwastimetotake‘TheSisterChapel’©offtheshelfandsubmit theslidestoanewcuratorialstaff.”368Shemadenearlythesamestatementin alettertoShirleyGorelick,369butnothingmaterialized.The Sister Chapelwas pictured and briefly discussed in Charlotte Streifer Rubenstein’s American Women Artists, from Early Indian Times to the Present,publishedin1982,with a copyright notice and credit to Greenstein for conceiving and organizing it.370 The same photograph, taken by Maurice Blum at Stony Brook, was illustrated in Women, Art, and Education in 1984;371 Sleigh sent slides, the poster,themimeographedGuide to the “SISTER CHAPEL,”andOrenstein’s articlefromWomanart tooneoftheauthors,ReneeSandell.372Nevertheless, The Sister Chapelsoonfellintoobscurity. Despite the discord between Ilise Greenstein and Sylvia Sleigh, the reasonsforthebrieftriumphandabruptdisappearanceofThe Sister Chapel were probably less interpersonal than chronological. When the project was conceivedin1974,anumberoffeministartistswerechampioningimagerythat accessedandgaveexpressiontowomen’sexperiences,butitwouldlaterbe critiquedandsometimesderidedasessentialist.373Fundamentally,The Sister Chapelwasasearchforrolemodelstocelebratewomen’sachievementand potential.Itemergedbecauseofconsciousness-raisingandhaditssourcein theearlystagesofthewomen’sartmovement.Bythetimeitpremieredin1978, womenwerealreadybeginningtoexploremorecomplexandoftentheoretical

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approaches to making art. The optimistic and traditionally iconographic characterofthese“womenheroes”musthaveseemedsomewhatoutmoded tomanyoftheso-calledpostmodernistsoftheearly1980s.Indeed,ahintof quaintnessisalreadyfoundinCharlotteStreiferRubenstein’sdescriptionof The Sister Chapelasa“pageantoffemalepower.”374Theprojectis,however, more than a passing historical moment. One only has to stand among the toweringfiguresofThe Sister Chapeltounderstandwhycontemporarycritics laudedthisaccomplishmentandtoseewhysuchanevocativetestamentto womenisstillrelevant.AsIliseGreensteinwroteofThe Sister Chapel toher collaborators,“Itisnotinthepast,butalwaysinthepresent:sheprovidesa continuousdialoguewithwomeneverywhere.”375

Notes

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1

ThespacewasincorrectlyidentifiedasRoom406bySylviaSleigh,memorandumto“TheSister Chapelartists”[1977],typed,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers,1803–2011,bulk1940–2000,Getty ResearchLibrary,LosAngeles(2004.M.4).Installationphotographsrevealagroupoffourarched windowsalongonewall,whichisanarchitecturalfeaturefoundonlyonthesecondfloorofthe building.OthercharacteristicsofthespaceaccordwiththefloorplanofRoom206.Afterathree-year renovation,completedin1997,P.S.1wassignificantlyaltered;seeRobertaSmith,“MoreSpacious andGracious,yetStillFunkyatHeart,”ArtReview,New York Times,October31,1997.Forfloor plansandphotographsofP.S.1initsderelictcondition,seethecatalogueoftheinauguralexhibition, Rooms P.S.1, June 9–26, 1976 (NewYork:InstituteforArtandUrbanResourcesInc.,1977).

2

TheliteratureonThe Dinner Partyisfairlyextensive.SeeespeciallyJudyChicago,The Dinner Party (NewYork:PenguinBooks,1996);JudyChicago,The Dinner Party: From Creation to Preservation (NewYork:MerrillPublishersLimited,2007).

3

CynthiaMailman,interviewbyauthor,StatenIsland,NY,April6,2007,audiocassetterecording.

4

MalcolmPreston,“APantheonofWomen,”Art,Newsday,December6,1978.

5

GloriaFemanOrenstein,“TheSisterChapel:ATravelingHomagetoHeroines,”Womanart1,no. 3(Winter/Spring1977):19;AmeiWallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld—theSisterChapel’s Trinity,”Art,Newsday,January29,1978;SandraL.Langer,“TheSisterChapel:TowardsaFeminist Iconography,withCommentarybyIliseGreenstein,”Southern Quarterly 17,no.2(Winter1979):36; JoyPerla,“ShirleyGorelick:PerceptiveMasterofPortraitPainting,”North Shore: The Magazine for Living on the Gold Coast 5,no.2(February–March1981):26–7.

6

BettyFriedan,The Feminine Mystique (NewYork:W.W.Norton&Company,Inc.,1963).

7

AnitaShreve,Women Together, Women Alone: The Legacy of the Consciousness-Raising Movement (NewYork:VikingPenguin,1989),5–6.Theauthordescribesconsciousness-raisingasa“process” thatisdistinctfromthemorepoliticallymotivatedWomen’sLiberationMovement,butshealso addressesthenuancedinterrelationshipofthetwo.

8

KathieSarachild,“Consciousness-Raising:ARadicalWeapon,”inFeminist Revolution: An Abridged Edition with Additional Writings(NewYork:RandomHouse,Inc.,1978),144–5.

9

“RedstockingsManifesto,”inThe Other Half: Roads to Women’s Equality,ed.CynthiaFuchsEpstein andWilliamJ.Goode(EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:Prentice-Hall,Inc.,1971),200.

10

“RedstockingsManifesto,”200.

11

Shreve,Women Together,12.

12

IliseGreenstein,interviewbyDorothyD.Horowitz,March21,1983,audiocassetterecording, WilliamE.WeinerOralHistoryLibraryoftheAmericanJewishCommitteeattheNewYorkPublic Library.ShereferstoShulamithFirestone,The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution (New York:BantamBooks,1970).Notcoincidentally,Firestone(1945–2012)andEllenWillis(1941–2006) foundedtheRedstockingsinFebruary1969.

13

Women Choose Women(NewYork:WomenIntheArts,1973),4.Theorganizationwasincorporated in1973asWomenIntheArtsFoundation,Inc.

14

Greenstein,interview.

15

Women Choose Women,4.

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16

Women Choose Women,NewYorkCulturalCenter,NewYork,NY,January12–February18,1973. TheNewYorkCulturalCenterwasestablishedastheGalleryofModernArtonColumbusCircle in1964.ItwasoperatedastheNewYorkCulturalCenterbyFairleighDickinsonUniversityfrom 1969untilitsclosurein1975.SeeHiltonKramer,“…WhiletheCulturalCenterClosesItsDoors,” New York Times,September15,1975;GraceGlueck,“CocktailDanseMacabreMarkstheDemiseof 86), who served as CulturalCenter,”New York Times,September25,1975.MarioAmaya(1933–1986),whoservedas directorfrom1972to1975,wasinstrumentalinbringingWomen Choose Womentotheinstitution.

17

Women Choose Women,5.Asnotedbytheunnamedauthor,spacelimitationsnecessitateda reductionofparticipantsfrom500to109;shereports,however,“Theselectionwasinnovativein thesensethatallconcerned—artists,TheNewYorkCulturalCenterandartcritics—hadavoicein thefinalselection.”

18

Greenstein,interview.

19

Greenstein,interview.

20

Langer,“SisterChapel,”40.

21

Langer,“SisterChapel,”41.

22

IliseGreenstein,“WorkinProgress:TheSisterChapel—AHallofFameforWomen”[1973–74], handwrittenproposal,photocopywithhandwrittenadditions,collectionoftheGreensteinFamily Partnership.

23

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”12.

24

Wallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld.”

25

HelenMeyrowitz,telephoneconversationwithauthor,July9,2008.Sheconcludedthatit“looked prettydamngoodwhenitwasfinished.”

26

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”12.

27

Greenstein,interview.Thesameideasareexpressedinher“Statement,”August18,1976, handwrittenartist’sstatementfortheCeiling of the Sister Chapel witheditorialnotationsby LawrenceAlloway,SylviaSleighpapers.

28

AndreadalCastagno’sfrescoesoffamousmenandwomen(c.1450;Florence,Galleriadegli Uffizi),originallyhousedintheVillaCarducciinLegnaia,areregardedas“thehistoricalprototypes”forThe Sister Chapel panelsbyFolkeT.Kihlstedt,“NarrowingtheGap:AnInterpretationof RecentWorksbyMayStevens,”inMysteries and Politics(Lancaster,PA:SteinmanCollegeCenter, FranklinandMarshallCollege,1979),n.p.Initsfinalform,however,The Sister Chapel wasunlike Renaissancecollectionsofuomini famosi,whereinfamejustifiedanindividual’sinclusion.

29

Greenstein,“WorkinProgress,”collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership.Afterthe typednameofthesite,shelaterhandwrote,“opp.LincolnMemorial[Hefreedtheslaves].”The bracketednoteishers.

30

Greenstein,interview.

31

Greenstein,“WorkinProgress,”collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership.

32

EllenEdwards,“The2StrugglesofIliseGreenstein:WomanasArtist,Activist,”Art,Miami Herald, April10,1977,reportsthatGreenstein“cameupwiththeideaforthechapel”forWorks in Progress.

33

Women’sInterartCenter,“HistoryandStatementofPurpose”[c.1970],typed,photocopy, Women’s Interart Center records, 1970–81, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Women’sInterartCenterrecords,1970–1981,ArchivesofAmericanArt,SmithsonianInstitution, Washington,DC.

34

Women’sInterartCenter,“WhatisInterart?”September1971,typed,photocopy,Women’s InterartCenterrecords.

35

Erotic Garden,TheGallery,Women’sInterartCenter,NewYork,NY,March24–April14,1973.

36

“TheEroticGarden:TwelveWomenArtistsSpeak,”1973,typed,photocopywithhandwritten additions,Women’sInterartCenterrecords.

37

Works in Progress,Women’sInterartCenter,NewYork,NY,February7–28,1974.

38

Works in Progress(NewYork:Women’sInterartCenter,1974),3.

39

Works in Progress,6.

40

Works in Progress,12.

41

Greenstein,interview.

42

Greenstein,interview.

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43

IliseGreenstein,“WorkinProgress:TheSisterChapel—AHallofFameforWomen”[1973–74], handwrittenproposal,photocopywithhandwrittenletter,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers,private collection.

44

Theauthorlocatedonlytwocopies,whichareintheElsaM.GoldsmithpapersandSylviaSleigh papers.AphotocopywassenttoSandraLangerinMay1976byIliseGreenstein,whosuppliedit assourcematerialfortheauthor’sessay;seeLanger,“SisterChapel,”29n.3.

45

WomenintheArtsFoundation,Inc.,minutesofExecutiveBoardMeeting,October9,1974, photocopy,WomenintheArtsFoundationrecords,1971–1979,ArchivesofAmericanArt, 1971–79, Archives of American Art, SmithsonianInstitution.Thewordbicentennial isfrequentlywrittenasBiCentennial[sic]inthe minutes.

46

WomenintheArtsFoundation,Inc.,minutesofGeneralMeeting,October9,1974,photocopy, WomenintheArtsFoundationrecords.

47

WomenintheArtsFoundation,Inc.,minutesofGeneralMeeting,December11,1974,photocopy, WomenintheArtsFoundationrecords.The7thRegimentArmoryisalsoknownasthePark AvenueArmory.

48

WomenintheArtsFoundation,Inc.,minutesofGeneralMeeting,November13,1974,Womenin theArtsFoundationrecords.

49

IliseGreenstein,“WomenintheArtsProposalforBiCentennial,”September30,1974,handwritten, photocopy,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

50

Greenstein,“WomenintheArtsProposalforBiCentennial.”

51

JeanneParis,“2ContradictoryIdeas:WomenArtists’ExhibitonLI,”Art,Long Island Press,March 24,1974.

52

ShortlybeforeshedraftedtheWIAproposal,Greensteinmentionedthatshewas“stillworkingon SisterChapel,”whichsuggeststhatshehadbeensilentabouttheproject;IliseGreensteintoSylvia Sleigh[September1974],handwrittennoteonacopyofCentral Hall Artists Newsletter,no.2(1974), postmarkedSeptember28,1974,SylviaSleighpapers.

53

IliseGreensteintoJuneBlum,February12,1975,handwrittenletter,collectionofJuneBlum. Accordingtotheofficialminutes,“One-thirdoftheshowwouldbebyinvitationofwomenof internationalacclaim,andtwo-thirdsbysubmissionofslides;”WomenintheArtsFoundation, Inc.,minutesofGeneralMembershipMeeting,February19,1975,photocopy,WomenintheArts Foundationrecords.

54

IliseGreensteintoMiltonEsterow,November7,1980,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleigh papers.

55

Greenstein,interview.

56

IliseGreensteinandElsaM.Goldsmith,“ProposalforaSisterChapel”[firstGoldsmithdraft] [1974],handwrittendraft,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

57

IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,October31,1974,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers. Greenstein’sdraftisnotpreservedintheElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

58

GreensteinandGoldsmith,“ProposalforaSisterChapel”[firstGoldsmithdraft].The strikethroughsareGoldsmith’s.

59

Meyrowitz,telephoneconversationwithauthor,July9,2008;HelenMeyrowitztoauthor,August 6,2008.

60

JeanneParis,“AFirstonLI,”Art,Long Island Press,October28,1973.Forthehistoryofthegallery, seeConnieKoppelman,A Woman’s Place: The Central Hall Gallery in the 1970’s (StonyBrook,NY: n.p.,1996).

61

Blum,Greenstein,andGorelickwerefoundingmembers,asnotedintheirindividualentriesin Koppelman,Woman’s Place,n.p.

62

Unmanly Art,SuffolkMuseum,StonyBrook,NY,October14–November24,1972.TheSuffolk MuseumwasoneoftheMuseumsatStonyBrook,whicharenowknowncollectivelyastheLong IslandMuseum.

63

Women Choose Women,4–5.

64

Points of View: 19 Women Artists,PortlandMuseumofArt,Portland,ME,September13–November 10,1974.TheexhibitionwasaselectionofworksfromContemporary Reflections 1973–74,Aldrich MuseumofContemporaryArt,Ridgefield,CT,April21–August18,1974.

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65

RojaHeydarpour,“MurielCastanis,80,SculptorofFluidlyDrapedForms,Dies,”New York Times, November26,2006.SeealsoJudySeigel,“MurielCastanis:CinderellaoftheFuries,”Women Artists News,no.13(Summer1988):3–4.

66

ThereseSchwartz,“ThePoliticizationoftheAvant-Garde,”Art in America 59,no.6(November– December1971):97–105;“ThePoliticizationoftheAvant-Garde,II,”Art in America 60,no.2 (March–April1972):70–79;“ThePoliticizationoftheAvant-Garde,III,”Art in America 61,no.2 (March–April1973):67–71;“ThePoliticizationoftheAvant-Garde,IV,”Art in America62,no.1 (January–February1974):80–84.

67

NancyK.Ford,“ThereseSchwartz,anAmericanArtist,”Arts4All Newsletter2,no.16(LateFall/Winter 2000–2001),http://www.arts4all.com/newsletter/issue16/ford16.html(accessedMarch28,2009).

68

GordonBrown,“ThereseSchwartz,”IntheGalleries,Arts Magazine44,no.1(September/October 1969):59.Oneofthem,Bikini Pink,wasexhibitedinUnmanly Artin1972.

69

Shewas“agenuineindividualist,lessinterestedintrend-settingthaninexpressingherhighly personalvision,”asdescribedbyEleanorHeartney,“Theresa[sic]SchwartzHumphreyFineArt,” ReviewsofExhibitions,Art in America 75,no.10(October1987):183.

70

ThomasH.Kochheister,ed.,Hannah Wilke: A Retrospective(Columbia:UniversityofMissouriPress, 1989),18.Of Radishes and Flowers (1972)wasexhibitedinWomen Choose Women.

71

RichardMeyer,“HardTargets:MaleBodies,FeministArt,andtheForceofCensorshipinthe 1970s,”inWACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution,ed.LisaGabrielleMark(LosAngeles:Museumof ContemporaryArt,2007),366.

72

JohnCanaday,“Ryman’sWhite-on-WhiteOeuvre:ColorsatGuggenheim—OtherLocalShows,” Art,New York Times,March4,1972;MichaelBenedikt,“AudreyFlack,”ReviewsandPreviews,Art News71,no.2(April1972):16. Oneoftheotherexhibitedworks,Amiens Notre Dame(1971),was alsoshowninWomen Choose Women.

73

LawrenceAlloway,“AudreyFlack’sStill-LifePaintingsinthe1970s,”inBreaking the Rules: Audrey Flack, a Retrospective, 1950–1990,ed.ThaliaGouma-Peterson(NewYork:HarryN.Abrams,Inc., 1992),63.

74

QuotedinSusanP.Casteras,“BreakingtheMold:AudreyFlack’sSculptures,”inBreaking the Rules,104.Curiously,thepostureofherReceiver of the Sun (Sun Goddess) (1989–90;private collection)bearsastrikingresemblancetothatofCynthiaMailman’sGodfromThe Sister Chapel. Flack’sfigure,however,appearstodrawstrengthandpowerfromthesun,whereasMailman’s Godisthesupremebeingwhostandsastridetheuniverse.OnReceiver of the Sun (Sun Goddess),see Casteras,“BreakingtheMold,”106.

75

IliseGreensteinandElsaM.Goldsmith,“ProposalfortheSisterChapel”[secondGoldsmithdraft] [1974],handwrittendraft,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

76

IliseGreensteinandElsaM.Goldsmith,“ProposalfortheSisterChapel,”November12,1974, typed,photocopy,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

77

GreensteinandGoldsmith,“ProposalfortheSisterChapel”[secondGoldsmithdraft].The previousheading,“ContributingArtists,”wasstrickenandrelabeled“AcceptedList[of]Artists AskedtoParticipate.”Inthelist,BettyHolliday’snameismisspelledas“Holiday.”

78

Inthedocuments,BuffieJohnson’sfirstnameisconsistentlymisspelledas“Buffy.”Ronni Bogaev’ssurnameismisspelledas“Bogaez”inthehandwrittendraft.

79

Bogaev’snameisincorrectlywrittenas“Bogaez.”

80

MarthaEdelheit,interviewbyauthor,NewYork,NY,September17,2006,audiocassetterecording.

81

Onecopyisinscribed“sent”andthefollowingeightnamesarechecked:Sleigh,Holliday, Goldsmith,Blum,Marcus,Dodson,Johnson,andNeel.ThoseofGreenstein(forobviousreasons), Edelheit,andNevelsonarenot.ElainedeKooning’snameisstricken.Onanothercopy,Bogaev’s namewasaddedandcheckmarksarefoundbesidethefollowing:Greenstein,Sleigh,Holliday, Goldsmith,Blum,Marcus,Neel,andBogaev;Edelheit,Dodson,andJohnsonarenotmarked; NevelsonanddeKooningarestricken.

82

IliseGreensteinandElsaM.Goldsmith,“ProposalfortheSisterChapel,”November12,1974, typed,photocopywithhandwrittenadditions,SylviaSleighpapers.Onthiscopy,Elainede KooningandLouiseNevelsonarestricken,MarciaMarcusandAliceNeelarechecked,and Goldsmithwrote“didnt[sic]hear”totheleftofBettyDodson’sname.

83

IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,January10,1975,handwrittenletter,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

84

EdvardLieber,telephoneconversationwithauthor,March24,2009.

85

BettyJeanThiebaud,Elaine de Kooning Paints a Portrait,independentfilm,1976;quotedin LawrenceCampbell,“ElainedeKooning:ThePortraits,”inJaneK.Bledsoeetal.,Elaine de Kooning (Athens:GeorgiaMuseumofArt,1992),35.

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86

CindyNemser,Art Talk: Conversations with 15 Women Artists(NewYork:HarperCollinsPublishers, Inc.,1995),128–9.

87

EdvardLieber,telephoneconversationwithauthor,March24,2009.

88

ElainedeKooningandRosalynDrexler,“Dialogue,”inArt and Sexual Politics: Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?ed.ThomasB.HessandElizabethC.Baker(NewYork:Macmillan PublishingCo.,1973),57.

89

BettyDodson,Liberating Masturbation: A Meditation on Self Love (NewYork:BodysexDesigns, 1974),17.

90

Betty Dodson: Her Life of Sex and Art,DVD,producedanddirectedbyMarkSchoen(NewYork: DodsonSchoenFilms,2007).

91

MaryPhillips,“TheFineArtofLovemaking:AnInterviewwithBettyDodson,”Evergreen Review 87(February1971):74.

92

LawrenceCampbell,“BettyDodson,”ReviewsandPreviews,Art News 67,no.8(December1968): 16.

93

RosalindBrowne,“BettyDodson,”ReviewsandPreviews,Art News 69,no.5(September1970):14.

94

IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,February5,1975,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers.She indicatesthatsheforwardedphotocopiesofaletterfromEuniceGoldentoSleigh,Wybrants, Blum,Edelheit,Landes,Goldsmith,Neel,Holliday,Mailman,andDodson.Thelatterisnot mentionedagaininGreenstein’sextantcorrespondence.

95

JaneKogan,telephoneconversationwithauthor,January13,2009.

96

Kogan,telephoneconversationwithauthor,January13,2009.

97

JaneKogan,telephoneconversationwithauthor,February7,2009.RosalynDrexler,“Womenon TheirOwn,”New York Times,January28,1973,regardsitas“acombinationofprimitivismand surrealism;theghostsofOttoDixandRousseau,theobsessionalspiritofLindner,mustliveinher, too.”Althoughsheunderstandstheparallel,Kogan“neverlikedSurrealism.”Shewas“notatall” influencedbyRenéMagritte(1898–1967),despitesomesuperficialsimilaritiesoftheirpaintings, andisnotsurethatsheknewhisworkatthetime.

98

EllenPearlstein,“WomenChooseWomen,”Art Letter3,no.2(1973):4,notesthat“theshirtforms anunsoftanglepiercingherinnerthigh”andreferstothetruncheonas“aphallicform.”

99

Kogan,telephoneconversationwithauthor,February7,2009.Shesimply“diditwhenitfelt right.”Whenpaintingthetree,forexample,shedidnotthinkaboutithavingonlyonetypeofleaf.

100 Drexler,“WomenonTheirOwn.” 101 Art Students League News26,no.2(February1973):n.p. 102 Meyrowitztoauthor,August6,2008,explainsthatherworkwas,andcontinuestobe,focusedon women’sissuesandfeminism. 103 AnitaShapolsky,Buffie Johnson: Transcendentalist (NewYork:AnitaShapolskyGallery,2002),n.p. 104 EllenLubell,“BuffieJohnsonatPalmBeach,”ArtsReviews,Arts Magazine49,no.9(May1975):26. 105 CarterRatcliff,“BuffieJohnson,”Arts Magazine51,no.2(October1976):6. 106 Johnson’sreasonsfordecliningtoparticipatearenotknown.Heraddressiswrittenonthe photocopyofGoldsmith’stypedproposalintheSylviaSleighpapers.Shereceivedmanysuch invitationsinthe1970s,butnonehavebeenpreservedintheartist’spapers,accordingtoTracy Boyd,e-mailmessagetoauthor,June2,2010. 107 HeatherK.Burns,“HelenMeyrowitz:RevelationoftheSelf,”ArtReview,The Delphian,November 14,2001. 108 Meyrowitz,telephoneconversationwithauthor,July9,2008. 109 JeanneParis,“HelenMeyrowitz,”Art,Long Island Press,February25,1973. 110 Meyrowitz,telelponeconversationwithauthor,July9,2008. 111 GreensteintoSleigh,October31,1974.ShenotesherplanstobeinNewYorkfromNovember20 toDecember31,1974. 112 IliseGreensteintounidentifiedrecipient,December19,1974,typedletter,photocopy,ElsaM. Goldsmithpapers.Theaddress,“Dear,”isfollowedbyablankspace.Thesameletter,witha salutationto“Sylvia”inGoldsmith’shandwriting,isintheSylviaSleighpapers.

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113 GreensteintoSleigh,January10,1975.AmongGoldsmith’spapersarethecorrespondingCVs, exhibitionpostcards,andphotographsofworksubmittedbyBettyHolliday,JuneBlum,Martha Edelheit,CynthiaMailman,andSharonWybrants.Thelattertwoartistswerenotamongtheoriginal invitees,butwereevidentlyaskedforthesameitemswhentheybecameinvolvedinearly1975. 114 GreensteintoSleigh,January10,1975.Toherfriends,MarthaEdelheitisknownasMartie. 115 IliseGreensteinandElsaM.Goldsmith,“SisterChapel”[December1974],typedstatementwith pastedcorrections,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers;“SisterChapel:CostofProject(ProjectedCosts),” typedestimate,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers. 116 RobertGoldsmithwasastructuralengineeratAmman&Whitney(est.1946). 117 IliseGreenstein,untitledstatementforThe Sister Chapel,inscribed“ForElsa”[December1974], handwrittendraft,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers. 118 GreensteinandGoldsmith,“SisterChapel”[December1974]. 119 SylviaSleightoIliseGreenstein,January30,1975,typedletter,carboncopy,SylviaSleighpapers. 120 GreensteintoSleigh,October31,1974.ShereportsthatherinformationcamefromElsaGoldsmith. JuneBlum,whofeaturedMarisol’sworkinUnmanly Art,mayhavebeenoneoftheartistswho suggestedher. 121 SondraMayer,“NevelsonCaptivatesGNeck,”Great Neck Record,April12,1984. 122 HarrietF.Senie,“LouiseNevelson’sPublicArt,”inThe Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend,ed.BrookeKaminRapaport(NewYork:JewishMuseum,2007),59–60. 123 BrookeKaminRapaport,“LouiseNevelson:AStoryinSculpture,”inThe Sculpture of Louise Nevelson,19–20. 124 Inapostscript,GreensteinaskedSleighifshehadNevelson’saddress;GreensteintoSleigh, October31,1974.NoletterfromGreensteinispreservedintheLouiseNevelsonpapers,circa 1903–1979,ArchivesofAmericanArt,SmithsonianInstitution,Washington,DC. 1903–79, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. 125 IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,September21,1976,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers.The suggestionevidentlycamefromCeRoser(b.1930),anabstractpainterandco-founderofWomen intheArts.SheisidentifiedonlybyfirstnameinGreenstein’sletter. 126 Greenstein,interview.AsimilarstatementwasmadebyGreensteintoSleigh,September21,1976. 127 ThisisalsoevidentinThe Sister Chapel—A Work in Progress(late1974orearly1975),adrawing oftheinteriorbyIliseGreenstein(collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership).LikeRobert Goldsmith’srendering,itshowstwoamorphousobjectsinthecenterofthespace. 128 IliseGreenstein,“SisterChapel,”printedonthereverseoftheposterforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1 (InstituteforArtandUrbanResources),January15–February19,1978. 129 Greensteinreferredto“alternates”onseveraloccasions,whichmaypartiallyexplainthe discrepancy.Moreover,therosterofparticipantsfluctuatedin1975and1976. 130 WybrantsprovidedGoldsmithwithherCV,onwhichshehandwroteabibliographicreference fromDecember1974andthenameofarecentexhibition,The Year of the Woman,BronxMuseumof theArts,Bronx,NY,January16–February20,1975.ThissuggeststhatshebecameinvolvedinThe Sister ChapelsometimeinlateDecember1974orearlyJanuary1975. 131 Itisdesignateda“feministartgallery”intheinitialpressreleaseforsoloexhibitionsbySylvia SleighandMaureenConnor,SOHO20Gallery,NewYork,NY,October6–31,1973,photocopy, SOHO20Galleryarchives. 132 Mailman,interview. 133 Thesofa,upholsteredinapatternedfabricwithalternatingpinkstripesandfloralbands,ismost prominentinChristine (1964),Paul Rosano on Striped Sofa (1975;privatecollection),Marjorie Strider (1977),Cecile Abish (1978),andPortrait of an Actor: Sean Pratt (1994;SylviaSleighCollection,Rowan UniversityArtGallery,Glassboro,NJ).In2009,itwasreupholsteredinyellow.Coincidentally,the arrangementofthewomeninBlum’sphotographisstrikinglysimilartoSleigh’sSOHO 20 Group Portrait(1974;St.Louis,UniversityofMissouri–St.Louis). 134 ThecanvasisidenticalinsizetoonethatappearsinSleigh’sphotographicstudiesforA.I.R. Group Portrait(1977–78),whichweretakeninthesameroom.WhileitisblankinBlum’sphotographs, theoutlineofSusanKaprov’sheadcanclearlybeseeninSleigh’sslidestudiesoftheA.I.R.Gallery members.InSleigh’sandBlum’sphotographs,documenta 5 (Kassel:BertelsmannVerlag,1972)lies flatonabookshelfinexactlythesamelocation. 135 Greensteininterview.JuneBlum,conversationwithauthor,June7,2010,statedthattherewas onlyonesmallareaofherlivingroomthatwouldallowherpaintingofBettyFriedantostand upright.

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136 SleightoGreenstein,January30,1975. 137 JuneBlumtoIliseGreenstein,February6,1975,handwrittenletter,photocopy,collectionofJune Blum. 138 GreensteintoBlum,February12,1975. 139 SylviaSleightoIliseGreenstein,March15,1975,handwrittendraft,SylviaSleighpapers.She evidentlyreferstoAliceNeel,withwhomshewasbetteracquaintedthanAliceLandes.Oneofthe artistswantedtopaint“alandscapewithasmallfigureinit,”accordingtoSylviaSleigh,interview byauthor,NewYork,NY,September8,2006,audiocassetterecording. 140 Mailman,interview. 141 Theartistsrecognizedthisatthetime;seeOrenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”21. 142 GreensteintoBlum,February12,1975. 143 GreensteintoBlum,February12,1975. 144 GreensteintoBlum,February12,1975;IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,January21,1975, handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers;IliseGreensteintoJuneBlum[February1975], handwrittenletter,collectionofJuneBlum. 145 GreensteintoBlum[February1975]. 146 EuniceGoldentoIliseGreenstein,February3,1975,typedletter,photocopywithhandwritten notesbyGreenstein,SylviaSleighpapers. 147 GreensteintoBlum,February12,1975.ShealsosolicitedacontributionfromMarciaTucker, whowasvexedbyGreenstein’sfailuretoaskpermissionbeforeplacinghernameonalistof prospectiveessayists;MarciaTucker,Curator,WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt,NewYork, NY,toIliseGreenstein,January8,1975,typedletter,photocopywithhandwrittennotefrom Greenstein,SylviaSleighpapers. 148 SylviaSleightoIliseGreenstein,March17,1975,handwrittendraft,SylviaSleighpapers. 149 GoldentoGreenstein,February3,1975;JudySullivan,McGraw-HillBookCompany,NewYork, NY,toIliseGreenstein,February19,1975,typedletter,photocopywithhandwrittenpostscriptby Greenstein,SylviaSleighpapers. 150 Greensteintounidentifiedrecipient,December19,1974. 151 GreensteintoBlum,February12,1975. 152 JuneBlumtoIliseGreenstein,June8,1975,handwrittenletter,photocopy,collectionofJuneBlum. The“ArmoryShow”lackedfunding;WomenintheArtsFoundation,Inc.,minutesofGeneral Meeting,May14,1975,WomenintheArtsFoundationrecords. 153 Greensteinhandwrote“ConsciousnessRaising—YearoftheWoman1975”acrossthetopofone photocopyofherearlierproposal,“WorksinProgress:TheSisterChapel—AHallofFamefor Women.” 154 LeslieCohen,NewYorkCulturalCenter,NewYork,NY,toIliseGreenstein,February20, 1975,typedletter,photocopywithhandwrittennotefromGreensteintoAliceNeel,originally enclosedwithaphotocopyofahandwrittenletterdatedFebruary24,1975,microfilm,AliceNeel papers,1933–1983,ArchivesofAmericanArt,SmithsonianInstitution,Washington,DC.Another papers, 1933–83, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Another photocopyoftheletter,withadifferenthandwrittennotefromGreenstein,isintheSylviaSleigh papers.CohenreferstoGreenstein’soriginalletterofFebruary12,1975. 155 GreensteintoSleigh,February5,1975. 156 IliseGreensteintoAliceNeel,February24,1975,handwrittenletter,photocopy,microfilm,Alice Neelpapers.Thesamephotocopy,addressedto“Sylvia,”isintheSylviaSleighpapers.Likeher earlierinvitationtopotentialcollaborators,Greensteinleftthesalutationblank,photocopiedthe originalletter,addedindividualnames,andmailedotherwiseidenticalletterstomorethanone recipient. 157 GreensteintoNeel,February24,1975,AliceNeelpapers. 158 LeslieCohen,NewYorkCulturalCenter,NewYork,NY,toIliseGreenstein,February20,1975, typedletter,photocopywithhandwrittennotefromGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,originally enclosedwiththephotocopyofahandwrittenletterdatedFebruary24,1975,SylviaSleighpapers. ThephotocopiedletterswerealsosenttoAliceNeel(seeabove,n.154). 159 In1978,Breaking the Sex Barrier in the Visual ArtswasresumedbySandraLanger,towhomIlise Greensteingavethematerialsthatshehadalreadygathered;SandraL.Langerto“Herstorian/

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Archivist”[1978],typedletter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers.Langerattemptedtoupdatethe projectandabandonedtheoriginaltitle,butotherproblemsplaguedherefforts,asexplainedin SandyLangerto“Artist,”January18,1979,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers;SandraL.Langer toSylviaSleigh,June30,1979,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers;SandyLangertoSylviaSleigh, October13,1979,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 160 IliseGreensteintoJuneBlum[AprilorMay1975],handwrittenletter,collectionofJuneBlum. 161 BlumtoGreenstein,June8,1975. 162 Thepaperisinscribed,alongthebottom,“StudyforLilithPanelinproposedSisterhoodChapel.” Thenamesofthemodelsarewrittenbelowtheirfeet. 163 SleightoGreenstein,March17,1975. 164 Showing Off,SOHO20Gallery,NewYork,NY,September13–October7,1975. 165 JohnPerreault,“Superwoman!”Art,SoHo Weekly News,September25,1975.Healsoreviewed theconcurrentexhibitionofworksbyShirleyGorelickatSOHO20,butdidnotmentionher participationinThe Sister Chapel.Atthetime,Gorelickwasstillanalternate. 166 ThemeetingisloggedinoneofSylviaSleigh’scalendarsfor1975(SylviaSleighpapers).Thedate wasstilltentativeinlateOctober,asnotedbyIliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,October22,1975, handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers.Greensteinexpressedhergratitudeafterreceivingapoem fromSleigh;shealsopraisedanunnameddrawing,whichsheundoubtedlysawinaphotograph. Thesewereprobably“TheSongofLilith”andareproductionofSleigh’spreliminarydrawingof SusanKaprovandPaulRosano.ThelatterphotographisstillamongGreenstein’spapers. 167 Sylvia Sleigh,A.I.R.Gallery,NewYork,NY,January31–February25,1976. 168 ThomasB.Hess,“SittingPrettier,”New York Magazine9,no.8(February23,1976):62. 169 IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,February17,1976,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers.She probablysawEllenLubell,“SylviaSleigh,”ArtsReviews,Arts Magazine 50,no.6(February1976): 22.ThepaintingwasalsoreviewedapprovinglybyJohnPerreault,“TalkingHeads:Portraiture Revived,”OnArt,SoHo Weekly News,February19,1976;andPeterFrank,“SylviaSleigh(A.I.R.),” NewYorkReviews,Art News75,no.4(April1976):123.Thesepublications,however,postdated Greenstein’sletter.Contrariwise,Lilith wasdeemed“cartoony”byDavidBourdon,“WomenPaint PortraitsonCanvasandOff,”Art,Village Voice,February16,1976.Alackofunitywasobservedby Hess,“SittingPrettier,”62. 170 GreensteintoSleigh,February17,1976;IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,February17,1976, handwrittenletter,photocopywithhandwrittenletterfromGreensteintoElsaGoldsmithdated February22,1976,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers. 171 GreensteintoSleigh,February17,1976. 172 SylviaSleightoIliseGreenstein,March1,1976,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleigh papers. 173 ThisisalsotrueofthestretchersusedbyAliceNeel,MayStevens,andDianaKurz.Toprevent themfrombeingfolded,mostofthestretcherswereeventuallystabilizedwithhardware. 174 ElsaM.Goldsmith,“JoanofArcShowW.I.A.,”December11,1976,unpublishedautobiographical manuscript,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers. 175 AmongGoldsmith’spapersareseveralslides,datedMarch1976,whichshowthefull-scale study.Intwoofthem,thestudyandtheunfinishedfinalpaintingareside-by-sideintheartist’s studio.ThecommencementofGoldsmith’spaintingwasalsoreportedbySylviaSleightoAlice Neel,April22,1976,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers.Thefollowingyear,she erroneouslystatedthatherLilith andGoldsmith’sJoan of Arc werecompletedinJanuary1976; SylviaSleightoRonniBogaev,July16,1977,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers. 176 SylviaSleightoElsaM.Goldsmith,April22,1976,handwrittenletter,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers. 177 SleightoNeel,April22,1976. 178 GorelickreportedlycompletedherpaintinginNovember1976;SleightoBogaev,July16,1977. 179 IliseGreensteintoJuneBlum,May10,1976,handwrittenletter,collectionofJuneBlum.Inher letter,shereportsherplantovisitNewYorkbetweenJune1and13. 180 BettyHollidaytoElise[sic]Greenstein,June23,1976,typedletter,collectionoftheGreenstein FamilyPartnership.ShesentthreephotographstoGreenstein,whicharestillamongthelatter’s papers.WhentheartistsmetonJune22,Hollidaydistributedcopiesofthem,asnotedbyJune BlumtoIliseGreenstein,July1,1976,handwrittenletter,photocopy,collectionofJuneBlum. 181 SleightoGreenstein,March1,1976.Marcusdoesnotrecallherexactreasons,butspeculated thatthefixedsizemayhavebeenafactor;MarciaMarcustoauthor,June26,2008.Thereareno 1934–83, Smithsonian documentsconcerningThe Sister ChapelamongtheMarciaMarcuspapers,1934–1983,Smithsonian ArchivesofAmericanArt,Washington,DC.

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182 MarciaMarcus,briefdescriptionofAthena in Sounion[c.1976],typeddraftofartist’sstatement withhandwrittencorrections,MarciaMarcuspapers. 183 NoelFrackman,“TheAtticImaginationofMarciaMarcus,”ArtsMagazine 50,no.1(September 1979):80. 184 AmeiWallach,“TimeandMemory,”OnArt,Newsday,May11,1979. 185 Frackman,“AtticImagination,”81. 186 Marcus,briefdescriptionofAthena in Sounion[c.1976]. 187 Wallach,“TimeandMemory.” 188 SleightoGreenstein,March1,1976. 189 GloriaFemanOrenstein,“SisterChapel,”Womanart 1,no.1(Summer1976):31. 190 GraceGlueck,“ArtPeople,”New York Times,November5,1976. 191 GreensteintoBlum,May10,1976.ThereisnoevidencethatBogaevconsideredherselfan alternate.Infact,sevendayslater,BogaevremarkedthatsheandGreensteinwereplanningto sendrolledcanvasestoNewYork,wheretheywouldbestretchedforexhibitioninThe Sister Chapel;RonniBogaevtoSylviaSleigh,May17,1976,typedletterwithhandwrittenpostscript, SylviaSleighpapers. 192 AliceLandestoSylviaSleigh,May28,1976,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers.Thetoneof theshortletterimpliesthattherecipientwasalreadyawareofLandes’sdifficulties. 193 BettyHollidaytoGloriaFemanOrenstein,December31,1976,typedletter,photocopy,Betty Hollidaypapers,privatecollection;Glueck,“ArtPeople;”VeraGoodman,“ArtistsScaleHeights toShowOurImage,”WomenintheArts,New Directions for Women(July/August1983):8. Throughout1976,herde factopositionasprojectmanager,or“projectcoordinator”inHolliday’s words,isevidentinthesurvivingcorrespondence. 194 Greenstein,interview. 195 Greenstein,interview. 196 “What’sNewinArt,”New York Times,January14,1973;IliseGreensteinandAliceLandes, “Statement,”writtenfortheirtwo-personexhibitionattheEileenKuhlikGallery,NewYork,NY, January20–February3,1973,typedartists’statement,photocopy,collectionoftheGreenstein FamilyPartnership. 197 GreensteinandLandes,“Statement.” 198 Koppelman,Woman’s Place,n.p.;HelenMeyrowitz,interviewbyauthor,June27,2009,audio cassetterecording. 199 JoyceRosa,untitledstatementontheartofAliceLandes,printedonthebrochureforatwo-person exhibitionwithIliseGreensteinattheEileenKuhlikGallery,NewYork,NY,January20–February 3,1973. 200 Koppelman,Woman’s Place,n.p. 201 GreensteinandLandes,“Statement.” 202 Meyrowitz,interviewbyauthor,June27,2009. 203 Koppelman,Woman’s Place,n.p.Sheexhibitedinatwo-personshowwithHelenMeyrowitzin 1976;“LongIsland/ThisWeek,”New York Times,March14,1976. 204 SleightoGreenstein,March1,1976.Greensteinreplied,“Bravo!Thanksforcaringandyour excellentsuggestions.…Maureenis‘A’O.K.;”IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,March3,1976, handwrittenpostcard,SylviaSleighpapers. 205 GreensteintoSleigh,February17,1976. 206 GreensteintoBlum,May10,1976. 207 IliseGreensteintoJuneBlum,May2,1977,handwrittenletter,collectionofJuneBlum. 208 GreensteintoSleigh,February17,1976.BettyHollidaysuggested“usingmirroredplexi-glas[sic],” which“ismuchlighterthanglassandevenstronger;”HollidaytoGreenstein,June23,1976. 209 Greenstein,interview. 210 SleightoGreenstein,March1,1976. 211 GreensteintoSleigh,March3,1976. 212 SylviaSleightoIliseGreenstein,March12,1976,handwrittenletter,photocopywithhandwritten letterfromGreensteintoElsaGoldsmith,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

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213 BlumtoGreenstein,July1,1976. 214 HollidaytoGreenstein,June23,1976. 215 BlumtoGreenstein,July1,1976. 216 SylviaSleightoIliseGreenstein,September1,1976,handwrittendraft,SylviaSleighpapers. PhotographsofJoan of Arc,Frida Kahlo,andLilithwereaccompaniedbyasmallpaintedversionof GodandaminiaturedrawingofSelf-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero),asrecorded inthephotograph(Plate15).ReproductionsofBlum’sBetty Friedan Seated(seeFigure4.5)and Holliday’sMarie-Louise (Nurse) (seeFigure3.4),bothearlystudies,werealsobroughtbythe artists.Althoughthemodelwaslaterdestroyed,thereducedimageswerepreservedandarenow intheSylviaSleighpapers. 217 MaureenConnor,“BudgetforSisterChapelStructure,”June22,1976,typed,photocopy,ElsaM. Goldsmithpapers.HarryGitlinwasaninnovativelightingdesigner;see“HarryGitlin,Leaderin NewApproachestoLightingDesign,”New York Times,January30,1986. 218 GreensteintoSleigh,February17,1976. 219 GreensteintoSleigh,February17,1976. 220 The Year of the Woman,BronxMuseumoftheArts,Bronx,NY,January16–February20,1975. 221 JuneBlumtoIliseGreenstein,November28,1976,handwrittenletter,carboncopy,collectionof JuneBlum. 222 GreensteintoSleigh,February17,1976. 223 IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,May19,1976,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 224 GreensteintoSleigh,February17,1976;SleightoGreenstein,March12,1976. 225 SleightoNeel,April22,1976;IliseGreensteintoJuneBlum,June10,1976,handwrittenletter, collectionofJuneBlum;RonniBogaevtoSylviaSleigh,August27,1976,typedletter,SylviaSleigh papers;SleightoGreenstein,September1,1976;BlumtoGreenstein,November28,1976. 226 Orenstein,“SisterChapel,”31. 227 LawrenceAllowaytoIliseGreenstein,October30,1976,typedletter,carboncopy,SylviaSleigh papers. 228 BlumtoGreenstein,November28,1976.Intheletter,Blumreports,“Iamstillworkingonthe BettyFriedan(finalversion)paintingfortheSisterChapel,butnowIseetheendinginsight,and feelmuchrelieved.” 229 SleightoGreenstein,March1,1976;SleightoNeel,April22,1976.Accordingtothelatter,“Marty [sic]hasnotstartedasketchyetandCynthiahasonlyroughs.” 230 BlumtoGreenstein,November28,1976. 231 HollidaytoOrenstein,December31,1976. 232 IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,March10,1977,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 233 GreensteintoSleigh,February5,1975. 234 RonniBogaevtoSylviaSleigh,February25,1975,typedletterwithhandwrittenpostscript,Sylvia Sleighpapers. 235 SleightoGreenstein,March17,1975. 236 GreensteintoGoldsmith,February22,1976.ThevenuewasGalerie99inBayHarborIslands, Florida,whereBogaevhadsoloexhibitionsin1972,1974,1976,and1981;seeGlennA.Long,Ronni Bogaev: A Retrospective (Miami:NewWorldSchooloftheArts,1994),28. 237 BogaevtoSleigh,May17,1976. 238 RonniBogaev,“Mother”[1976],typedartist’sstatement,SylviaSleighpapers. 239 RonniBogaevtoSylviaSleigh,July5,1976,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers.OnlyBogaev’sreply couldbelocated. 240 IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,July6,1976,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 241 BogaevtoSleigh,August27,1976. 242 Long,Ronni Bogaev,7–9. 243 GriffinSmith,“ABogaevRetrospective:ALocalArtist’sBeautifulExhibitionOccasionsSome PersonalMemoriesfortheCritic,”Miami Herald,January2,1977.

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244 Smith,“BogaevRetrospective.” 245 Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”16;Smith,“BogaevRetrospective.” 246 Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”17. 247 RonniBogaevtoSylviaSleigh[December1976orJanuary1977],handwrittennote,SylviaSleigh papers.Thenoteisundated,butcontainsaNewYeargreeting.Thephotographisnolonger attachedtotheletter. 248 RonniBogaev,“StatementforImmigrantMother”[1976],typed,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers. MostofthestatementisquotedinOrenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”17.Itis reproducedhereinitsentirety. 249 BogaevtoSleigh,July5,1976. 250 BogaevtoSleigh,August27,1976. 251 Long,Ronni Bogaev,6;HelenL.Kohen,“AFittingTributeDisplayofWorksbyLateArtistBogaev toAidScholarships,”Miami Herald,September23,1994. 252 Kohen,“FittingTributeDisplay.” 253 SylviaSleightoMarthaEdelheitandRonniBogaev,February16,1977,typedletter,carboncopy, SylviaSleighpapers. 254 SylviaSleightoJack[sic]Spurlock,March29,1977,handwrittendraft,SylviaSleighpapers.The actualrecipientwasWilliamH.Spurlock. 255 SleightoEdelheitandBogaev,February16,1977. 256 WilliamH.Spurlock,Director,UniversityArtGalleries,WrightStateUniversity,Dayton,OH,to SylviaSleigh,April11,1977,typedletter,photocopy,collectionofJamieS.Gorelick.Asnotedin hisletter,Spurlockandhiswife,Charlene,hadrecentlyspentaneveningwithSylviaSleighand herhusband,LawrenceAlloway,atthehomeofMayStevensandRudolfBaranik. 257 SylviaSleightoThomasHoving,April25,1977,typedletter,carboncopy,SylviaSleighpapers. 258 LowerySims,AssistantCurator,Twentieth-CenturyArt,MetropolitanMuseumofArt,NewYork, NY,toSylviaSleigh,May24,1977,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 259 DianeGurien,MuseumofModernArt,NewYork,NY,toSylviaSleigh,May18,1977,typedletter, SylviaSleighpapers. 260 BarbaraHaskell,Curator,WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt,NewYork,NY,toSylviaSleigh,July 29,1977,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 261 JuneBlumtoThomasMesser,Director,GuggenheimMuseum,June14,1977,typedletter, photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers;WardJackson,ViewingProgram,GuggenheimMuseum,New York,NY,toJuneBlum,July12,1977,typedletter,collectionofJuneBlum.Aphotocopyofthe latter,withashortnotefromBlum,isalsoamongtheSylviaSleighpapers. 262 KathrynE.Cade,DirectorofProjectsforRosalynnCarter,Washington,DC,toIliseGreenstein, March24,1977,typedletter,collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership;JoanMondale,The VicePresident’sHouse,Washington,DC,toIliseGreenstein,November1,1977,typedletter, photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers.ThematerialssentbyGreensteintoRosalynnCartercouldnotbe located;YoulandaLogan,ArchivesSpecialist,JimmyCarterLibraryandMuseum,e-mailmessage toauthor,August9,2012. 263 SylviaSleightoIliseGreenstein,July24,1977,handwrittendraft,SylviaSleighpapers.Onan undatedlistofnotes,alsointheSylviaSleighpapers,SleighrecordedthatShirleyGorelick recommendedMylartocoverthepillarandIliseGreensteinconcurred. 264 AlannaHeiss,InstituteforArtandUrbanResources,Inc.,NewYork,NY,toSylviaSleigh,May31, 1977,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 265 SleightoGreenstein,July24,1977. 266 Atthetime,“P.S.1”wasusedasanacronymforProjectStudiosOne,abackformationthat incorporatedtheabbreviationforPublicSchool1. 267 SleightoEdelheitandBogaev,February16,1977. 268 MarthaEdelheittoSylviaSleigh[February1977],handwrittennote,SylviaSleighpapers. 269 MarthaEdelheittoSylviaSleigh,February22,1977,handwrittenpostcard,SylviaSleighpapers. 270 SleightoBogaev,July16,1977.

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271 MauriceBlumtookblack-and-whitephotographs(collectionofJuneBlum)andJohnPinnatook colorslidesforBettyHolliday(BettyHollidaypapers). 272 BettyHollidaytoSylviaSleigh,July3,1977,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 273 MarthaEdelheittoSylviaSleigh,June28,1977,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 274 Wybrantshadapparentlybegunthepaintingin1976,asreportedbySleightoNeel,April22,1976. 275 GreensteintoBlum,May2,1977. 276 RonniBogaevtoSylviaSleigh,July12,1977,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 277 SleightoBogaev,July16,1977.ThecollaboratorsmetonJuly12,asdocumentedinSleigh’s calendarfor1977(SylviaSleighpapers),buttheattendeesarenotrecorded.Theywere presumablymadeawareofthesituation. 278 RonniBogaevtoSylviaSleigh,July28,1977,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers.Bogaev’s claimwasprobablyaccurate.JuneBlum,conversationwithauthor,June20,2007,suggested thattherewasconcernovertheseatedfigurebecausetheotherswerestanding.SylviaSleigh, conversationwithauthor,June5,2008,alsoremarkedthattheseatedfigurewasinconsistentwith theothersandwouldhavebeenlargerinoverallproportion. 279 RonniBogaevtoIliseGreenstein,July28,1977,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleigh papers. 280 IliseGreensteintoRonniBogaev,August6,1977,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleigh papers.ThiswassentwithaphotocopyoftheletterfromBogaevtoGreenstein,writtenafewdays earlier(seeabove,n.279). 281 SleightoGreenstein,July24,1977. 282 HerresidencylastedfromOctober1toNovember30,1977.ThedateswereverifiedbyKarenL. Keenan,AdmissionsAssistant,MacDowellColony,e-mailmessagetoauthor,August13,2010. 283 ElsaM.Goldsmith,“SisterChapel”[c.1978],unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript,ElsaM. Goldsmithpapers. 284 IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,August6,1977,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 285 IliseGreensteintounidentifiedrecipient,November14,1977,handwrittenletter,photocopy, SylviaSleighpapers.ThedatesofhertravelswereOctober23–November14andNovember21– December2,1977. 286 IliseGreenstein,“Agenda—Dec15,1977,”December1977,handwrittenmemorandum,photocopy, AliceNeelpapers. 287 IliseGreenstein,“ThosePresentatMeeting12/15/77,”December1977,handwrittenmemorandum, photocopy,microfilm,AliceNeelpapers. 288 Greenstein,“ThosePresentatMeeting12/15/77.” 289 Greenstein,“ThosePresentatMeeting12/15/77.” 290 Sleigh,interview. 291 Sleigh,memorandumto“TheSisterChapelartists”[1977]. 292 ElsaM.Goldsmith,notesforThe Sister Chapel exhibition[1977],handwritten,ElsaM.Goldsmith papers.Usinginitialstoidentifythecollaborators,thedocumentaccuratelyreflectsthe arrangementsofboththe“Posterorderfromdoorgoingleft”andthe“PaintingHangingfromleft ofdoor.” 293 Goldsmith,notesforThe Sister Chapelexhibition[1977]. 294 Edelheit,interviewbyauthor,September17,2006. 295 MaureenConnortoSylviaSleighandLawrenceAlloway,January31,1978,typedletter,Sylvia Sleighpapers. 296 PressreleaseforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1(InstituteforArtandUrbanResources),January15– February19,1978,typeddocumentwithcorrections,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers;Publicservice announcementforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1(InstituteforArtandUrbanResources),January15– February19,1978,typeddocumentwithcorrections,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.Remnantsofthe mailingsarealsointheElsaM.Goldsmithpapers. 297 “Woman-Art-World,”Womanart 2,no.2(Winter1977–78):42;New York Times,January13,1978.In thelatter,Wybrants’slastnameismisspelledas“Wybrandts.”

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298 JuneBlum,Women’sCaucusforArt,“BusTourtoBrooklynArtists[sic]Studios,P.S.#1(Sister Chapel),CentralHallGalleryandHeckscherMuseumonSaturdayJanuary28th,”January12, 1978,typedmemorandum,photocopy,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers. 299 Goldsmith,“SisterChapel”[c.1978],unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript. 300 JuneBlumtoSylviaSleigh,December19,1977,handwrittenpostcard,SylviaSleighpapers. 301 Glueck,“ArtPeople.” 302 WhentheartistswereconsideringtheWomen’sInterartCenter,Greensteinsuggestedpainting thefloorwhite;SylviaSleigh,notespertainingtoaprospectiveexhibitionofThe Sister Chapelatthe Women’sInterartCenter[1977],handwritten,SylviaSleighpapers. 303 JuneBlum,conversationwithauthor,June3,2009. 304 Mailman,interview;DianaKurz,interviewbyauthor,NewYork,NY,September17,2006,audio cassetterecording.Thiswasalsoexpressedinformallyinconversation. 305 Kurz,interview. 306 Wallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld;”LaurieJohnston,“The‘SisterChapel’:AFeministView ofCreation,”New York Times,January30,1978. 307 Wallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld.” 308 AlannaHeiss,PresidentandExecutiveDirector,InstituteforArtandUrbanResources,Inc.,New York,NY,toIliseGreenstein,February7,1978,typedletter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers. 309 SylviaSleightoAlannaHeiss,February27,1978,handwrittendraft,SylviaSleighpapers. 310 SylviaSleightoRonaldKuchta[lateFebruaryorearlyMarch1978],handwrittendraft,Sylvia Sleighpapers. 311 MiskitAirth,ExecutiveProducer,WABC-TV,NewYork,NY,toIliseGreenstein,June12,1978, typedletter,photocopy,collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership. 312 SylviaSleightoWilliamH.Spurlock,January27,1978,typedletter,carboncopy,SylviaSleigh papers. 313 ConnortoSleighandAlloway,January31,1978. 314 NancyMaes,ProgramCoordinator,ProgramonWomen,NorthwesternUniversity,Evanston,IL, toSylviaSleigh,February6,1978,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 315 ArleneKaplanDaniels,Director,ProgramonWomen,NorthwesternUniversity,Evanston,IL, toHelenBrown,CBSFoundation,NewYork,NY,April25,1978,typedletter,photocopy,Sylvia Sleighpapers. 316 RonaldA.Kuchta,Director,EversonMuseumofArt,Syracuse,NY,toSylviaSleigh,March9, 1978,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 317 IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,February24,1978,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleigh papers. 318 JoanMondale,TheVicePresident’sHouse,Washington,DC,toIliseGreenstein,March1,1978, typedletter,collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership. 319 JuliaCoaletoBettyHolliday[March1978],typedletter,photocopy,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers. 320 “ArticlesofAssociationofSisterChapel,”1978,typeddocument,photocopy,ElsaM.Goldsmith papers. 321 IliseGreensteinto“Sisters,”April4,1979,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers. 322 USCopyrightno.VA-19-273,registeredonSeptember29,1978.Itisrecordedas“SisterChapel: Jan.15–Feb.19,1978.” 323 AdheringtotheBerneConvention,theUnitedStateseliminatedtherequirementtogivecopyright notificationin1989. 324 IliseGreensteintoWomenofTheSisterChapel,September26,1978,handwrittenletter, photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers. 325 Invitationtothepreviewofthe“SisterChapelExhibition,”1978,typed,photocopy,ElsaM. Goldsmithpapers. 326 Sleigh,interview;Kurz,interview. 327 Thecanvaseswerearranged,clockwisefromthe“entrance,”asfollows:Artemisia Gentileschi,Joan of Arc,Bella Abzug—the Candidate,Betty Friedan as the Prophet,Durga,Frida Kahlo,Marianne Moore, God,Self-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero),Womanhero,Lilith.

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328 CopiesoftheGuide to the “SISTER CHAPEL” areintheElsaGoldsmithpapers,BettyHolliday papers,SylviaSleighpapers,andanumberofothercollections. 329 ElizabethS.Boudreau,ArtGallery,StateUniversityofNewYorkatStonyBrook,StonyBrook,NY, toAllSisterChapelArtist[sic],December7,1978,typedletter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers. 330 Preston,“PantheonofWomen.” 331 MichaelHart,“9-FootPaintingsExcite—ButDoNotMove,”Three Village Herald (StonyBrook, NY),November29,1978;SusanBridson,“SisterChapelUniqueConceptinArt,”Village Times (EastSetauket,NY),November30,1978. 332 Bridson,“SisterChapelUniqueConceptinArt.” 333 Preston,“PantheonofWomen.” 334 Hart,“9-FootPaintingsExcite.” 335 Hart,“9-FootPaintingsExcite.” 336 BoudreautoAllSisterChapelArtist[sic],December7,1978. 337 TheexhibitionwasadvertisedinArt in America66,no.6(November–December1978):80. 338 PressreleaseforStudies for the Sister Chapel: Drawings and Paintings,ElizabethWeinerGallery,New York,NY,November25–December23,1978,typeddraft,SylviaSleighpapers. 339 “SisterChapel/Eliz.WeinerGallery,Nov.–Dec.1978”[1978],hand-drawndiagram,SylviaSleigh papers;LawrenceAllowayandSylviaSleightoDianaKurz,Boulder,CO,postmarkedNovember 30,1978,handwrittenpostcardwithdiagramofexhibitionlayoutforStudies for the Sister Chapel: Drawings and Paintings,ElizabethWeinerGallery,NewYork,NY,November25–December23, 1978,collectionofDianaKurz. 340 SylviaSleightoElizabethWeiner,September13,1978,handwrittendraft,SylviaSleighpapers. 341 TerryWolverton,forChrysalis,toSylviaSleigh,October6,1978,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 342 LindaPalumboetal.,“Women’sSpirituality,”Chrysalisno.6(1978):97. 343 WolvertontoSleigh,October6,1978. 344 Langer,“SisterChapel,”28–41. 345 ItisnowknownasCayugaCommunityCollege. 346 RuthA.Appelhof,CayugaCountyCommunityCollege,toSylviaSleigh,July13,1979,typed letter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers. 347 “WomenandCreativity:ACelebration(formenandwomenofallages)atCayugaCounty CommunityCollege,November2–4,”CCCCNewsBriefs[October1979],pressrelease, photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers;AndreaFusco,“CreativityThemeofWomen’sWeekend,”The Citizen (Auburn,NY),October3,1979. 348 IliseGreensteintoRuthAppelhof,September25,1979,handwrittenletter,collectionofCayuga CommunityCollegeLibrary,Auburn,NY. 349 SylviaSleightoIliseGreenstein,October20,1979,handwrittendraft,SylviaSleighpapers;Fusco, “CreativityThemeofWomen’sWeekend.” 350 GreensteintoAppelhof,September25,1979. 351 CarolContiguglia,“‘SisterChapel’ThoughtProvokingExhibit,”The Citizen (Auburn,NY), November11,1979. 352 GalleryAssociationArtTransport,receiptforpickupanddelivery,October16,1979,collectionof CayugaCommunityCollegeLibrary.Atthetime,thepaintingswerevaluedat$2,000each,except forNeel’sBella Abzug,whichislistedas$7,500.Toavoid“prohibitiveexpenses,”theartistshad earlieragreedtoauniforminsurancevaluationof$2,000each,exceptforGreenstein’sceiling, whichwasmuchlargerandvaluedat$5,000;SleightoGreenstein,July24,1977. 353 Contiguglia,“‘SisterChapel’ThoughtProvokingExhibit.” 354 MollyRudderStein,GalleryDirector,CayugaCountyCommunityCollege,Auburn,NY,toSylvia Sleigh,March18,1980,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 355 “WomenintheArtsShowatAssociated,”Herald American (Syracuse,NY),April20,1980.

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356 RichardA.Madigan,Director,NortonGalleryandSchoolofArt,WestPalmBeach,FL,toIlise Greenstein,December26,1979,typedletter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers;IliseGreensteinto SylviaSleigh,April18,1980,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 357 NellTenhaaf,AssistantCoordinator,Powerhouse,Montréal,Canada,toSylviaSleigh,May29, 1980,typedletter,SylviaSleighpapers. 358 Powerhouse(Montréal:Powerhouse,1979),n.p.Itwasincorporatedin1974asGalerieetatelier laCentraleElectrique(PowerhouseGalleryandStudio)andisnowcalledLaCentraleGalerie Powerhouse. 359 SteintoSleigh,March18,1980. 360 GraceGlueck,“WomenArtists’80,”Art News79,no.8(October1980):60–61. 361 GreensteintoEsterow,November7,1980. 362 IliseGreensteintoGraceGlueck,November7,1980,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleigh papers. 363 GreensteintoAppelhof,September25,1979. 364 IliseGreensteinto“Sisters,”December1980,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers. 365 LawrenceAllowaytoIliseGreenstein,December15,1980,typedletter,photocopy,SylviaSleigh papers. 366 See,forexample,ArleneRaven,“TheLastEssayonFeministCriticism,”inFeminist Art Criticism: An Anthology,ed.ArleneRavenetal.(NewYork:HarperCollinsPublishers,1988),233. 367 Inception,MiamiBeachJewishCommunityCenter–North,MiamiBeach,FL,October24– November29,1981.TheexhibitionwassponsoredbytheJewishCommunityCentersofSouth FloridaandtheWomen’sCaucusforArt,FloridaChapter. 368 SusanT.Goodman,ChiefCurator,JewishMuseum,NewYork,NY,toIliseGreenstein,March 15,1982,typedletter,photocopywithhandwrittenletterfromGreensteintoSylviaSleighdated April1,1982,SylviaSleighpapers.ShesentmaterialstotheJewishMuseumandtheGuggenheim Museum. 369 SusanT.Goodman,ChiefCurator,JewishMuseum,NewYork,NY,toIliseGreenstein,March15, 1982,typedletter,photocopywithhandwrittenletterfromGreensteintoShirleyGorelickdated April1,1982,collectionofJamieS.Gorelick. 370 CharlotteStreiferRubenstein,American Women Artists, from Early Indian Times to the Present (Boston:G.K.Hall,1982),377and536. 371 GeorgiaC.CollinsandReneeSandell,Women, Art, and Education (Reston,VA:NationalArt EducationAssociation,1984),44.The Sister Chapelisillustrated,butnotdiscussed. 372 SylviaSleightoReneeSandell,October12,1983,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleigh papers.Inherletter,theartistmistakenlyidentifiedMarthaEdelheitasthereplacementforRonni Bogaev,“whofailedtocomethrough.” 373 See,forexample,JudithBarryandSandyFlitterman-Lewis,“TextualStrategies:ThePoliticsofArtMaking,”inFeminist Art Criticism: An Anthology,ed.ArleneRavenetal.(NewYork:HarperCollins Publishers,1988),87–97;LauraCottingham,“AreYouExperienced?Feminism,Artandthe BodyPolitic,”inSeeing Through the Seventies: Essays on Feminism and Art(Amsterdam:G+BArts International,2000),126–31;EleanorHeartneyetal.,After the Revolution: Women Who Transformed Contemporary Art(Munich:PrestelVerlag,2007),16–19. 374 Rubenstein,American Women Artists,377. 375 Greensteinto“Sisters,”December1980.

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2 Ilise Greenstein, CeilingoftheSisterChapel Elsa M. Goldsmith, JoanofArc

Ilise Greenstein (1928–1985) (1928–85) Ilise Winderbaum, the first child of Orthodox Jewish parents, attended Hebrew school and was regularly taken by her father to pray in the synagogue; thus, she expected to become a rabbi, but learned at the age of 13 that girls could not hold such a position.1 Instead, while enrolled at Erasmus Hall High School, she turned to acting and auditioned at the BrooklynAcademy of Music (est. 1861), a non-profit institution dedicated to the advancement of the arts.2 In addition to opportunities as a radio actor,shestudiedandperformedShakespeareandRestorationcomedy.She continued her education at the FineArts School at New York University, whereherrolesasanactorwereinbothradioandtelevision.Despiteher aspirations to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, she married her fiancé, Stanley Greenstein, in 1949. The couple moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Stanley was returning to college at the Harvard Business School, “because … a man’s career, and the man’s life, wasmoreimportantthanawoman’slife,”asIliseGreensteinlaterrecalled, “Myroleandfunctionwithinmyfamilytradition,at that time…wastoget marriedandhaveafamily.”3WhilelivinginCambridge,Greensteingave birthtoadaughter,Aimee,followedonlytwoyearslaterbyfraternaltwins, RobinandSteven.Withthreesmallchildren,shelaterexplained,“Ifound outhowlimitingitwastoanykindofcareer.”4 In 1950, before her children were born, Greenstein enrolled in a painting class at the Fogg Art Museum. She was invited by her friend, Alice Landes, who later participated briefly in The Sister Chapel. Landes and her husband, Irwin, had known Stanley Greenstein since childhood. A decade later, both families were living in Great Neck and Alice Landes again asked Ilise Greenstein to take a painting class with her.5 Although she began with still life,6 Greenstein evolved an abstract stainpainting technique with a predominance of circular forms by 1963.

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2.1 Ilise Greenstein,A Particle Lives Here (1964),acrylic andoiloncanvas, 48×60in.© GreensteinFamily Partnership

Using associative titles for nonrepresentational compositions, she created workslikeA Particle Lives Here(1964;Figure2.1),whichwasexhibitedinher first solo show in Manhattan, held in 1965 at the newly openedA.M. Sachs Gallery.7Whilethecanvasisrelativelylarge,itsnamesuggestssomethingsmall andpotentiallyvital.Atthetime,JacquelineBarnitzlikenedittoa“biological cellseenunderamicroscope,”butrecognizedits“lyric”colors,“gradedfrom abrightredthroughdarkred,lavenderandpurpletoblue-black.Theviewer’s visionisthenjoltedbyastrongcontrastingorangeinthepainting.”8 TheshowattheA.M.SachsGallerywasinstigatedbyEdMeneeley(1927– 2012),whoencouragedGreensteintopaint.Asshelaterrecalled, FirsttimeImethim,helookedatmypaintingandhesaidtome,“Doyouknow HelenFrankenthaler—theworkofHelenFrankenthaler?”AndIlookedathim andIsaid,“Yes,Ido.”Hesays,“What’syourname?”Isaid,“MynameisIlise Greenstein.”Hesays,“PaintmeanIliseGreenstein.”Andhewalkedaway.Andhe camebacktwohourslaterandhelooksatmypaintingandhelooksatme,andhe said,“Iseethatyou’vecovereditup.”Andbythistime,Iwasveryfrustratedand veryangryandveryupsetandsarcastic.AndIsaid,“Whatdoyoumean?”Andhe said,“Itwassobeautiful,youcouldn’tstandtolookatit,soyoucovereditup.”… Andthatstartedarelationshipthatlastedfortenyears,withthismannurturing mytalent,believinginme.HecouldreadmethroughtheworkthatIdid.9

Althoughthisretellingpostdatedtheirencounterbytwodecades,Greenstein’s finalexpositorysentenceaccordswithstatementsthatshemademanyyears earlier.Inapressreleaseforathree-personshowin1970atSecurityNational

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BankinMassapequaPark,NewYork,Greensteinarticulatedthather“color creates a highly personaluniverse.”10Moreover, her interest instaining the canvas,alreadyevidentinthiswork,owesadebttothetechniqueofHelen Frankenthaler(1928–2011),whomGreensteinacknowledged—inthecompany of Jackson and Georgia of Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) and Georgia Georgia O’Keeffe O’Keeffe (1887–1986)—as (1887–1986)–as an an Jackson Pollock Pollock (1912–1956) (1912–56) and O’Keeffe (1887–1986)–as influence.11 This is even more apparent in paintings like Robin’s Egg (1964) andBirth (1964).Theformer,principallystainedinboldprimarieswithsubtle gradations,containsafluidbutcontrolledinterplayofdilutedpigmentsthat followsthetechniquepioneeredbyFrankenthalerintheearly1950s. ItisdifficulttoignorethesuperficialresemblanceofGreenstein’scircular forms, especially in works like A Particle Lives Here, to those of Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), one of several painters who were directly influenced byFrankenthaler.Hewasconcernedwiththeedgesofthecanvasandtheir containment of the painted area, which prompted him, between 1956 and 1963,torendercentralizedcircleswithconcentricrings.12Althoughworkslike Turnsole (1961;NewYork,MuseumofModernArt)arerelativelyhard-edged, Beginning (1958;Washington,DC,HirshhornMuseumandSculptureGarden) and others consist of slightly irregular concentric elements on unprimed canvases.Liketheso-calledWashingtonColorPainters,IliseGreensteinused dilutedacrylics.Heremphasisonthesubtlervariationsofanalogouscolors inA Particle Lives Here—purple,red,andorange—isneverthelessquiteunlike the“targets”ofNoland.Moreover,Greensteinsawsomethingexpansivein thecircularform: Acircle,apebble,andapoolofwater,makingconcentriccirclesthatgooutto infinity.Thecircle,tome,tookonalmostahumanform.Itdealtwithhumanity;it wasanabstraction.And,beingastrongmathstudent,Iwasmuchmoreinterested inabstractthantheconcrete.AndIwaslookingforuniversalforms.13

Greensteinwasgenerallydrawntonaturalprocesses,includingtheeffectsof wateronthesandandheatonthesoil,whicheventuallyfoundmanifestations inthespace,color,andtextureofherpaintedsurfaces.14 Although some works were executed on circular canvases, Greenstein’s subsequent explorations of concentricity bear a closer resemblance to Noland’s experiments with round forms. By contrast, she combined individual canvases to create assemblages that defy the strictures of the traditionalpictureplane.Dutchess(1966;Figure2.2),forexample,consistsof alargeunprimedcanvas,paintedwithMagnaandorientedonthediagonal, with smaller “projections”15 that resemble orbiting lunar satellites. Scale (1966)similarlyfeaturestwopaintingswithconcentriccircles,bothexecuted onroundcanvases.Theyhangfromalong,angledboard,affixedtoabase constructedofrough-hewnwoodthatapproximatesthefulcrumandcenter beam of a simple balance scale. Roughly parallel, the dangling canvases suggestnear-equilibrium.Someoftheartist’sallusivetitlesrefertoplaces, such as Steamboat Road (1965) and Dutchess, which identify the location of Greenstein’sformerstudioandacountyinthestateofNewYork,respectively.

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2.2 Ilise Greenstein, Dutchess(1966), Magnaon unprimedcanvas, 67½×67½in., projections5in. diameter,13½in. diameter,and7 in.diameter.© GreensteinFamily Partnership

Othersaremoregeneral,butstillreferential,asinScale andYellow Passage (1966). Greenstein’s painting–assemblage works were exhibited in 1966 at the Frederick Teuscher Gallery in New York, where Ed Meneeley also hadasoloshowthatyear.AlthoughGreensteinwas“keepingwithcurrent trends,” Jacqueline Barnitz regarded this body of work as a “transition” withunclearends:“Thetoneofthisshowisoneofuncertainty.Structural balancesareprecarious.Theartistisperilouslypoisedbetweenherformer style (in which she had attained an impressive proficiency) and her new direction.Shehasnotyetreconciledthetwo,butmustbecommendedfor searching.”16Perhapsthemostobviousoutcomeofthis“searching”wasthe expansionofGreenstein’sworkintoactualspace,whicheventuallyincluded unstretchedwallhangings,roomdividers,double-sidedorreversibletwodimensionalworks,andtheceilingforThe Sister Chapel. In1969and1970,Greenstein’sabstractionswereagainlikenedtobotanic specimens,cells,andmicroorganismsbytheNewsdaycritic,MalcolmPreston.17 Floralmotifs,asinBlue Flower Form,Bud,andDuet (all1968)areperhapsanother nod to Georgia O’Keeffe. In fact, Greenstein exhibited a painting called For Georgia O’Keefe [sic]inTwo Women(1973),ashowwithJuneBlumattheState University of New York in Stony Brook.18 Unlike her esteemed predecessor, Greensteinavoidedrepresentationalimageryandstraightforwarddescriptions.

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2.3 Ilise Greenstein, Flower Form (1967),acrylic andPlexiglas, 28×28in.© GreensteinFamily Partnership

Her large flower forms usually float in indeterminate but colorful negative spacesandhaveevocativetitles.19Greensteinfurthermanipulatedtheeffectsof herabstractfloralandfoliatemotifsbyaddingapaneoftintedbuttransparent Plexiglas,“whichconvertscolorintolight,”accordingtotheartist.20Thetitle motifinFlower Form (1967;Figure2.3),anearlyexample,waspaintedonone panel,afterwhichasheetofredPlexiglaswasmountedafewinchesinfrontof it.Thereflectiveplasticproveddifficulttophotograph,butthetransformative qualityofthePlexiglasisevidentinasnapshotthatshowsFlower Form propped against a pole on a street corner. The transparent acrylic sheet alters the appearanceofthefloralmotif,whichseemssomewhatintangibleasithovers behind the red plane. Greenstein’s composition was shown in 1969 at the 31st Annual Guild Hall Artist Members’ Exhibition,whereitwasawardedFirst PrizeforMixedMedia.21At28inches,Flower Formisrelativelymodestinsize. Behind Red (1971), on the other hand, measures 50 by 40 inches. Like Flower Form, it is a mixed media construction of plywood and aluminum, covered with tinted Plexiglas. Malcolm Preston commented on the “unifying color tonality”and“jewel-likeglow”thatresultsfromthismethodofexecution,22 while another reviewer remarked that “the red over green plexiglass [sic] situationproducesaninky,unnameable[sic]color.”23Thelatteralsoperceived amagnifiedembryonicorotherwisebiologicalmotif.Notably,Behind Redwas amongtheworksinUnmanly Art,curatedbyJuneBlumin1972attheSuffolk MuseuminStonyBrook.

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Despite Malcolm Preston’s appreciation of Greenstein’s work, which he reviewedthreetimesin1969and1970,hetwicecalledit“decorative”24andonce referredtoitas“welldoneandpleasingtotheeye.”25Atthetime,Greenstein describedherabstractionsas“organicandsensualinnature…withastrong erotic suggestion,”26 but nowhere intimated that they were ornamental. In retrospect,Preston’scharacterizationofherworkseemssomewhatbelittling. At the time, Greenstein was at the threshold of the burgeoning women’s art movement and attended her first consciousness-raising group. With the adventofsecond-wavefeminismandGreenstein’snewfoundawareness,she began to search for ways to express her “unique experiences as a woman: Physiologically, biologically, psychologically, and sociologically.”27 Ego, Id, She (1972; Figure 2.4), an abstract but vaguely foliate painting, shows the looseningofGreenstein’sbotanicassociations.Alreadyin1969,Prestonsaw herworkas“averypersonalaffair.Onemustapproachthesepicturespretty muchasonedoesaRorschachinkblot.Itisamatterofassociations.”28Hewas describingherearlierabstractions,buthisreferencetoapsychoanalyticaltool wasinadvertentlyvatic.Ifthetitle,Ego, Id, She,isunderstoodasaprogression of Sigmund Freud’s hierarchical terms—that is, the reality-based “ego” emergesfromtheunconsciousandinstinctive“id”—thenitstandstoreason that “she” is more fundamental than “id.” Greenstein’s specific meaning is not recorded, but she was explicit when asserting that her work was the resultofpersonalexperiences.Sheunambiguouslydeclared,“Ipaintmyown psyche,actingoutinpaintallthechangesinmylife,particularlysincethe women’srevolutionbegan.”29Morespecifically,shewrote,“Allmy47years livinginthiswoman’sbodywithawoman’spsycheiswithmeinmystudio whenIampaintingorinmybeingwhenIbreathe.”30Suchconnotationsare also evident in a newspaper review, in which Greenstein reportedly said, “We find our own identity. We repeat our own accidents in painting. The differencebetweengenusandgeniusistheI.YouhavetogetintothatI in ordertotranscendit.”31 Attheveryleast,Ego, Id, ShesuggeststhatGreenstein wasaccessingsomethinginherentlyfemale.Twoyearsearlier,shealsonoted thatherworkborderedonsurrealism.32 Ego, Id, SheisoneofGreenstein’sWhite Paintings,whichare,astheseries name suggests, characterized by a preponderance of white and off-white diluted acrylic forms. They are not, however, monochromatic; instead, the “colloidalshapestructures,”asPeterStroudlatercalledthem,33areachieved through subtle undertones of color.34 Stroud praised her ability “to avoid the ‘pool and puddle’ excesses of so many of her contemporaries” and explainedthatthepredominantlywhitepaintings“requireaperceptualeffort to experience them fully.”35 The “highly controlled” process by which she achievedtheseeffectswaselucidatedinareviewbyGriffinSmith,whowrote, Ms.Greensteinworkswet,firstscrubbinghergroundsurfacewithawater tension-breaker(adropofIvoryliquidperbucketofwatersothatthecanvasdoes notresistthepaint),thenaddingdilutestainsofacryliccolor,whichshe“moves” withaninfinitesimalamountofturpentineorbenzenetocreateanedgeorform.

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(Thismustbedonewithextremecare becausethelittleexplosionsofthe processareinasenseanabdicationof controlbytheartist.)Resultsarenot accidental.Aslongasthepaintisthin andwet,itcanbe“erased”andnew formscreated.36

Through this process, Greenstein realized the subtle interaction of forms in works like Alpha (1971– 72), a painting with bulbous shapes and faint transitions that only emerge fully when the work iscarefullyexamined.Alpha isthus a suitable title because the forms seem to be in the initial stages of congealment. Stroud regarded Greenstein’s White Paintings as somewhat detached from the viewer and indicated that they were the final works before she “became increasingly involved in the search for a particular female imagery.”37 Nevertheless, with titles like Alpha, In the Beginning, and Ego, Id, She, it seems evident that Greensteinhadalreadybeguntoexploreitintheearly1970s. Besides her commitment to the women’s movement in 1969, that year marked another change. According to Greenstein, “I became aware of the formality of the stretched canvas. So whenever I felt it necessary I worked withoutthelimitationofthestretcher.Thisfreedme!Ceiling,floor,walland freehangingpanelsmeanttobecirclesfollowed.”38Around1973,shebegan to create “clothesline” compositions, such as Strung Out (1973), which was clipped to the wall and draped in a manner reminiscent of Sam Gilliam’s canvasesandRobertMorris’s“felts.”Greensteinthusexploredthepossibilities of uncontained painting. She also contemplated the notion of the picture planeandthegeometricrealitiesoftherectangle.If a Line is the Edge of a Plane Then This Canvas Has 6 Sides(1975;Figure2.5),whichispinnedtoaclothesline likeasheethungouttodry,ismeanttobeexhibitedsothatviewerscansee itintheround.Inthiscase,however,shestenciledthetitularphraseinhuge majusculelettersacrossthelargerpartoftheabstractlypaintedsurface.Other worksoftheperiodthatinteractwithspace,inonewayoranother,include The Painted Curtain (c. 1974), which is meant to be seen from both sides; The Scroll (1976),withafringedloweredgeandmountedonawoodenspindle alongthetop;andYellow Pole (1976),aroomdividerthatisaffixedwithrings toafinial-tippedcurtainrod.Moreover,theseexpansionsofpictorialspace coincidewithherworkontheceilingforThe Sister Chapel.

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2.4 Ilise Greenstein,Ego, Id, She(1972), acryliconcanvas, 60×50in.Private collection.© Greenstein Family Partnership

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2.5 Ilise Greenstein,If a Line Is the Edge of a Plane Then This Canvas Has 6 Sides(1975), mixedmedia oncanvaswith clotheslineand fourclothespins, 80×56in.© GreensteinFamily Partnership

Her Idea Grows: Study for a Ceiling Work(1973–74;Figure2.6)wascompleted byMarch1974,shortlyafterGreenstein’swrittenconceptforThe Sister Chapel was exhibited on notecards in Works in Progress at the Women’s Interart Center. The study was photographed on the floor in front of Greenstein’s 80-inchcanvas,A Woman’s Space—A Circle in a Circle(1973;privatecollection), whenthetwoworkswereshowninhersoloexhibitionatCentralHallArtists GalleryinMarch1974.39Her Idea Growsisanarrangementofninehorizontal bands,sevenofwhichareconfiguredinparallelrowswhiletwoareoriented verticallyalongtheleftandrightsides.Inthecornersaresmallerelements. The peripheral and centermost rectangles are painted abstractly; the others arerenderedschematically.Thoseontheperimeterareinscribedbytheartist and each represents an idea associated with The Sister Chapel: “A Return to Grace,” when men and women “have risen to a new Humanness” (left); a “centralspacetocoverthehistoryofwomankindfromEvetothepresent” (right);a“quaternity”of“lyricalpassageson[the]perimeters”(bottom);and an“Alternatepanel”concernedwith“spaceandtime”(top).Inthecorners, she noted possible textural and conceptual juxtapositions (upper left); the potential use of colored light (upper right); prospective colors, especially siennaandumber(lowerright);andtheproblemofsuspendingtheceiling (lower left). Each of the corner potentialities is “illustrated” by an object: a scrapofjute(texture),yellowplasticsunshades(coloredlight),asmallcanvas with paint samples (proposed colors), and a piece of string (suspension).

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2.6 Ilise Greenstein,Her Idea Grows: Study for a Ceiling Work (1973–74),mixed mediaonpaper, 46×35in.© GreensteinFamily Partnership

Theceilingultimatelyincorporatedtheideaofa“quaternity”toconveythe cycleofawoman’slife.Evewasabandoned,aswasthelatentreconciliation of male and female. The latter was, on a certain level, addressed by Sylvia Sleigh’shermaphroditicLilith. Greensteinalsoexecutedarectangularcomposition,A Study for the Ceiling of the Sister Chapel(1973–74;Figure2.7),whichiscoloristicallysimilartoher White Paintings.Itcontainsasmallcircularmotifakintooneoftheschematic portions of Her Idea Grows.An outline of a circle, a tracing of a protractor, andagriddedarealikewiseresembleelementsinHer Idea Growsandseem to reinforce the contrast between geometric and organic forms. Near the center,vaguelypiscineandreptilianmotifsmaterializeamidthefluidareas of pooled pigment. In the lower left, Greenstein inscribed the title and the names Leonardina and Michaelangelina, an apparent reversal of gender for the celebrated Renaissance masters, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Another preparatory work, executed as a roughly circular canvas with collage,isCeiling Work: Study for “The Sister Chapel”(1974;Figure2.8),which measuresone-thirdthediameterofthefinalpainting.Theformsweremeant to be universal, with “a small mirrored center representing the sun, which

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in turn is life, and life is woman.”40 The full spectrum is included, with particularemphasisonyellow,orange,andred.Intermsofcolor,thisstudy isclosesttotherectangular“sketch”ontherightsideofHer Idea Grows.Itis nocoincidencethatthecolorfulstripconveysGreenstein’sideaforanabstract history of women that begins with Eve. Her initial proposal for The Sister Chapelanticipateda“dometodepicttheactofcreationwithEveinit.”41She briefly contemplated an abstraction of “the seasons with a figurative artist perhapsdoingEvefromBlacktoWhitethruallshadesofcolor.”42Whenthe projected “quaternity” of sculptures by Louise Nevelson was disapproved byhercollaborators,Greensteinreconsideredthecontentoftheceilingand it became a nonrepresentational allusion to “the seasons in a woman’s life frombirthtodeath;sunrisetosunsetexpressedmetaphorically,”43featuring a cooler palette of violet, blue, green, and yellow. In her statement for the premiereofThe Sister Chapel,Greensteinfurtherexplained, Thepurposeoftheceilingwork,whichIconsideraparadigmandmetaphorof thehumanexperienceaslivedbyawomanpainter,istoelevatethecontribution ofwomeninoursocietytoapointofequality.Thedistaffsidewillbeencouraged toagreaterlifeeffortandincreasedparticipationinconvertingtheproblemsof oursocietyintobeneficialprojects.44

Theactual18-footCeiling of the Sister Chapel(Plate3)isconstructedoftwo roughly semicircular canvases, each comprising a nearly-equal half, with fourtriangularcanvasfragmentscollagedaroundthecentertoformasmaller square.Whenjuxtaposed,thearcsoftheirinnersidescreateasuperellipse that circumscribes a painted yellow circle, which frames the mirror. The enormousceilingwasexpectedtohangabovethefigurativepaintingswith only small gaps to separate it from them vertically and horizontally. Its diameteristwicetheheightoftheotherpaintings;thus,theinstallationis proportionateoverall.Moreover,boththe18-footdiameterofGreenstein’s ceilingandtheeventtomarkitsphysicalcreationweretiedtotheartist’s Orthodox Jewish background. In mystical numerology, the Hebrew word chai (“living”) totals 18; in the system of gematria, its two letters, chet (‫)ח‬ andyod(‫)י‬,areeightandten,respectively.IliseGreensteinalsonotedthat thecabbalisticnumberforherfirstnameis18.45Toinauguratetheceiling, sheinvitedherstudentstoapaint-pouringceremonyonMay12,1976,at her studio, a 4,000-square-foot space with no water or electricity that she waspermittedtouseforonemonth,althoughhertenancywaseventually extended to three (Figure 2.9).46 Greenstein and the attendees chanted a Hebrew prayer to the creator in gratitude for “having lived to reach this timeandplace.”47Eighteenindividualssignedthevastcanvas,48afterwhich each person “poured three cups of white paint … into the ceiling—gold white,pearlwhite,andunadornedwhite.”49AsBettyHollidaylaterwrote ofGreenstein,“Itisnoaccidentthatthecircle(whichisendless)andwhite (which is the sum of all colors) have concerned her …Aspiration is what she is about and her search for aesthetic purity verges on mysticism.”50

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2.7 IliseGreenstein,A Study for the Ceiling of the Sister Chapel(1973–74), acrylicandmixedmedia,48×36in.©GreensteinFamilyPartnership

2.8 IliseGreenstein,Ceiling Work: Study for “The Sister Chapel”(1974), acryliconcanvas,72in.diameter.©GreensteinFamilyPartnership

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2.9 Ilise Greenstein paintingCeiling of the Sister Chapel inherstudio inAventura, FL(1976).© GreensteinFamily Partnership. Greenstein’s Ceiling Work: Study for “The Sister Chapel” (Figure2.8)ison thewallinthe background

The ceiling was completed in early July.51 Her plan to include a central five-foot circular mirror was thwarted by the insurmountable problem of supportingitsweightinatemporaryinstallation.Instead,asheetofMylar was used to create a reflective surface, although it was unsatisfactorily wrinkled when affixed to the ceiling at the inaugural exhibition of The Sister Chapel at P.S.1. When the ceiling appeared in Wash Art ’79 at the National Armory in Washington, DC, the distortions in the Mylar were less obvious. Greenstein, the only artist “to make use of air space” at Wash Art ’79,52 exhibited the ceiling to gain support for the creation of a permanentstructureintheDistrictofColumbiatohouseThe Sister Chapel.53 In addition to the Ceiling of the Sister Chapel, Greenstein exhibited seven rhomboidkitesfromherArt is a LanguageseriesatWash Art ’79 (Figure2.10). Art is a Language emphasizes the components of abstract painting, which Greensteindefinedstraightforwardlyascolor,form,line,andspace.Heruse of kites, “the playthings of dreamers, of idealists who would grapple with the wind second-hand,” reveals her emphasis on “art as total feeling,”54 as wellashercontinuingnontraditionalapproachtothecreationofpaintings. Further,theinclusionofaluminumandglitter, whosescintillatingproperties are more often associated with crafts than fine art, reinforces the idea that the“language”ofartisnotnecessarilyrestrictedtoconventionalmaterials. Greenstein conceived Art is a Language as The Sister Chapel was coming to fruition; thus, the unstretched, freely hanging kites suggest liberation, “the theme of freedom for women,” as Rhett Delford Brown described them.55 As early as 1972, when she executed Any Child Can as part of her series of

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White Paintings(Figure2.11),Greensteinwas concerned with the principles upon which abstract painting is based. On that canvas, she labeled areas of Aquatec burnt sienna, Permanent Pigments Payne’s gray, pearl white, gold white, and Aquatec titanium white.56Inthelowerrightcorner,Greenstein printed HERE ARE THE COLORS—DO IT YOURSELF—ANY “CHILD” CAN. The use of quotation marks around the word child seemstoimplythatanyoneuntrainedinthe waysofartcanindeedlearnwiththeproper instruction. By February 1976, Greenstein anticipatedthepublicationofabook,likewise titledArt is a Language,57whoseprinciplesare articulatedinherkiteseriesofthesamename. Her unrealized 23-page text was intended to educate children about the essentials of art. The surviving template shows that she planned to include photographs of her own paintingstoillustratetheconcepts.Herbook wasintendedtoopenwiththefollowing: ARTISALANGUAGE AVISUALLANGUAGE IT’SNOTWRITTENORSPOKEN IT’SSOMETHINGYOUCANSEE ARTHASANALPHABET JUSTLIKEABC THEABC’SOFARTARE– COLOR FORM LINE SPACE ONCEYOULEARNTHEALPHABETOFART YOUCANSEEBETTERANDBETTER58

2.10 Ilise Greenstein, Kite (“Art is a Language”) (1978),fromthe seriesArt is a Language,acrylic andaluminum powderon canvas,100 ×100in.© GreensteinFamily Partnership

Although the book was never finished, Greenstein’s ideas persist in her paintings,aswellasasongwrittenwithherdaughter,Robin.59 In1981,aretrospectivewith27workscoveringan18-yearperiod—another allusion to the aforementioned numerology—was mounted at the Art and CultureCenterofHollywoodinFlorida.Full Circlewasaccompaniedbyan orbicularcatalogue,inwhichGreensteinwrotethatthetitle“impliesanend aswellasanewbeginning.Inmyendismybeginning.‘Itwillbeinteresting toseewheretheartisttakesusnextinherworldofvisualexperience,and worth watching for.’”60 The final quotation was borrowed from the first substantivereviewofherpaintings,writtenbyJacquelineBarnitzin1965.61

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2.11 Ilise Greenstein, Any Child Can (1972),acrylic andaluminum powderon canvas,50×60 in.©Greenstein Family Partnership

Regrettably,Full Circlewastobeherlastartisticmilestone.Fouryearslater, aged 56, Greenstein succumbedto a rare form of thyroid cancer only three months after her symptoms began,62 leaving incomplete her two major projects, The Sister Chapel and Art is a Language. Robin Greenstein recalled hermother’sexuberanceandzestforlifein“SlowBurn,”asongthatisboth a tribute and a lament.63 Ilise Greenstein’s death deprived The Sister Chapel of its tireless promoter and the arts community of a dynamic personality. Family members, colleagues, and reviewers frequently noted Greenstein’s ebullience, talkativeness, and unreservedness.64 Betty Holliday, with whom shestudiedpaintinginthe1960s,succinctlystated,“…Icanseethatfromthe beginningshesimplyputallofherselfintowhatshewasdoingwithatotality ofcommitmentwhichistheessenceofherpersonalityandofherwork.”65

Elsa M. Goldsmith (1920–2005) In the 1960s, both Ilise Greenstein and Elsa Goldsmith were residents of GreatNeckand,formanyyears,rentedneighboringstudiosat103and105 SteamboatRoad,respectively.66Asmallgroupoffourorfivewomen,which also included Alice Landes, leased three empty stores that were located “in the black area,” as described by Greenstein.67 While the latter’s work is predominantly nonrepresentational, Goldsmith was drawn to figures,

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especially those which convey humble aspects of humanity. Despite their divergent approaches to art, the two exhibited together in 1970 at Gallery PotpourriinSt.James,locatedtotheeastofGreatNeckinSuffolkCounty.68 Bothadvocatedfortherecognitionofwomenartists,whichledthemtojoin WomenintheArts(WIA),whereGoldsmithservedasamemberoftheboard andGreensteinwasoneofthetreasurers.69Goldsmithalsobecameinvolved with a number of other arts organizations, most notably the National Association of Women Artists (N.A.W.A.). As “Chairman” of its Foreign Exhibits committee in 1971–72, she met with the frustrations of organizing thelatestinternationalexhibitionofmembers’workinFlorenceandNaples.70 Her diligent efforts were undeterred by the Florentine mayor’s reversal of hisagreementtocoverthecostsofhangingtheexhibitionandasubsequent strikethatpostponedtheshow’sNeapolitanopeningbyfourdays.71Under the auspices of the International Association of Art (IAA), Goldsmith also served as a US delegate to the sixth and seventh International Congresses ofArt in Varna, Bulgaria (1973), and Baghdad, Iraq (1976), respectively. To attendthelatter,shewascompelledtoresignherpositionasarepresentative of N.A.W.A. because that organization objected to “existing conditions in Iraq”andorderedtheirmember-volunteers“towithdraw.”72Soonthereafter, WIAjoinedtheIAANationalCommitteeandappointedGoldsmithasoneof their representatives.73 The artist’s explanation for this turnabout was quite simply that she “was particularly interested in investigating the problems and activities of international women artists (there are very few women delegates)” and her participation “was more effective on every level than havingstayedaway.”74 Notwithstanding her steadfast advocacy on the part of women artists, Goldsmith infrequently adopted overtly feminist subjects in her work. The majority of her paintings, drawings, and prints depict lone figures, both femaleandmale,ofteninmomentsofquietude.75Time Out (1964–65;Figure 2.12),forexample,featuresanoff-centeredmanwithabroomwhocasually sits on a simple stool and faces the door of the artist’s studio. The model, whom Goldsmith identified as an octogenarian named William O’Neil,76 is as understated as his modest surroundings. This is partly a result of the artist’spreferenceforrawumber,olivegreen,andgradationsofgray.77The painting is also characteristic of Goldsmith’s realistic representation of the figureinanenvironmentthatdissolvesintoabstractgeometricshapes.Her compositions of this period were, perhaps unsurprisingly, likened to those ofEdwardHopper(1882–1967)andAndrewWyeth(1917–2009).78Thiswas trueofDoors Within(1965–66),aninvertedglimpseofGoldsmith’sseemingly noiselessstudiointerior,composedmainlyofrectangularpatchesofmuted color. The open door suggests an extension of space, which emphasizes the sense of isolation. Other works are, nevertheless, more abstracted and less comparable to the paintings of her predecessors. O’Neil #4 (1964), one of a series based on her aforementioned model, shows him seated on the same stool, but he is positioned in three-quarter view and holds a book.

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2.12 ElsaM. Goldsmith,Time Out(1964–65),oil oncanvas,40× 50in.Courtesyof theEstateofElsa M.Goldsmith

Executed mainly in yellows and pale gray, the model’s environment is composed of predominantly rectangular shapes. This “semi-abstract”79 paintingwasselectedbythejuryofN.A.W.A.forsubmissiontotheSalonof theIVes Semaines Internationales de la Femme,heldin1969atCannes,France, whereitwasawardedthegrand prix international de peinture figurative.80 In addition to nearly a dozen works that feature the elderly William O’Neil, Goldsmith created an equal number of paintings, drawings, and prints on the themes of a walking middle-aged woman and a seated old woman in a kerchief. Walking Happy (c. 1969) and several drawn, painted, andetchedvariantswereinspiredbyanewspaperphotographofanambling farmworkerwithatetheredcow.81Insomeworks,Goldsmitheliminatedthe woman’sbroad-brimmedhat,butsheentirelyrejectedtheoriginallandscape and bovine. The strolling figure, content in her isolation, is well-suited to Goldsmith’s repertoire; nonetheless, she was an unusually lively choice for an artist whose works were praised for their “reality in repose rather than in action.”82 From the Old Country #1 (1972–73), which was similarly based onaphotograph,isfromaseriesthatincludesthreeeaselpaintings,aConté crayondrawingonlinen,andanintaglioprint.Theworksvaryinsize,color, orientation,andcomposition,buteachincludesthescarfedheadandwizened face of an old woman. Whereas the original photograph shows her raised right hand, the artist replaced it with negative space in her half- and fulllength depictions. The figure and ground, therefore, more subtly interact,

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aqualityofGoldsmith’sworkthatwasbothlaudedanddecriedbyreviewers at the time.83 From the Old Country #1 is almost achromatic and shows the greatestcompositionalrestraintoftheseries.Thewoman’sheadandupper body seem to materialize gradually from the expanse of unembellished canvas.Indeed,From the Old Country #1 revealstheartist’sabilitytocreatea figurethatissimultaneouslyevocativeandunderstated. Goldsmith’s predilection for depicting fortitudinous ordinary people accordswithherdecisiontorepresentJoanofArcforThe Sister Chapel.Her interestswere,however,notlimitedtoportrayalsofmatureadults.Inthe years preceding her involvement with The Sister Chapel, Goldsmith was inspiredtocreateagroupofvaguelyhistoricizingfigurativeworks,whilea numberofotherscapturetheessenceofyouth.Bothinform,albeitsomewhat indirectly, her monumental painting of the fifteenth-century teenaged heroine, Joan of Arc. In a review of Goldsmith’s solo exhibition at the CollectorsGalleryinManhasset,NewYork,JeanneParisnotedthatMorning and Afternoon (1965–66; Figure 2.13) “has the classic qualities of figures in a Greek tragedy,”84 although one woman’s garment also approaches the generalshapeofatrumpet-sleevedgownwornoverafarthingale.Beforea backgroundofrectangulararchitectonicforms,theartistplacedtwoviews ofthesamefemalemodel,eachdrapedinvoluminousfabrics.Timeless Three (1965–66), in which a trio of women wear costumes reminiscent of tunics and hose, similarly hints at the bygone era of feudalism. The connection betweentheseworksandJoan of ArcwasunderscoredbyGloriaOrenstein, who remarked that Goldsmith’s monumental figure “resembles many young women of today who dress with a certain ‘medieval look.’ These women reminded Elsa Goldsmith of Joan of Arc, and she saw them as possibleheroines.”85Three of Yore(1971–73),aslightlylatercompositionof greatercolorandcomplexity,likewisefeaturesagroup—inthiscase,men, all based on the same model—whose garments more closely approximate their medieval sources; Goldsmith enhanced the association by adding lance-likepoles.86Inaratherdifferentsingle-figurepainting,Long Ago and Far Away (c.1971–72;Figure2.14),sheemployedthesamerodandmodel, but dressed him in an unpretentious fringed shirt, limited her palette to earth tones, and situated the figure against a nebulous background that evokes a landscape; thus, he seems to be a humble, introspective youth whoissomehowtemporallyremote,asthetitleimplies,yetpsychologically proximate. For several years, Goldsmith focused on the feelings and experiences of youngpeople,asevincedbythewistfulmaninLong Ago and Far Away,but she often relinquished the quasi-historical trappings of a nonspecific past. Theartistparticularlyfavoredganglingyoungmenwhoweretransitioning to adulthood.87According to her, “The way they sat and moved interested [me]morethantheirfaces.”88Thought (1968;Figure2.15),whichwasawarded the Famous Artists Schools Inc. Prize at the annual N.A.W.A. exhibition in 1970,89 portrays a long-limbed youth in ill-fitting clothes who rests his

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2.13 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Morning and Afternoon(1965–66),oiloncanvas,36×48in. Privatecollection.CourtesyoftheEstateofElsaM.Goldsmith

2.14 ElsaM.Goldsmith,Long Ago and Far Away(c.1971–72),oiloncanvas,50×40in. CourtesyoftheEstateofElsaM.Goldsmith

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head on one hand. The timehonored pose denotes pensiveness and the garments underscore his pubescent awkwardness. Similar to the ambiguity of her “medieval” paintings, Goldsmith positioned the contemplative young man in a nondescript location, accoutered withapail,pole,andsimpleslat-back chair. His brimmed hat, checkered shirt, and dungarees contribute to the overall effect of the painting, but a straightforward narrative is absent. Goldsmith explored several subtlevariationsonthismotifinoil, pastel,andlithography,whichisnot unusual in her oeuvre. Related in theme is On the Threshold (c. 1970– 73), a three-quarter-length painting of a young man who leans against a doorsill, as if to pictorialize his adolescentliminality.Acanvasofthe same dimensions, Brave New World (c. 1970–72; Figure 2.16), depicts a young woman who pauses, with onehandonachairandtheotherholdingabag,infrontofamountainous landscape.Withanupwardglance,sheevokestheeagernessofayouthfuland idealistictravelerwhoispreparedtoconquertheunknown,assuggestedby thetitle.90Consideringitsdate,91itistemptingtoreadGoldsmith’spaintingas ametaphoroftheburgeoningsecond-wavefeminism.92Regardless,Brave New World,Thought,andanumberofotherworksbyElsaGoldsmithinvesthumble subjectswithagravity,dignity,andmonumentalitythatshecharacterizedas “humanisticrealism,”93adesignationthatalsoappliestoJoan of Arc. When asked to contribute a painting to The Sister Chapel (Plate 13), Goldsmith selected “without giving giving it it another another Goldsmith selectedJoan Joanof ofArc Arc(c. (c.1412–1431) 1412–31) “without thought.”94Onseveraloccasions,sherepeatedoralludedtothisexplanation ofherunpremeditatedyetdefinitivedecisiontodepictthefifteenth-century Pucelle d’Orléans.95Shealsoprofferedthefollowinganecdoteofanepiphanic momentthatrevealedhersubconsciousimpulsetoportrayJoanofArc:

2.15 ElsaM. Goldsmith, Thought(1968),oil oncanvas,40× 30in.Courtesyof theEstateofElsa M.Goldsmith

Ididn’treallyknowwhyIselectedheruntiloneday,oneofmyfriendswas chidingmeaboutmymanyattemptstohelpchangethesceneforartistsand womeninparticular.“Look,”shesaid,“Youjustcan’tgoaroundandbeaJoanof Arc.”“Gee,thanks,youjustsolvedsomethingforme,”Ianswered—NowIknow whyIselectedtodoher.96

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2.16 ElsaM. Goldsmith,Brave New World(c. 1970–72),oilon canvas,48×24 in.Courtesyof theEstateofElsa M.Goldsmith

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Goldsmithrecordedthestory,withslight variations, in her artist’s statement on the poster for the premiere exhibition of The Sister Chapel. While the underlying motivation may have escaped the artist until a friend inadvertently enlightened her,JoanofArcunequivocallyenteredher oeuvrebyApril1974.97Itseemslikelythat hersmalllithograph,alternatelycalledFaith andJoan of Arc (1974;Figure2.17),resulted from preliminary conversations with Ilise Greensteinabouttheinchoateprojectthat became The Sister Chapel. Goldsmith later stated that her various representations of Joan of Arc, including the print, were executed in the one-year period before sheexhibited themat WomenintheArts Foundation in December 1976; she also reported that it took nearly that long to beginworkafterdecidingonhersubject.98 The lithograph, however, demonstrates that she had chosen Joan ofArc by early 1974,shortlyafterGreensteinshowedher concept for The Sister Chapel in Works in ProgressattheWomen’sInterartCenter. Goldsmith’s lithograph provided the pose for the monumental Joan of Arc. Her eyes are gently uplifted and she holds her folded hands to her breast. Unlike the large painting, the print shows her in profilewithoutatraceoflocale.Consistent withmanyofGoldsmith’sotherworks,the lithograph contains a single figure in an undisturbedmoment,whichsherepeated inthecanvasforThe Sister Chapel.Inaradiointerview,theartistexplained thatshefoundheroriginalmodel,purelybychance,inalocalbeautyparlor, wherethewomanwasemployed.ShesatforGoldsmithattheoutset,butwas unavailablebythetimeshewasreadytopaintthefull-scaleJoan of Arc,sothe artistreliedonhermemory,focusinglessonthemodel’sappearanceandmore on making “a statement about feelings about this woman [Joan of Arc].”99 Astudyforthefigure’shead(c.1974–75;Figure2.18),drawnoncanvas,was evidentlybasedontheunnamedwomanfromthesalon.Theshorthairstyle accordswithJoan of Arc,butthesitter’scollarismodernandherfeaturesare moreindividualizedthanthoseofJoaninthefinalpainting.Acomparison ofthestudyandthefinishedworkelucidatesitsunsuitabilityasaprototype.

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2.17 ElsaM. Goldsmith, Faith(1974), lithograph,12½ ×6in.(image). Courtesyofthe EstateofElsa M.Goldsmith

Thewoman’sheadispositionedatadownwardangle,hermouthisclosed, and her eyes are somewhat downturned. In order to convey Joan of Arc’s clairvoyance, Goldsmith repositioned her head in the final painting; her shadowyeyesgazeheavenward,hernoseisupturned,andherlipsareslightly parted. The Maid of Orléans seems to be hearing, but also listening. The unfocusedglanceandopenmouthhadalreadybeenusedtogreatadvantage inthenineteenthcenturybyFrançoisRude(1784–1855),althoughhisoverall conceptionofJoan of Arc Listening to the Voices(1852;Paris,MuséeduLouvre) isquitedifferent.Hedepictedherwithdowncasteyes,atiltedhead,andone handliftedtoexpressherauralexperience.ItisunclearwhetherGoldsmith was familiar with Rude’s sculpture, but the two artists, separated by more than a century, found successful ways of representing the elusive auditory encounterthatevenJoanofArcdeclinedtodescribewhenquestioned. Elsa Goldsmith had a twofold reason for the delay that led her to re-envisiontheheadofJoan of Arc.Firstly,thesizeofthepaintingpresented aproblembecauseshehadneverworkedonsuchalargescale;secondly, shehadsurgerytoremoveacancerouslungtumor,afterwhichshebroke her foot on the way to visit her hospitalized husband, Bob, who was also ill.100 When Goldsmith finally commenced work on Joan of Arc, she began withsmallercompositions.Inherpreparatoryandalliedrepresentationsof theFrenchheroine,sherejectedtheprevalentimageofherinarmor,asin

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2.18 ElsaM. Goldsmith,Head Study for “Joan of Arc”(c.1974–75), coloredpencil andwashon canvas,40×30 in.Courtesyof theEstateofElsa M.Goldsmith

Jean-Auguste-DominiqueIngres’swell-knownoilpainting,Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII in Reims Cathedral(1854;Paris,MuséeduLouvre). Goldsmith’sconceptionoftheMaidofOrléansisclosertothehumblefigure andrurallandscapeinJulesBastien-Lepage’sJoan of Arc(1879),whichshe could easily have seen. It was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Artin1889andappearedinImpressionism: A Centenary Exhibitionbetween December 1974 and February 1975.101 Regarding her decision to avoid militaryimagery,Goldsmithexplained, Shewasleadinganarmyand,asalittlecountrygirl,shewasreallyoutofher elementinwhatshewasdoing.AndIfeelthatwomentodaywhoareexpanding theirvisionsare,inasense,beingheroic,too.AndIdidnotdepictherinarmor, andIneverthoughtaboutdoingitthatway.Ithoughtofherasasimplecountry girlthatwasalittlebitfrightened,andhopeful,andspiritual.102

After Goldsmith’s recuperation and a subsequent period of despondency, JoanofArcaffectedtheartistonsomethingofaspirituallevel.103According totheartist,“Joan’sstrugglewiththeunknownandseeminginsurmountable oddswasmine.TheworkmirroredmyinnerbeingandfeelingsandhowI wasshowingitall.”104InherstatementforThe Sister Chapel,shewrotemore universally, “In retrospect, I see Joan as having the same fears, confusion and doubts we all have as we strive to achieve the unknown and possibly unattainablegoals.”105

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AlthoughGoldsmithhadnohesitation when choosing her subject and never considered an armored Joan of Arc, she experimented with the position and locationofthefigureinthecomposition. Joan of Arc: Pencil Sketches (1976) shows eight small studies arranged vertically totheleftofalarge,frontaldepictionof the figure standing in a vast hall with a small doorway in the distance. In the small renderings, the artist explored Joan of Arc’s location, relative size, and relationship to dark and light backgrounds. The composition of the large pencil sketch is similar to In the Great Hall—Voices (1976; Figure 2.19), executed in oil and Conté crayon on linen. In both, Joan ofArc has the same posture as in the lithograph, but she is rotated 90 degrees to face the viewer. In the Great Hall—Voices shows Joan in a nearly-frontal position with her face raised and her expression supplicatory. Goldsmith’s title indicates that the girl is hearing the miraculous voices, but it also provides an environment that she ultimately discarded. Pencil Sketches and In the Great Hall—Voices apparently depict Joan of Arc in the audience hall at Chinon, where she was received by King Charles VII and underwent three weeks of questioning from church officials; alternatively, the works may representtheparliamentaryhallinPoitiers,whereshewasinterrogatedby theologians.106In the Great Hall—Voicesincludesanindistinctcrowdbehind Joan of Arc to imply the presence of the interrogators or onlookers who are mentioned in written accounts. The young martyr’s interviewers are furtherrepresentedinasmallmixedmediacomposition,The Judges(1976), which shows seven magisterial ecclesiastics listening to the testimony of theunseenMaidofOrléans.Thefiguresroughlycorrespondtothevague clusterofspectatorsontherightsideofIn the Great Hall—Voices.Thelatter, nevertheless,presentsJoanofArcinvirtualisolation,whichisconsistent withGoldsmith’sotherstudies.Hersolitudeisevocative,butitalsoaccords withthesingle-figurerestrictionthatunifiedthecomponentsofThe Sister Chapel.

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2.19 ElsaM. Goldsmith,In the Great Hall— Voices(1976), coloredpencil onlinen,36×20 in.Courtesyof theEstateofElsa M.Goldsmith

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2.20 ElsaM. Goldsmith,Light from the Right (1976),Conté crayon,oil,and coloredpencil onlinen,36×20 in.Courtesyof theEstateofElsa M.Goldsmith

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The smaller compositions in the Joan of Arc series are “related paintings and graphics,uponwhichit[themonumental canvas]wasbased,”astheartistreported in the press release for her exhibition at WIA in December 1976.107 In the Great Hall—Voices andLight from the Right (1976; Figure 2.20) were evidently explorations of the placement and context of the figure. In the latter, Joan of Arc remains inthevastchamber,whichismoreclearly defined than in the former. As the title makes explicit, a beam of light shines through the distant door, now situated ontherightsideofthecomposition,and three windows further illuminate the space.Thedeeprecessionandcavernous space are primarily delineated through geometric shapes, as in Goldsmith’s earlier figurative works. While she ultimately abandoned the architectural setting,Joan’spostureandplacementare consistentwiththemonumentalpainting. TheartistspecificallyidentifiedLight from the RightasastudyforThe Sister Chapel;108 she also traced the figure with a black marker onto a sheet of clear Plexiglas, which she gridded and presumably projected in order to enlarge the scale to nine feet. In preparation for the final version, Goldsmith executed a nine-foot colored pencil drawing of the figure against a blank background. As she workedonthecanvasthatwouldeventuallyjoinThe Sister Chapel,thefullscalecoloredpencilstudystoodbesideitinthestudio(Figure2.21).Surviving photographsshowthesimplecontraptionthatRobertGoldsmithengineered toraiseandlowertheunstretchedcanvas;thus,theartistcouldpaintanyarea withoutmountingaladder.Goldsmithgraduallybuiltupthecomposition, beginningwithgreen,yellow,blue,andbrownwashes,asdocumentedinthe sporadicphotographsoftheworkinprogress. Goldsmith replaced the “Great Hall” with a landscape background beforestartingthefinalcanvas.Shepreparedahalf-sizestudyofthemarshy countryside (1976), which resembles the indistinct backgrounds of Long Ago and Far AwayandBrave New World.Abodyofwateroccupiesmostof thelowerhalfofthecomposition.Inthedistance,atthemiddleleftofthe painting, is an autumnal tree. A grove of trees and a protruding, earthy

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riverbankaresituatedontheright.Thecolorfulbedofflowers,positioned justbelowJoan’sfeet,wasaddedonlywhensheexecutedthemonumental painting.Goldsmith’sreasonforincorporatingthelandscapeiselucidated byastatementmadetoGloriaOrensteinaboutJoan of Arc:“Faithsustained her. She is a child of nature; intuitive and untutored.”109 Compositionally and coloristically, Joan and nature are united. As in Goldsmith’s earlier works,thefigureofJoanemergesfromalooselyrenderedbackground.The foliagelacksthegeometricabstractionofherpaintingsfromthe1960s,yet it similarlydissolvesintostrokes,patches, and washes of undefined color withoutseemingincomplete.Thepaintisthinlyapplied,muchlikethelight strokes of her Conté crayon and colored pencil drawings, and the texture of the canvas remains visible. In fact, Goldsmith described her method of paintingas“brushdrawingandcolorstain.”110Intheend,Joan of Arcisa toweringtestamenttothehumancondition.AsaptlyinterpretedbySandra Langer,“sheservestoremindusnottolosesightofourselvesandsuggests that part of a woman’s strength may be her honest ability to admit flaws andtransformthemintoassets,apossibilitymanyradicalfeministswould rathernotcontemplate.”111 Theimpactofthe“rolemodel”imageryofThe Sister Chapel isquiteevident in the works that Goldsmith commenced around the same time as the Joan of Arc Series. She was particularly inspired by Shoulder to Shoulder (1974),

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2.21 Interior ofElsaM. Goldsmith’s studioinGreat Neck,NY,with thefull-scale coloredpencil studyandthe unfinishedJoan of Arc(1976). Courtesyofthe EstateofElsa M.Goldsmith

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2.22 ElsaM. Goldsmith,Annie Oakley(c.1978), Contécrayonon paper,29×23in. Courtesyofthe EstateofElsaM. Goldsmith.Photo: KarenMauch Photography

a BBC miniseries about the role of the Pankhurst family in the British SuffragetteMovement.112TheprogramairedintheUnitedStatesonOctober 5, 1975, after which Goldsmith began to research the subjects that would eventuallybecomeherWomen on the March Series.Theresultwasagroupof 12 Conté crayon drawings, two six-foot grisaille canvases, and one mixed media panel. Among her subjects were the suffragists Emmeline (1858– 1928) and Christabel Pankhurst (1880–1958), Lady Frances Balfour (1858– 1931),SusanB.Anthony(1820–1906),andOlympiaBrown(1835–1926).She also depicted events in the cause for equal rights, including the women of nineteenth-century France demanding liberté et equalité,113 a group of womentryingtovoteinamunicipalelectioninBoston(1888),andtheAlice Paul Memorial March on Washington, DC, in support of the Equal Rights Amendment (1977). For this series, Goldsmith relied heavily on published prints and existing photographs. Bloomer Girls and Voting in Boston, for example, closely follow their nineteenth-century sources, as does French Women, which was directly inspired by Honoré Daumier’s lithograph of bluestockingsdemandingthelegalrightofwomentoseekdivorce.Oneofthe largecanvases,Votes for Women,representsthesuffrageparadeinNewYork CityonMay6,1912.Thecentralfiguresweretakenfromawider,horizontal photograph, but Goldsmith simplified the composition and repositioned onefigure.Thissix-footgrisaillepanelisagrandproclamationofthetheme that pervades the much smaller but similarly monochromatic drawings

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in sanguine Conté crayon. The series concludes with The Spirit of Past and Present, a drawing that depicts an assembly of modern women standing in theforeground,lookingintothedistance.Behindthemaretheirforemothers, whoseworktheycontinue. AroundthesametimeasWomen on the March,Goldsmithexecutedthree very subtle Conté crayon drawings of Phoebe Ann Mosey, better known as Annie Oakley (1860–1926), the celebrated sharpshooter from Darke County, Ohio, and a headliner in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show between 1885 and 1902. The drawings are identical in size and medium to those in the Women on the March Series and Goldsmith likewise reused existing imagery (c. 1978; Figure 2.22). In this case, she appropriated the widely circulated, staged publicity photographs of the markswoman, including onepublishedbyUnderwood&Underwood(1880–1931).WhileGoldsmith didnotsubstantiallyalterOakley’sappearanceorstance,shedepictedher alone,devoidoftheostentatiousaccoutrementsofherfameor,inthecaseof theUnderwoodphotograph,thewoodedbackdropthatseemstoreinforce her rural origins.As in From the Old Country #1, Goldsmith’s composition is remarkably understated and the figure is surrounded by an expanse of negativespace.Theartistreturnedtoherearlieremphasisontheisolated figure,butthefocusisonanindividualwhosedeterminationandunusual ability secured her place in history. Like Joan of Arc, Annie Oakley was a “child of nature” and an analogously improbable hero. Goldsmith’s representationsnotablysucceededincapturingthefundamentallyhuman qualities of these larger-than-life historical figures. Annie Oakley quietly holdshergunandJoanofArcfaithfullyclaspsherhands.

Notes

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1

IliseGreenstein,interviewbyDorothyD.Horowitz,March21,1983,audiocassetterecording, WilliamE.WienerOralHistoryLibraryoftheAmericanJewishCommittee,NewYorkPublic Library,NewYork,NY.Theparagraphthatfollowsislargelydrawnfromthehistorythat Greensteinprovidedinthisinterview.

2

Despitethename,BrooklynAcademyofMusic(BAM)isaperformingartscenter.Itisnota degree-grantingacademicinstitution,nordoesithaveastandardcurriculumortraditionalclasses.

3

Greenstein,interview.

4

Greenstein,interview.

5

Greenstein,interview.

6

EllenEdwards,“The2StrugglesofIliseGreenstein:WomanasArtist,Activist,”Art,Miami Herald, April10,1977.

7

Ilise Greenstein: Recent Paintings,A.M.SachsGallery,NewYork,NY,November24–December5, 1964. Itwashersecondone-personexhibition.Thefirstwasmountedin1963attheHedgerow TheatreinMedia,PA,justoutsidePhiladelphia;atthetime,itwasrunbyherfriends,Sylviaand VincentSorrentino.Greenstein,interview.

8

JacquelineBarnitz,“IliseGreenstein,”IntheGalleries,Arts Magazine 39,no.4(January1965):65.

9

Greenstein,interview.

10

“ThreeWomenArtistsExhibitatMassapequa,L.I.,”pressreleaseforanexhibitionofworksby ElsaM.Goldsmith,IliseGreenstein,andElayneBraun,SecurityNationalBank,Massapequa,NY, July–August1970,photocopy,collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership.

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90

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11

“ThreeWomenArtists.”

12

KenworthMoffett,Kenneth Noland(NewYork:HarryN.Abrams,Inc.,1977),22and49–50.Inthe oft-repeated account, Noland, Morris Louis (1912–62), and Clement Greenberg (1909–94) oft-repeatedaccount,Noland,MorrisLouis(1912–1962),andClementGreenberg(1909–1994) visitedthestudioofHelenFrankenthalerinApril1953,wheretheysawMountains and Sea (1952;HelenFrankenthalerFoundation,Inc.;onextendedloantotheNationalGalleryofArt, Washington,DC).

13

Greenstein,interview.

14

GriffinSmith,“Kahn,Greenstein,Weber:TwoViewsofNatureandaSignificantHistoricalShow onDisplayThisWeek,”ArtReview,Miami Herald,March10,1974.

15

Theartistusedthistermtodescribethesmallerelements,asrecordedonablack-and-white photographofthework(collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership).

16

JacquelineBarnitz,“IliseGreenstein,”IntheGalleries,Arts Magazine40,no.8(June1966):53.

17

MalcolmPreston,“Painter,SculptorareDecorative,Innovative,”OnArt,Newsday,October8, 1969;MalcolmPreston,“PotpourriEntersListwithPleasingMix,”OnArt,Newsday,June10,1969; MalcolmPreston,“DebutamidDiversity,”OnArt,Newsday,June26,1970.

18

Two Women,StonyBrookUnionArtGallery,StateUniversityofNewYorkatStonyBrook,Stony Brook,NY,July24–August3,1973.

19

Preston,“Painter,Sculptor.”

20

OnthebackofaphotographofFlower Form (October1967;collectionoftheGreensteinFamily Partnership),theartistwrote,“amcurrentlyworkingonaserieswithplexiglass[sic]which convertscolorintolight.”

21

EnezWhipple,Director,TheGuildHall,EastHampton,NY,toIliseGreenstein,June19, 1969,typedletter,collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership;JeanneParis,“Diversityin Bridgehampton,”Art,Long Island Press,June22,1969.Theawardwas$50.Incidentally,Jeanne Pariswasoneofthejurors.

22

Preston,“PotpourriEntersList.”

23

EllenLubell,“UnmanlyArtattheSuffolkMuseum,”Reviews:Museums,Arts Magazine 47,no.4 (February1973):67.

24

Preston,“PotpourriEntersList;”Preston,“DebutamidDiversity.”

25

Preston,“Painter,Sculptor.”

26

“ThreeWomenArtists.”By1973,GeorgiaO’Keeffe’sfloralformswereassociatedwithvaginal imagerybysomefeminists;seeBarbaraBuhlerLynes,“GeorgiaO’KeeffeandFeminism:A ProblemofPosition,”inThe Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art History,ed.NormaBroudeand MaryD.Garrard(Boulder,CO:WestviewPress,1992),436–49.

27

IliseGreenstein,untitledartist’sstatement,November19,1984,typed,photocopy,collectionofthe GreensteinFamilyPartnership.

28

Preston,“Painter,Sculptor.”

29

QuotedinMarciaCorbino,“MonumentToFeminismDesigned,”Sarasota Journal,February10, 1977.Aslightvariationonthisstatementisalsofoundinherbiographicaloutlineonthelist ofpanelistsfor“SpeakingOut:ASymposiumandExhibitiononWomenintheArts,”Harbor TowersYachtandRacquetClub,Sarasota,FL,January28,1977,typed,photocopy,collectionofthe GreensteinFamilyPartnership.

30

IliseGreenstein,“WhatIConsiderFeministArtIsorCouldBe,”February15,1976,artist’s statement,slidephotograph,Woman’sBuildingImageArchive,MillardSheetsLibrary,Otis CollegeofArtandDesign,LosAngeles.

31

Edwards,“2StrugglesofIliseGreenstein.”

32

“ThreeWomenArtists.”

33

PeterStroud,untitledstatementontheartofIliseGreenstein,January1978,inFull Circle: A 1963–81 – 18 years (Hollywood, FL: Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, 1981), 8. Retrospective 1963–1981—18 years (Hollywood,FL:ArtandCultureCenterofHollywood,1981),8.

34

JuneBlum,untitledstatementontheartofIliseGreenstein,December8,1972,handwrittendraft, collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership.Itwasprintedonthebrochureforthetwo-person exhibitionwithAliceLandesatEileenKuhlikGallery,NewYork,NY,January20–February3, 1973.

35

Stroud,untitledstatement,inFull Circle: A Retrospective,8.

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36

Smith,“Kahn,Greenstein,Weber.”

37

Stroud,untitledstatement,inFull Circle: A Retrospective,8.

38

IliseGreenstein,untitledartist’sstatement,inFull Circle: A Retrospective,2.

39

Ilise Greenstein: A Woman’s Experience,CentralHallGallery,PortWashington,NY,March13–31, 1974.

40

JeanneParis,“2ContradictoryIdeas:WomenArtists’ExhibitonLI,”Art,Long Island Press,March 24,1974.

41

IliseGreenstein,“WorkinProgress:TheSisterChapel—AHallofFameforWomen”[1973–74], handwrittenproposal,photocopywithhandwrittenadditions,collectionoftheGreensteinFamily Partnership.

42

IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,October31,1974,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers, 1803–2011,bulk1940–2000,GettyResearchLibrary,LosAngeles(2004.M.4).

43

IliseGreenstein,“SisterChapel,”printedonthereverseoftheposterforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1 (InstituteforArtandUrbanResources),January15–February19,1978.

44

Greenstein,“SisterChapel,”printedontheposterforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1.

45

GloriaFemanOrenstein,“TheSisterChapel:ATravelingHomagetoHeroines,”Womanart1,no.3 (Winter/Spring1977):20.

46

IliseGreensteintoJuneBlum,May10,1976,handwrittenletter,collectionofJuneBlum;Ilise GreensteintoSylviaSleigh,May19,1976,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers;IliseGreenstein toSylviaSleigh,July6,1976,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers.Accordingtothelatter,she hadtovacatebyAugust1.

47

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”20.

48

SomeofthenamesarestillvisiblethroughGreenstein’sdilutedacrylic.Theyappearalongthe inneredgesofthetwocanvases,whichwerefoldedoverthestretcherswhenoriginallyexhibited; thus,theywereunseenbyviewersbelowtheceiling.Onthe“sunrise”halfarethesignaturesof VivenO.Kelly,ElinoreBerkowitz,andRichardLipton.The“sunset”halfcontainsthenamesof LouiseBaker,JanetYablon,MillicentSalnick,andFranZimmerman.Theother11inscriptionsare illegibleorobliterated.

49

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”20.

50

BettyHolliday,untitledessay,inFull Circle: A Retrospective,2.

51

GreensteintoSleigh,July6,1976.Shealsoreportsthatshehaddifficultyobtainingphotographs.

52

AbbyWasserman,“AFeastofAestheticDelightsby800ArtistsattheArmory,”Portfolio, Washington Star,May3,1979.

53

“18FootCeilingPaintingandKitestoSoarAboveWASHART’79,”trifoldpressreleaseand brochurefortheexhibitionoftheCeiling of the Sister ChapelatWash Art ’79,NationalArmory, Washington,DC,May2–7,1979,photocopy,collectionoftheGreensteinFamilyPartnership.

54

HelenL.Kohen,“TheseQuiltsareMadetoCoverWalls,”ArtReview,Miami Herald,January26, 1979.

55

RhettDelfordBrown,“JuneBlum/IliseGreenstein,”Reviews,Womanart2,no.1(Fall1977):32.

56

AquatecwasdevelopedbyBocourArtistColors(est.1932)in1960asanalternativetoMagna. PermanentPigmentsCompany(est.1933)inCincinnati,Ohio,inventedLiquitexin1955.

57

IliseGreensteintoSylviaSleigh,February17,1976,handwrittenletter,SylviaSleighpapers.

58

IliseGreenstein,booktemplateforArt is a Language,n.d.,collectionoftheGreensteinFamily Partnership.

59

RobinGreenstein,“ArtisaLanguage,”fromthealbumArt is a Language,WindyRecords,1991.

60

IliseGreenstein,untitledartist’sstatement,inFull Circle: A Retrospective 1963–81 1963–1981—18 Years,16. – 18 Years, 16.

61

Barnitz,“IliseGreenstein”(1965),65.

62

RobinGreenstein,linernotes,Before Their Time: Memorial Songs and Music,vol.3,producedand distributedbyBeforeTheirTime,Lyme,NH,2004.

63

RobinGreenstein,“SlowBurn,”fromthealbumSlow Burn,WindyRecords,1989.

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92

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64

KayMiklas,“WomenintheArts,”ANorthMiamiView,North Dade–South Broward Journal,July 31–August1,1976;Edwards,“2StrugglesofIliseGreenstein.”

65

Holliday,untitledessay,inFull Circle: A Retrospective,2.

66

Thestreetaddressesaresporadicallydocumentedincorrespondenceandnewspaperarticles. Theywereaccuratelyrecorded,forexample,inabriefpublicannouncement,“Two-Woman Show,”Great Neck Record,May7,1970.

67

Greenstein,interview;ElsaM.Goldsmith,unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript,n.d.,ElsaM. Goldsmithpapers,privatecollection.Greensteinspecificallyidentifiedfourwomen;Goldsmith statedthattherewerefive,butdidnotnamethem.

68

“Two-WomanShow,”Great Neck Record.Thegallerywas“housedinanattractivelyremodeled barnonRoute25AinSt.James,”accordingtoMalcolmPreston,“PotpourriEntersList.”

69

ElsaM.Goldsmith,“QualificationRecord”[c.1973–74],typedrésumé,photocopy,ElsaM. Goldsmithpapers;Greenstein,interview.

70

ElsaM.Goldsmith,“1972TravellingForeignExhibition,ReporttoMembership,”May17,1972, typedmemorandum,photocopy,EstateofElsaM.Goldsmith.

71

Goldsmith,“1972TravellingForeignExhibition;”BiceGiulianiValgiusti,Presidente,Federazione italianadelledonnenelleartiprofessioni,affari(F.I.D.A.P.A.),Florence,Italy,toElsaM. GoldsmithandGiuseppeCardillo,DirectoroftheItalianCulturalInstitute,NewYork,NY, January12,1972,typedletter,photocopy,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

72

EstherK.Gayner,President,NationalAssociationofWomenArtists,toWilliamSmith,President, USCommitteeoftheInternationalAssociationofArt,NewYork,NY,January27,1976,typed letter,carboncopy,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

73

WilliamA.SmithtoJoyceWeinstein,ExecutiveCoordinator,WomenintheArts,NewYork,NY, May5,1976,typedletter,carboncopy,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

74

Goldsmith,unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript.

75

Thiswassuccinctlyobserved,inasinglesentence,byJeanneParis,“GuildHallExhibitsVaried Worksof4AwardWinners,”Art,Long Island Press,May1,1966.

76

Goldsmith,unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript.

77

ElsaM.Goldsmith,“ThemeandStyle,”n.d.,typedartist’sstatement,photocopy,ElsaM. Goldsmithpapers.

78

JeanneParis,“ElsaGoldsmithKnowswhenherWorkisComplete,”Art,Long Island Press,May29, 1966.

79

“AwardedGoldMedalofHonor,”Great Neck News,May21,1969.

80

“LesSemainesinternationaledelaFemmeontdébutéhierauCasinomunicipaldeCannes,”NiceMatin (France),February8,1969;“LaFemmeetlesArts,”Nice-Matin (France),February12,1969.

81

Onaslidephotographoftheoriginalimage(ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers),theartistidentifiedher subjectasa“Spanishpeasant.”

82

LeoSoretsky,“BigPicturesinaSmallGallery,”GalleryScene,City East2,no.9(May1969):7.

83

Soretsky,“BigPictures;”JeanneParis,“ExhibitExplosion:ShowsCrowdCommunityLibraries,” Art,Long Island Press,March25,1973.

84

Paris,“ElsaGoldsmithKnows.”

85

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”18.

86

Thepaintingincludesfourfigures,butGoldsmithrecordedthetitleasThree of Yore.Itappears onherslideofthework(ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers),aswellasthechecklistforThe Retrospective Paintings and Drawings of Elsa M. Goldsmith,EastMeadowPublicLibrary,EastMeadow,NY, December3–30,1989.

87

ElsaM.Goldsmith,interviewbyShirleySamberg,That’s Interesting,WCWP88FM,November22, 1983,audiocassetterecordingandtranscript,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

88

Goldsmith,unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript.

89

ShirleyKessler,President,NationalAssociationofWomenArtists,Inc.,NewYork,NY,toElsaM. Goldsmith,May4,1970,typedletter,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.Theprizewas$100.

90

TheartistlaterretitleditOn Her Way,whichcouldbeunderstoodsimilarly.Onthestretcher, sheinscribed,“BRAVENEWWORLD,”butcovereditwithmaskingtapeandwrote,“ONHER WAY.”

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91

Goldsmith’sslidestudyofthemodel,LisaHirshburg,bearsaprocessingimprintofApril1970; thus,theworkundoubtedlypostdatesthatmonthandyear.Seated Girl,aninkdrawingexecuted in1972,depictsthesamemodelandchair.

92

ItisunclearwhetherGoldsmithdeliberatelyalludedtoAldousHuxley’sBrave New World (1932), inwhichthetitlephrase,takenfromWilliamShakespeare’sThe Tempest,isutteredironicallybyan outsider,John“theSavage,”todescribeanon-utopiansociety.Bythe1970s,thephrasewasalso usedmoregenerallytocharacterizearadicallychangedworld.

93

ElsaM.Goldsmith,“JoanofArc,”printedonthereverseoftheposterforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1 (InstituteforArtandUrbanResources),January15–February19,1978;ElsaM.Goldsmith,“About theArtist…:ElsaM.Goldsmith,PainterandGraphicArtist”[c.1980],typedartist’sstatement, ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers.

94

Goldsmith,interview.

95

Goldsmith,“JoanofArc,”printedontheposterforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1;Goldsmith, unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript.

96

Goldsmith,unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript.ExcerptcourtesyoftheEstateofElsaM. Goldsmith.

97

AslideofGoldsmith’slithographicplate,initsoriginalmount,isimprintedwiththeprocessing dateofApril1974(ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers).

98

Goldsmith,unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript.

99

Goldsmith,interview.

100 Goldsmith,unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript. 101 Bastien-Lepage’sJoan of Arc isnotinthecatalogue,butmuseumrecordsshowthatitwas exhibited;seehttp://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/435621(accessed August11,2011).Someyearsearlier,Goldsmithexecutedaseriesofdrawingsthatwerebasedon medievalandRenaissancesculpturesinthemuseum’spermanentcollection. 102 Goldsmith,interview. 103 Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”18. 104 Goldsmith,unpublishedautobiographicalmanuscript. 105 Goldsmith,“JoanofArc,”printedontheposterforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1. 106 JoanofArc’sstoryiswell-knownandoftenretold.Foradetailedandsomewhatfloridnineteenthcenturyaccount,seeRonaldSutherlandGower,Joan of Arc (London:JohnC.Nimmo,1893),13–20. 107 “ElsaM.GoldsmithExhibitsJoanofArcinSoHo,”pressreleasefortheexhibitionofElsaM. Goldsmith’sJoan of Arc Series,WomenintheArtsFoundation,Inc.,NewYork,NY,December11, 1976–January12,1977,photocopy,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers. 108 Aslideofthisworkisparentheticallylabeled,intheartist’shand,“StudyforSisterChapel”(Elsa M.Goldsmithpapers). 109 QuotedinOrenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”18. 110 ElsaM.Goldsmith,“ElsaM.Goldsmith—Exhibition—‘WomenontheMarch,’”artist’sstatement forWomen on the March,GreatNeckLibrary,GreatNeck,NY,August26–September14,1982, typed,photocopy,ElsaM.Goldsmithpapers. 111 SandraL.Langer,“TheSisterChapel:TowardsaFeministIconography,withCommentarybyIlise Greenstein,”Southern Quarterly 17,no.2(Winter1979):38. 112 Goldsmith,interview. 113 Goldsmith,“ElsaM.Goldsmith—Exhibition—‘WomenontheMarch.’”

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3 Betty Holliday, MarianneMoore Shirley Gorelick, FridaKahlo

Betty Holliday (1925–2011) As a self-proclaimed “life-time loner,”1 Betty Holliday was less actively involved in the women’s movement than many of her contemporaries, yet shewasaprominentartistandteacheronLongIsland.Inthiscapacity,she influencedmorethanonegenerationofwomen,includingIliseGreenstein, ElsaGoldsmith,ShirleyGorelick,andAliceLandes,allofwhomstudiedwith her. Throughout her working life, Holliday chose “to pursue an obsessive imagery,” in which her “real subject is evocation through marks made on a sheet of paper … that is, the act of drawing.”2 Her creative inclinations were the result of her artistic training in Abstract Expressionism and its philosophical underpinning of mark-making. Holliday earned two degrees inArtHistory(BA,BarnardCollege,1945;MA,RadcliffeCollege,1950),3and concurrentlystudiedpaintinganddrawingattheArtStudentsLeague(1942– 47), initially initially with Jon Corbino (1905–1964) and later later with with Vaclav Vytlacil initially with with Jon Jon Corbino Corbino (1905–1964) (1905–64) and 47), and later with Vaclav Vytlacil (1892–1984). After her formal education, Holliday worked as an editorial associateforArt News(1950–55).Sheauthoredmanyentriesinthe“Reviews andPreviews”sectionoftheperiodical,whichfamiliarizedherwiththework ofcontemporaryartists.Suchaccesstotheartsceneprovedinstrumentalin herrecruitmentofvisitingartistsfortheCumberlandCenterforContinuing Education,theadulteducationprogramatGreatNeckPublicSchools,where Hollidayworkedfrom1955until1984.4 Inthelate1950sandearly1960s,Hollidayexplorednon-objectivity,but herfiguralabstractionsattractedtheearliestpublishedcriticalattention.My Father (1960;Figure3.1),amonumentalabstractionofGeorgeAlvinHolliday (1887–1970)seatedinachair,wasprominentlyreproducedinArt in America toillustratetheworkof“fledglingartists”whosenontraditional,unsymbolic figurative paintings attested to the flexibility of both representation and abstraction.5ThroughthelanguageofAbstractExpressionism,Hollidaywas

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alreadyableto“revealthetruthofthefigurewhichisjustaswellexpressed by its stance, its total gesture, as by its individual features;” however, her bold,heavy,interpenetrating,andsometimesobliteratinggesturalstrokesof black,white,gray,andbrowninvitedacomparisontoWillemdeKooning 6 6 (1904–1997) and Franz Kline (1910–1962). Only a few years later, Holliday fully Onlyafewyearslater,Hollidayfully (1904–97)andFranzKline(1910–62). assertedherexpressiveindependenceinagroupofpaintingsanddrawings on the theme of figures in striped clothing. Most distinctive are her large canvases,dominatedbybroadpatchesofgreen,suchasIn the Garden (1964) andOn the Grass III (1965;Figure3.2).Theformerwasextensivelyrepainted around1972,butthelatterisunaltered.Asoriginallyconceived,theworks evoke a leisurely day in a grassy field, but the costumes are curiously reminiscent of early twentieth-century boater hats and striped suits. With the placement of the figures, Holliday conveys a sense of depth that is simultaneouslynegatedbytheflatexpansesofgreenpaint.Hercommandof compositionalstructure,whichisalreadyevidentinMy Father,hasbecome morenuancedandherformsarelesscentralized.Furthermore,thefigures are more enigmatic. Their hats, trousers, and jovial countenances seem almostvaudevillian.AsdescribedbyMalcolmPreston,Hollidaysurpassed “factual representation” to achieve “an expressiveness and concern for humanmeaning”throughbothhandlingandsubject.7 Atthesametime,Hollidaybegantoexplorephotographyasanalternative mediumforexpressingherselfinblackandwhite.8In1967and1968,tothe near-exclusion of paintings, her experiments with “decoloration”9 led her to create a number of photo-sculptures, including Horizontal Broom, Vertical Broom,andThe Farragut Stairs (all1968).Eachfeaturesasinglephotograph, its abundant repetitions affixed to a large construction, which results in a rhythmicandvisuallystimulatingarrangementofblack-and-whiteelements. Vertical Broom and The Farragut Stairs are folding screens comprised of numerous hinged panels, while Horizontal Broom takes the form of a large sculptural meander pattern. For Holliday, mundane objects took on poetic qualities through reiteration. In the work of a woman who devoted herself almost single-mindedly to her art, the traditional role of the broom as an implement of domesticity is also disrupted. Its purpose as a cleaning tool is superseded by its use as a formal element.10A similar synthesis of form andcontentisModel for an Improbable Billboard (1967–69;Figure3.3),agroup of related but slightly varied photographs mounted perpendicularly in a metalsupport.ThesubjectisMarianneMoore(1887–1972),whomHolliday photographed in 1967 at the Loeb Student Center at New York University duringoneofthepoet’slastpublicreadings.11Theinclinedheadoftheaging versifierappearsabovethelectern,surmountedbyherdistinctivetricornhat. Below her, the podium forms a broad dark area that occupies a significant partofeachphotographand,withherhat,emphasizesMoore’shoaryhead andbespectacledface.Thephotographslackanydramaticgesticulation,as thepoetmostlylookstowardthetextinfrontofher,yettheslightvariances amongtheimagescapturetheessenceofattendingthereading.

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3.1 BettyHolliday,My Father(1960),oilandcaseinoncanvas,79×71in. ©EstateofBettyHolliday

3.2 BettyHolliday,On the Grass III(1965),oiloncanvas,84×96in. ©EstateofBettyHolliday

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3.3 Betty Holliday,Model for an Improbable Billboard(1967– 69),photographs affixedto paperboard, steel,chrome, andplastic, mountedona lazySusan,11½ ×19½×14½in. Privatecollection. ©Estateof BettyHolliday

Around 1972, Holliday reintroduced limited color and returned to painting large figures, but with bolder brushstrokes and compositions that weresimplerandmoredirect;shealsomadesubstantialalterationstoearlier works.Duringthisperiodofrenewedemphasisonfigurativepainting,she joined The Sister Chapel, a project that dominated her work for nearly two years. She vacillated when choosing a subject, unlike Elsa Goldsmith, who immediatelyisolatedJoanofArcasherrolemodel.Holliday’s“firstchoice of subject was the ‘middle-aged nurse’ (as Sylvia Sleigh called her)” who cared for the artist’s father after he suffered a stroke.12 Marie-Louise (Nurse) (1975; Figure 3.4), her earliest extant study for The Sister Chapel, depicts an energetic caregiver with her arms raised to echo the blossoming magnolia treebehindher.13Themonumentalcompositionisbaseddirectlyononeof Holliday’s medium-format photographs, which she enlarged and cropped to the approximate ratio of the nine-foot canvas. With fluidly expressive strokesofcharcoal,Hollidaymonochromaticallyrenderedthefirmlyplanted legs, sturdy torso, extended arms, and nearly cylindrical white uniform of Marie-Louise, whose body effectively and allusively substitutes the trunk ofthetree.Theintricatepatternofleavesseemstoradiatefromthenurse’s glowingvisagelikeafoliatehalo,complementedbytheelaborategroundat herfeet.Inspiteofhersolidplumpness,unflatteringgarment,andwrinkled stockings,thenurseemanateshappiness.Herexuberance,coupledwiththe burgeoningbranches,alludeswithoutpedantrytotheyouthfulnessandvigor ofspringtime.14PerhapsitisnocoincidencethatHolliday,whoturned50in 1975,thoughttocelebratethecontinuedvitalityofamaturewoman.

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3.4 Betty Holliday,MarieLouise (Nurse) (1975),charcoal oncanvas,108 ×60in.Private collection.© EstateofBetty Holliday 3.5 Betty Holliday, Marianne Moore/ Marie-Louise (1976),acrylicon canvas,108×60 in.Whereabouts unknown, presumably destroyed.© EstateofBetty Holliday

At this stage, Holliday’s contribution to The Sister Chapel had affinities withRonniBogaev’sprojectedImmigrant Mother.Throughthecircumstances of their parents, both artists found exemplary qualities in ordinary people. Holliday, nonetheless, grew dissatisfied with the inconspicuousness of her heroicwomanandsoughtamoredistinctivesubject.Marie-Louise (Nurse),as theartistexplained, radiatesgood-heartedenergy…However,asIthoughtmoreabouttheintention oftheSisterChapel,Ifeltthatsheresembledamale-orientedimage,the“EarthGoddess,”fertileandprotectiveunquestionably,butveryanonymousaswomen havetendedtobethroughouthistory.Therewasneveranything“anonymous” aboutMarianneMoore,and,althoughIknownothingaboutherpositionon feminism,shedeservesaplaceintheSisterChapelasoneofthewonderfulband ofwomenwhosecontributionshavebeenatsuchanintellectualpeakastodefy patronizationbymalecritics.15

HerrenewedenthusiasmfortheAmericanpoetwasmanifestedinMarianne Moore/Marie-Louise (1976;Figure3.5),16 atransitionalpaintingthatcombined Moore,thenurse,andtheverdureofthemagnoliatree.17Thesuperimposed representationofthepoetwasderivedfromoneofthephotographsusedin Model for an Improbable Billboard.Withpredominantlyvernalhues,thevibrant formofMarie-Louiseispositionedbehindandabovethestaticupperbodyof Moore,whoseprincipallyhibernalcolorssubtlyindicatethatsheiselderly.

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3.6 Betty Holliday, Marianne Moore at the Loeb Center (1976),charcoal oncanvas, 108×60in. Whereabouts unknown, presumably destroyed.© EstateofBetty Holliday

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Thejuxtapositionofthesefiguressuggests Moore’s inner vitality, as if the liveliness of her creative mind is deceptively disguisedbyheragedandhunchedbody. Characteristic of Holliday’s obsessive tendency to explore many aspects of one subject, Marie-Louise (Nurse) yielded no fewer than eight additional works, althoughmostwereapparentlydestroyed orthecanvasesreused.18 Holliday concurrently explored the themes of Marie-Louise and Marianne Moore throughout 1976, but they were soondisentangledandHollidaydeveloped them as separate subjects. She settled on Marianne Moore as her role model for The Sister Chapel by the end of the year, but her fascination with the late poet led to the creation of countless works. When The Sister Chapel premiered,AmeiWallach reportedthatHollidayhadexecutedthree hundred drawings and five full-sized paintings of Marianne Moore.19 More than a year earlier, the artist told Gloria Orenstein that “after two years and four canvases9′×5′(plusinnumerablesmaller studies) I’m still exploring the theme.”20 Only three nine-foot compositions seem tosurvive,includingthefinalcanvas,but other painted and drawn works are preserved in the artist’s intermittent photographic documentation, sometimes recorded in progress. Holliday executed a more conventional square painting of Moore, approximately 60 inches wide, which was also based on the photograph that she used for Marianne Moore/Marie-Louise. A larger composition, rendered in the “decoloration”oftheblack-and-whitephotographs,wasalsoinspiredbythe readingattheLoebCenter(1976;Figure3.6).TheelevatedfigureofMoore,in profileattheupperleft,leansoverthelecternwhileadjustingherspectacles. AwomanwhoresemblesHolliday,butdoesnotappearinanyoftheactual photographs,standsbeforethepodiumwithhergazefixedonthefaceofthe veneratedpoet.Despiteitseffectivenessinconveyingtheartist’sadmiration, thedepictionisobviouslynarrativeandcloselytiedtoaspecificevent. None of the aforementioned studies of Marianne Moore achieved the iconicqualityofHolliday’ssubsequentrepresentations.Theartisteventually investedthepoetwithanalertnessthatbefitsherintellectanddrawsindirectly on the vivacity of her compositional antecedent, Marie-Louise (Nurse).

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AccordingtoHolliday,“Iworkedinitially from my own photographs of her, but deciding that she should be shown at the peak of her energies rather than at an advanced age, I turned to an earlier photo-portrait of her by Rollie McKenna, to whom I am indebted for the facial likeness.”21Ironically,thegroupofimages that so inspired Holliday were disliked by Moore, who told McKenna (1918– 2003), “The one with the hat and gloves is beautifully taken—in fact I do not like to say destroy them, but the expressions seem to me forced.”22 Nevertheless, one of McKenna’s photographs, taken in 1951, was used as an illustration for The Modern Poets: An American–British Anthology (1963),23 which was the reason shetookthem.24Thephotograph,inwhich Moorewearsamatronlydresswithalace collar and sits with her hands in her lap, was also appropriated by Holliday for a monochromaticcharcoaldrawingonasixfootcanvas(1976;presumablydestroyed). In a related nine-foot composition (1976; Figure 3.7), Holliday added Moore’s characteristic tricorn hat. Both contained a throne-like sled that was invented, explored,andeventuallyeliminatedbythe artist.AsherconceptionofMarianneMoore evolved, Holliday sought alternatives to thepassivityofboththeseatedpostureandthedemureplacementofherhands. Thedowdydressandlacecollar,ontheotherhand,werecarriedintothefinal versionofMarianne Moore (Plate6),whichHollidayactuallypaintedoverthe nine-foot charcoal drawing of the seated poet. Although mostly obliterated, severaloftheinitialgesturalstrokescanstillbedetected.Onlythebackground washintheupperrightcornerwasleftundisturbed. Holliday photographed her earliest full-length, standing figure of Marianne Moore in five stages of development, which illuminates its evolution. The first state portrayed the poet stepping from the sled that was rendered more summarily in the aforementioned charcoal drawings. Her left arm was raised to support a bird and her right hand rested on a newspaper with the collaged masthead of the New York Times. Although the details differed from the final painting, the poet’s basic features—the matronlydress,lacecollar,tricorn,andglancetoherright—weretransferred

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3.7 Betty Holliday, Marianne Moore Seated (1976), charcoaland acryliconcanvas, 108×60in. Overpaintedas Marianne Moore for The Sister Chapel (1977).© EstateofBetty Holliday

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from the previous canvases and found their way into the finished work. Hollidaysoonsubordinatedthesled,addedtwobirdsattheupperleft,and affixedpapertocoverthe New York Times.Bythefourthstate(Figure3.8), Moore’shandmorenaturallyheldarollednewspaperandthesledwasfully behindthefigure;thepatternedcarpet,anechooftheterraininMarie-Louise (Nurse), also emphasized the depth of the interior.At this stage, Marianne Moore wasillustratedinGloriaOrenstein’sessayinWomanartanddescribed byHollidayasfollows: Herpersonalbestiarygivesmeanopportunitytocastmyowncharacters intheirimage…mypurplegrackleridesherarmandmysiamese[sic] kittensnarlsfromthecarpetcoveredwith“householdlionsassymbols ofsovereignty,”“over-seriousreindeer,”“snobbishcamels”andasingle chameleonpreparedto“snapupthespectrumforfood.”…Sheissurrounded bycreaturesbaseduponworksofartintributetoherpassionforallArt.Early onshehadwantedtobeapainter,andreferencestopaintingsareconstantin herpoems.Behindher,twobirdsofpreybaseduponthe“falconofKings”said tohavesurmountedthestaffofFrederickIIstandguard,perchedonalionheadedchair(sled?throne?).ShecarriesarolledcopyoftheNew York Times becausetheTimeswasacontinualsourceofsubjectmatterforherpoetry.…It hasbeenmyintentiontosetMarianneMooreamongthelivelyimagesofher fastidiousimagination.25 3.8 Betty Holliday, Marianne Moore (1976–77), fourthstate(left) andfifthstate (right),acrylic andcollageon canvas,108×60 in.©Estateof BettyHolliday

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Holliday quoted from “Leonardo da Vinci’s,” “The Arctic Ox (or Goat),” and “To a Chameleon,” all of which were published in Moore’s O to Be a Dragon (1959),26 a volume with which the artist was undoubtedly familiar. Despite the quotationmarks,Hollidayfreelyadapted the excerpts to suit her context. The actual phrases are “household lions as symbol of sovereignty,” “Reindeer seem over-serious,” “Camels are snobbish,” and “snap the spectrum up for food.”27 This is particularly interesting because Moore unashamedly revised her own work for subsequent publications and seems to have regarded her poetry as changeable.28 Moreover, Holliday’s imprecise quotations are reminiscent of Moore’srefusaltoconformtotherulesof traditionalcitation.29 Bythetimeherremarkswerepublished, Holliday had painted over significant portionsofthecanvas,obliteratingoneof the “falcons” and eliminating the carpet in favor of steps. If not for the identical face, bird of prey, and grackle, the fifth statewouldhardlyberecognizableasthe same work. Holliday added a collaged owltoMoore’srightshoulder,affixedlace toherleftsleeve,changedherlowerbody entirely, and made the sled into a pair of flanking leonine forms that allowed the figure’s hands to be positioned moreformally.Asaresult,Mooreappearstobemoreassertiveandherimage evokes an official portrait.Around the same time, Holliday created a halflength portrait of Moore, whose face is based on one of Rollie McKenna’s photographs; the poet’s visage is nearly identical in the final painting. She also began another nine-foot canvas with characteristics that are roughly consistent with its precursor; however, Holliday reintroduced the carpet, which is closer in color and texture to the final painting, and enlivened Moore’sposturebyturningherrightfootoutwardandbendingherelbows moredramatically.Thiscanvas,too,wasradicallyalteredsometimebetween AprilandAugust1977,leavingonlytheface,owl,andbirdofprey(Figure 3.9). She added an unusual amount of red, green, blue, and violet to the figure’s garment and environment. In place of Moore’s signature tricorn, Holliday gave her a cloche hat, which, incidentally, the artist wore to the openingofThe Sister ChapelatP.S.1(seeFigure1.16);30arelateddrawingof

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3.9 Betty Holliday, Marianne Moore as Orlando(1977), charcoaland acryliconcanvas, 108×60in. Privatecollection. ©Estateof BettyHolliday

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thehattedheadalsoexists.Theleonineflanksarereplacedbyachair,which was inspired by the Eero Saarinen pedestal chair in Holliday’s studio and wasalsothesubjectofacontemporaneouscharcoaldrawing.Inthepainting, however, its size is greatly exaggerated. To the existing fauna, Holliday addedapeacockandalargedragonfly.Whenthepaintingwascompleted, sheinscribed“ORLANDO”inthelowerrightcorner,presumablyareference toVirginiaWoolf’sfamousnovel,Orlando: A Biography (1928),inwhichthe titlecharacterchangesgenders,transcendstime,andultimatelyrealizesthat hermanyselvesareallpartofheridentity.Moreover,Woolf’sprotagonistis apoet,aswasMarianneMoore.Holliday’sreasonforcreatingMarianne Moore as Orlando isnotpreserved,butthepaintingisatantalizingcorollarytothe myriadstudiesofherrolemodel. BettyHolliday’sfinalMarianne Moore,shownaspartofThe Sister Chapel,is theoutcomeofhernumerousandevolvingstudies,whichincludeddrawings ofthehead,umbrella,andabentwoodrockerofthetypedesignedbyMichael Thonet(1796–1871)inthenineteenthcentury.Thebirds,animals,andthronelikeobjectwereultimatelyreplacedbytheumbrella,gloves,androcker;thus, MooreislesslikeamodernOrpheuswhocharmsthebeastsandmorelike apoeticwarrior,armedwithintellect.InherstatementforThe Sister Chapel, Hollidayexplainedherchoicesofsubjectandiconographyasfollows: Myprimaryreasonwasadelightinherpoems,whoseexcellenceadmitsofno equivocationandwhoseinclusionamongthehandfulofsignificantlyoriginal poeticstatementsofourcenturyisassuredwithoutashredoftokenism.Also primarywasthefactthatIhadheardherreadherworkand/orparticipatein paneldiscussionsovertheyearsandhadapersonalremembranceofherpublic “personna”[sic]…asteel-sharpwitdisguisedasreticentgentility.Onehadthe feelingthatSocrateswashidingoutinthepersonofthelocallibrarianandhad tobecoaxedtoexpresshimselfbylesser(andidolatrous)membersofthepanel. Iwouldhavelikedtohaveseenhermoreup-front,butIguess,geniusornot, shecouldnotavoidtheidentityproblemofthewomanwhoisalsoanartist. Therefore,I’vepaintedherintheuppermiddle-class-American-spinsterrole withinwhichshechosetohousetheradicallyinnovativepoet.I’vemadeher whimsicalandfaintlyMaryPoppins-ish,butifyouwillreadthewhitegloves asgauntlets,theumbrellaasaswordandtheextravaganthatasalaurelwreath, youwillhavemyevaluationofMarianneMoore.31

In the end, Moore’s strongly vertical stance is a powerful evocation of her characterandintellect.VaguelyreminiscentofAugusteRodin’sMonument to Balzac (1893), an apt allusion in light of the subject, Moore towers above the viewer,thesiteofhersuperiorintellectassertivelyframedbyherhatandlace collar.Herpowerfulverticalityismediatedbytheroundedformsoftherocker, theflaccidumbrella,andthedynamicsweepinglinesthatswirlaroundher.The dominant blues and purples of Marianne Moore/Marie-Louise recur, while the colorfulpatternedrugresemblesthegrassinMarie-Louise (Nurse)andthecarpet motifsinHolliday’slaterstudiesofMoore.Anotherremnantisthecollagedpiece oflaceatthelowerleftofthesubject’scollar.Thepoet’sunusualtricornhatand

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cape,thelatterexcludedbyHolliday,have been understood as “self-protectiveness, a genuineloveforformalfashion,asenseof play,adesiretohaveapublicrole,andeven some personal vanity.”32 It is, therefore, fittingthatHollidayappropriatedthemost identifiable feature of Moore’s distinctive attire. Without too insistently drawing parallels between Holliday and Moore, perhaps a creative affinity drew the artist to the poet. Moore’s imaginative vision seems to have resulted from her intelligence and “highly individual selfexpression,”33 which could also describe Holliday.Inherinitialcommentaryonthe painting, Holliday clearly recognized the poet’senthusiasmforart.Indeed,Moore’s poetry refers to the artists Giorgione (c. 1477/8–1510), El Greco (1541–1614), AlbrechtDürer(1471–1528),andLeonardo da Vinci, as well as the once-celebrated Apollo Belvedere (c.secondcentury;Museo Pio Clementino, Musei Vaticani); she also executed many sketches in pencil and watercolor.34 Furthermore, both Holliday andMooredrewinspirationfromavariety ofsources.InthecaseofMarianneMoore, Hersubjectshavebeensubjectsbeforeandtrail adigestofsources:newspapersandmagazines; anecdotes,biographies,andmemoirs; encyclopediasandhandbooks;bookson fashion;historiesandnaturalhistories;sermons, collectionsofletters,andtraveller’stales;drawingsandphotographs;naturefilms; museumexhibitsandcatalogues;evenworksofliterarycriticism.Moorerepresents therepresented.Heremphasisonmaterialspreviouslyinterpreted,depicted,and describedaccentsourseparationfromtheoriginalandassertsthesecondaryand belatedaspectsofwriting.35

WhilethisinventoryofinfluencesisnotidenticaltothatofBettyHolliday, itisakintothebreadthofherinterestinsourcesthatshedidnotnecessarily experience firsthand. Moore’s relationship to animals, for example, has been compared to Albrecht Dürer’s use of secondary sources for his representations;thatis,“precisenaturalisticaccuracy(whichmightdemand observationalproximity)wasnotachiefaspiration:moreimportantwasan imaginative connection.”36 Moreover, both Holliday and Moore continued

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3.10 Betty Holliday,The Crane(1982), charcoalon paper,114×60in. Privatecollection. ©Estateof BettyHolliday

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3.11 Betty Holliday,Raised Ukulele IV(1984), charcoalon paper,96×60in. Privatecollection. ©Estateof BettyHolliday

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to modify their work, even after it was presentedtothepublic.Moorerevisedher poems for subsequent republication and is known to have corrected poems in her books at signings.37 On many occasions, Holliday altered her works, including Marianne Moore. Surviving photographs demonstrate that the painting was unchanged between the inauguration of The Sister Chapel at P.S.1 in 1978 and the exhibition of the paintings at Cayuga County Community College toward the end of 1979. Sometime later, however, Hollidayadjustedportionsofthebentwood rockerandpaintedoverthelace,although it remains visible. She also significantly changedthelowerleftareaofthecanvas, turning Moore’s umbrella/“sword” into a cane while retaining some of the lines thatoncedefineditsslackdome.Whileno lesssatisfyinginitscurrentstate,thecane suggests that Moore is less “faintly Mary Poppins-ish” and more “upper middleclass-American-spinster.” When The Sister Chapel premiered, Marianne Moore was identified by one revieweras“probablythemostsuccessful painting—as a painting—in the chapel”38 Thus began Holliday’s greatest period of critical success, which continued until 1984. Studies completed while she developed her painting for The Sister Chapel,particularlythoseoftheSaarinenchair,bentwoodrocker,and cloche hat, are clearly related to the artist’s subsequent investigations of otherinanimateobjects.Bicycle (1978–79),Flexible Flyer (1978–79),andother compositions were exhibited at Central HallArtists Gallery in March 1979; the show was well-publicized and positively reviewed. Bicycle and Flexible Flyer were described by Holliday as “preliminary drawings for ‘Toys,’ a work in progress, which examines the psychological as well as the formal implications of image scale.”39 Although Toys was unrealized, Holliday extended her exploration of inanimate objects to include sleds, skates, and dolls,aswellasjuxtapositionsofhatsandlamps,includingtheclochehatthat shebrieflyconsideredforherpaintingofMarianneMoore.Intheearly1980s, Holliday’sattentionshiftedtosunflowersandhumanfigures,bothofwhich sheexecutedonalargescaleandusuallyintheformofdrawingsonpaper. Herenthusiasmforenergeticanddynamicformsisdramaticallymanifested in her monumental charcoal drawings of exuberant figures with musical

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instruments.Theirimmediateantecedents are the artist’s preparatory studies for Marianne Moore, especially Marie-Louise (Nurse), whose grandeur, verticality, and joyfulnesscanbefoundinthesubsequent drawings. The sturdy, earthbound, frontal figure of Marie-Louise, however, is comparativelystatic,asisMarianne Moore. Infact,Holliday’sfiguresoftheearly1980s convey a dynamism that is not found earlier. Among them is The Crane (1982; Figure 3.10), a full-length female figure, nudeexceptforacape,whoholdsaukulele and stands on one leg. Her right knee is sharply bent with her foot firmly placed against her straight leg, hence the title. In this and Holliday’s other drawings of ukulele-bearers,thefigureseemstangible but immediate. With confident, dark strokes,shecapturedthebasicformsofthe head,instrument,andlegs.Thefluidityof movementissuggestedbyindistinctarms, withonlyonehandvisibleontheneckof the instrument. Rapid, expressive lines characterize her scant garment and, as Phyllis Braff noted, “fast-paced lines and shadowstainscreatesweeping,pullingforces.”40 The forceful and evocative rhythms are also found in Raised Ukulele IV (1984;Figure3.11),inwhichdenseareasofheavycharcoalinteractwiththe bright,unmarkedsurfacesofthepaper.TheformisenlivenedbyHolliday’s expressive lines, which create a vibrating mass that surrounds the figure, simultaneouslydefiningandobliteratingherenvironment.Raised Ukulele IV isoneofaseriesofdrawingsthat“giveusaswirling,spinningfemaleform, engulfed in sweeping lines that define a cape or scarf, while holding aloft a flute or ukulele.”41 The figure’s head is flung backward, while her torso, arms, and legs are captured in repeated charcoal strokes that suggest both anactivefigureandtheartist’scompositionalchangeswithoutfullerasure. WhenHelenHarrisonreviewedHolliday’swork,sheperceptivelyobserved, “Musicissensedastheanimatingforce,foreachdancerholdsaninstrument thatseemstobeanaturalextensionofthebody.Theruffedcapestheywear enhance the carnival atmosphere, suggesting an infectious, slightly manic, gaietythatweareinvitedtoshare.”42Asoneofhermostcriticallyacclaimed groups of work, Holliday’s monumental, expressive figures were aptly describedbyPhyllisBraffas“abodyofworkthatrestatesaclassictradition withmarkedoriginality.”43

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3.12 Shirley Gorelick,Japanese Robe No. 2(1964), acryliconcanvas, 60¼×40in.© JamieS.Gorelick andStevenM. Gorelick.Photo: KarenMauch Photography

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3.13 Shirley Gorelick, Giorgione’s Meadow(1964–65), acryliconcanvas, 60×70in.© JamieS.Gorelick andStevenM. Gorelick.Photo: KarenMauch Photography

Shirley Gorelick (1924–2000) NotlongaftershemovedtoGreatNeckin1956,ShirleyGorelickcameunder the tutelage of Betty Holliday, whose influence is particularly apparent in theworkofherprotégéebetween1958and1965.Forseveralyears,Gorelick frequently painted floral forms, landscapes, and nudes, most of which were abstracted, but her work gradually shifted toward realism. Holliday’s use of neutrals, heavy black strokes, and loose brushwork is evident in Gorelick’s figurative works, such as Japanese Robe No. 2 (1964; Figure 3.12). Although Gorelickdidnotattempttomatchthegrandscaleofhermentor’spaintings, the seated woman is large, relative to the pictorial surface, and her garment dissolves into an array of confident brushstrokes that resemble those of Holliday’sslightlyearlierwork,My Father.Furthermore,theshallowspacein Gorelick’spaintingissimilarlystructuredthroughtheuseofbroadlypainted, flat areas; in Japanese Robe No. 2, however, she employed conspicuously rectangularformsandsaturatedhuesofblueandgreen.Asherworkevolved inthemid-1960s,Gorelickincreasinglyincorporatedarangeofcolors,whereas Hollidayretainedalimitedpalette.Japanese Robe No. 2alsorevealstheartist’s incipientinterestinrepresentingpatternedtextiles,whichshelaterexpanded to include shallow foliate backgrounds. In this instance, the sleeve of the woman’s kimono is dappled with green, orange, and yellow to suggest the designs on the garment. Giorgione’s Meadow (1964–65; Figure 3.13) also bears

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3.14 Shirley Gorelick,Three Graces III(1968), acryliconcanvas, 70½×80in.© JamieS.Gorelick andStevenM. Gorelick.Photo: KarenMauch Photography

the imprint of Betty Holliday, as evinced by her contemporaneous painting, On the Grass III.Bothartistsdepictedtheirmodelsinacontrivedstudiosituation that was manipulated to convey an outdoor scene. With loose brushstrokes, eachpaintercontrastedbroadareasofcolorandpatternedgarments.Holliday, however,excludedthehorizonline,whichleavesthecostumedfiguresinan indeterminate space; Gorelick dissimilarly anchored her figures by defining asimple,almostlineardivisionbetweenearthandsky.Moreover,Holliday’s energetic,expressiverenderingofthefiguresisunlikeGorelick’ssedate,static, andweightierhandlingoftheforms. Giorgione’s Meadow is composed of a single studio model in the basic stance of each figure in Titian’s Concert Champêtre (c. 1511; Paris, Musée du Louvre),44 which was attributed to Giorgione at the time.45 The nude at the well has become a modern woman in a floral-print dress who leans against a chair; likewise, the seated figure wears a simple flowered sundress in Gorelick’s updated composition. In contrast to the work of her Venetian predecessor, the clothed male figures have become shadowy nude women who are rendered in comparatively subdued hues. Gorelick preserved the verdant landscape of Concert Champêtre, but omitted the minor background elements, including the distant buildings and shepherd. Between 1965 and 1970, Gorelick drew inspiration from “historically relevant paintings and themes,” namely Concert Champêtre, Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, and the Three Graces of ancient Greek and Roman mythology.46

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3.15 Shirley Gorelick,Willy, Billy Joe, and Leroy (1973),acrylic oncanvas,80× 80in.©Jamie S.Gorelick andStevenM. Gorelick.Photo: KarenMauch Photography

InthesameyearthatshecompletedGiorgione’s Meadow,Gorelickextensively reassessedLes Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907;NewYork,MuseumofModernArt). Consistentwithhershifttowardrealism,sherejectedthemodernistflattening ofthehumanformbyrestoringitsvolume.47InHomage to Picasso I (1965),four naturalisticfemalefiguresassumetheposturesofherpredecessor’sprostitutes, whilethefifthfigureisreplacedbytheSpanishartist,whopeersthroughablue curtainthatissimilarlyborrowedfromhispainting.Contrarytothedetached formalist approach of his own canvas, Picasso “looks on in bemusement, as this cubism is translated into a more realistic three dimensionality.”48 At the bottom of the painting, Gorelick depicted a foreshortened, gridded drawingofLes Demoiselles d’Avignon,positionedinordertoinvitecomparison of the two very different representations. This illusionistic element, which replacestheCubistfruitinPicasso’spaintedbrothel,cleverlydefiesthetwodimensionalitythatitsimultaneouslyreports. Gorelick’sevolutionasarealistisparticularlyevidentinherThree Graces series,executedbetween1967and1969.AsinGiorgione’s Meadow,mostofthe paintingsrepresentonemodelinseveralposes,butGorelickavoidedtheovert replicationofanearlierartist’swork.Instead,thearrangement,postures,and blankexpressionsofthefiguressuggestatoncetheThreeGraces,theJudgment of Paris, and a group of indifferent artist’s models. Furthermore, Gorelick rejected the traditional representation of the Graces as youthful European

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beauties,optinginsteadtouseamaturemodelinThree Graces III (1968;Figure 3.14) and anAfrican-American in Three Graces IV and Three Graces V (both 1969).ShealsoexpandedthenumberoffiguresinFour Graces (1969–70)and reversedthegenderinThree Male Graces (c.1968).Notably,theproximatebut psychologically separate figures in Three Graces III are characteristic of this series, but the artist used their cast shadows to mediate the lack of contact andunitethecomposition.BehindtheflankingfiguresaretwoofGorelick’s other works, Two Pink Nudes (c. 1968) and Orin and Michelle (1967), which accentuatetheupperbodiesofthe“Graces”andorganizethepictorialspace. Thecenterfigureissimilarlyemphasizedbytheorangerectangleofanother canvas, which is unfinished and unidentifiable. The orthogonal lines of the intricately patterned floor imply depth, but the steeply tilted perspective andfictivecanvasesdisrupttherecession.Theresultisaspatialillusionthat remainsfairlyshallow,whichischaracteristicoftheartist’swork.Byherown account,Gorelickused“inventedcolorfortheenvironment…asadeviceto dealwithdeepspace,tosuggestlightandair,”asinThree Graces III,yetshe progressivelyshiftedtoward“figuresintheirrealenvironmentsbutkeeping thespaceshallowbyusingtrees,rocks,etc.asbackground-walls.”49 In the succeeding years, Gorelick developed a sophisticated use of historical sources, as exemplified by Willy, Billy Joe, and Leroy (1973; Figure 3.15), an update on the theme of the Three Graces that features a trio of specificpeople.AtleastoneofthemworkedattheNorthShoreCommunity ArtsCenter,wheretheartisthadbeenteachingsince1961.50Theyevidently expressedtheirappreciationforherwork,aswellastheirdesiretobepainted. TheseunprepossessingAfrican-Americanmenarecastinanew,somewhat uncertainroleasthepainter’ssubjects,yeteachremainsdistinctlyindividual and is represented with dignity.51 Like her earlier emotionally detached Graces,thethreemenstandtogetherbutdonotinteract.Willy,atleft,casually placeshishandsonhiships,withonesleeverollednearlytohiselbow.He supports his paunch with locked knees and splayed feet. Billy Joe, in the center,isthinnerandshorter.Hisloudpinkbell-bottoms,rings,bracelet,and thickwatchbanddistinguishhimfromhismoresubduedcompanions.Leroy, at the right, quietly stands with his arms behind his back, leaning slightly butstillbarelycontainedbythecanvas.Willy, Billy Joe, and Leroyeffectively demonstratestheartist’sshifttorealism,althoughshecontinuedtoemploy thestrongmodelingandoutlinedformsofherearlierwork.Theartist“never lostinterestinthebrushstroke,”whichremainedanessentialfeatureinher oeuvre,butbegantorelymoreheavilyonherownphotographs“forasmuch specificinformationaspossible.”52Moreover,hercharacteristicuseofshallow spaceisalsoevident.LikethemodelsinThree Graces III,themenstandbefore Gorelick’sownwork,apaintingcalledFamily I (1972–73). Gorelick’s adaptation of past art reached its fullest potential in several largecanvasesofthisperiod.TheartistconfessedlylookedtoPaulCézanne (1839–1906), Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), (1839–1906),Paul PaulGauguin Gauguin(1848–1903), (1848–1903),and and Johannes Vermeer (1632–75),53 but her synthesis of art-historical sources and modern content minimizes the evidence of her borrowings. One series of paintings, which includes

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3.16 Shirley Gorelick,Three Sisters IV(1974), acryliconcanvas, 55¼×67in.© JamieS.Gorelick andStevenM. Gorelick.Photo: KarenMauch Photography

Three Sisters IV (1974;Figure3.16),waslooselybasedonGauguin’sportrayals of Tahitian women, but Gorelick avoided the appropriation of existing compositions, in contrast to Giorgione’s Meadow, Homage to Picasso I, and other works of the mid-1960s. Instead, Gauguin’s youthful Polynesians, set in a tropical landscape, are recast by Gorelick as suburban adolescents before an intricate pattern of lush NorthAmerican foliage. Her debt to the expatriateFrenchartistwasinitiallypreservedintheseriestitle,Westchester Gauguin, but she renamed the works before exhibiting them as a group in 1977.54 The Sisters series consists of five paintings, each an arrangement of unclothed or seminude women, and at least ten silverpoints on prepared panels, most of which are individual heads or half-length nudes. The repeatedmodelsintheseworksareWendy,Beth,andDenaRakower,whose parentswereclosefriendsofShirleyGorelickandherhusband,Leonard.The artist photographed the young women amid an overgrowth of bushes and pachysandra,afterwhichshecropped,reversed,andotherwisemanipulated her source material to invent new painted configurations. Gorelick’s stated goalwasprimarily“thecreationofanintensepsychologicalaura,”55which ledhertointerprettheyoungwomenasunidealized,disenchantedsuburban teens,irrespectiveoftheiractualappearancesandattitudes.InThree Sisters IV, the nude adolescents stand in a shallow space, together but detached, in a mannerthatechoesGorelick’sThree Graces IIIandWilly, Billy Joe, and Leroy. Inthemorerecentwork,however,apsychologicaltensionisemphasized.56

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Denaisisolatedwithherhandsplacedonherhips,whileBeth’sdramatically cropped profile overlaps the contrapposto stance of her sister, Wendy. The leafybackgroundrestrictsthespaceinordertofocusontheunselfconscious nudewomen,57whopresent“ablunt,almostrepellentlyhonestportrayalof femaleadolescence.”58Gorelick’sshallowspaceandfoliatebackgroundrecur inherpaintingforThe Sister Chapel,asdoesheremphasisonfrontalfigures pushedclosetothepictureplane. Consideringherdecade-longengagementwithhistoricalworksofart,itis nosurprisethatGorelickturnedtoapainterashersubjectforThe Sister Chapel (Plate12),althoughFridaKahlostandsinstrikingcontrast—withrespectto genderandpictorialcontent—toGiorgione,Picasso,andGauguin.Gorelick’s inclination toward psychological portraiture unequivocally accords with herchosensubjectforThe Sister Chapel,anartistwhoseoeuvreisprincipally composedofdeeplypersonalself-imagery.Gorelickbecameawareoftheart and life of 1970,when whenshe she and and her her family visited of Frida Frida Kahlo Kahlo(1907–1954) (1907–54) inin1970, andlifeofFridaKahlo(1907–1954)in1970,whensheandherfamilyvisited theMexicanpainter’sformerhomeandstudio,CasaAzul,inCoyocán,Mexico City.59At the time, Kahlo was largely unknown outside her native country andherworkhadnotbeenextensivelyresearched.60Inthisrespect,Gorelick’s commemorativepaintingwasprescient.61Kahlo’sgradualrisetointernational renown, which began in the late 1970s, was often beset by restrictive biographical interpretations and conflicting theoretical constructions of her lifeandwork.62Evenherbirthyearwaspersistentlybutinaccuratelyreported as 1910—instead of 1907—because Kahlo adjusted it, perhaps to align her origins with the inception of the Mexican Revolution; subsequent research eventuallyreestablishedthecorrectdate.63Gorelickinnocentlyrepeatedthe invented birthdate in her statement for The Sister Chapel and it recurred in Frida Kahlo Kahlo, 1910–1954,the the painter’s first retrospective in the United States, thepainter’s painter’sfirst firstretrospective retrospectivein in the the United States, Kahlo (1910–1954), (1910–54), mounted in 1978 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. In her statementforTheSister Chapel,Gorelickenumeratedthebasicchronologyof herrolemodel,appendedbriefquotationsfrombothKahloandDiegoRivera (1886–1957),andauthoredthefollowingassessmentofhersubject: Sheexposedherownconsciousnessforhercontent. Sherecordedhershatteredbody,abortionsandturbulentmarriagewithcourage andheroichumor. SheincorporatedMexican,IndianandChristiansymbolsinapersonalimagery. Shefusedthenaivewiththesophisticated,fantasywithreality. Shewascommittedtorevealingwhoandwhatshewas. Shewasherownsubject,exposedandvalued.64

Indeed, Gorelick relied heavily on her subject’s own paintings when she commencedworkonFrida KahloforThe Sister Chapel.Sheuncharacteristically appropriatedherpredecessor’siconographytocreateanemblematicportrait. SinceKahlo’ssymbologywasessentialtotheconstructionofherownpictorial identity,Gorelickwouldhavehaddifficultydefiningherwithoutthebenefit ofthesemotifs.OftheparticipantsinThe Sister Chapel,onlyMarthaEdelheit andDianaKurzattemptedacomparableleveloficonographiccomplexity.

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3.17 Shirley Gorelick, Frida Kahlo (1976),detail, photographedin progress,acrylic oncanvas,108 ×60in.©Jamie S.Gorelick andSteven M.Gorelick

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The upper part of Gorelick’s large figure is an appropriation of Kahlo’s Diego on My Mind (1943; Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection), a bust-length self-portrait in whichtheartistwearsaTehuanacostumethat alludes to her matrilineal Mexican ancestry. On her brow, Kahlo painted the head and shoulders of her husband, Diego Rivera, to literalize his presence in her thoughts. The celebrated muralist was initially retained by Gorelick,butshenestledhissmallfaceamong theblossomsofthefloralchaplet,asrecorded inseveralphotographsoftheworkinprogress (Figure 3.17). She eventually dispensed with Rivera’s miniature head, opting instead to replicate the garland in Diego on My Mind, but he was not abandoned altogether. In the finished painting, his ethereal countenance isvisibleinthehigheroftwoballoonsinthe upperleftcorner,forwhichGorelickreversed Rivera’s so-called Firestone Self-Portrait (1941; private collection).65 The other contains a fetus that refers to Kahlo’s miscarriages.66 The balloons are tied to the left index finger ofadiminutiveFrida,inemulationoftheautobiographicalsymbolsthatare tetheredwithvessel-likecordsinKahlo’sHenry Ford Hospital (1932;Mexico City, Dolores Olmedo Foundation). The smaller figure, held loosely by her largermanifestation,closelyfollowsThe Two Fridas (1939;MexicoCity,Museo deArteModerno).67Gorelick’sin-progressphotographsdemonstratethatshe originallyinvertedtheabandoned,unlovedFridaontheleftsideofKahlo’s painting,butexcludedherexposedheart.68Shelaterrepositionedthefigure’s rightforearmand,perhapsindeferencetoKahlo’sWhat the Water Gave Me (1938;Paris,privatecollection),addedaprotrudingpairofbarefeet.Echoing the theme of duality in The Two Fridas, Gorelick depicted Kahlo’s native Mexican embodiment as larger, and implicitly stronger, than the doll-like incarnationthatalludestoherEuropeanancestry.Insteadofholdinghands supportively, as in Kahlo’s double portrait, Gorelick’s monumental figure carriesthereducedversionofherself,likeamotherwithachild.69 The turbulent sky in Gorelick’s painting was also inspired by the background in The Two Fridas, while the large leaves were appropriated directlyfromFlower of Life (1944;MexicoCity,DoloresOlmedoFoundation). Gorelickevidentlytookslidesofhersourcematerial,asshehadpreviously done, and projected the reversed image onto the canvas. Her in-progress photographsactuallyshowtherib-likestriationsfromthebaseoftheplant in Flower of Life and one of the pointed, quasi-ovarian forms overlapping

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the uppermost leaf on the left.70 She eliminated the latter, but the former wereretainedasaclusterofstemsjustbelowKahlo’sTehuanaheaddress. Moreover, Gorelick extended the vegetation to cover more of the background, as in several of her predecessor’s self-portraits. Photographs oftheunfinishedpaintingalsorevealthatKahlo’sdressoriginallyextended beyond the confines of the canvas, with the most extreme cropping along therightandbottomedges.71Gorelicksubsequentlyshortenedthegarment, presumablybecausetheartistshadagreedthattheirheroicwomenshould be contained by the boundaries of the nine-foot canvases. The skirt was apparently based on the garment worn by Kahlo in a photograph of her with Diego Rivera, taken in 1939, but the pattern of yellow clusters that decorate the red fabric resemble the dress in a different photograph by ManualÁlvarezBravo(1902–2002)fromtheearly1930s.Finally,Gorelick’s large Frida wears two dangling bracelets, which consist of the orthopedic corsetfromKahlo’sThe Broken Column (1944;MexicoCity,DoloresOlmedo Foundation) and a pair of skeletons. The latter evoke both the Día de los MuertoscelebrationandtheJudasfiguresthatKahloandRiveracollected, especially the papier-mâché skeleton that was affixed to the underside of thecanopyonKahlo’sbed,whichshedepictedinThe Dream (1940;private collection).72 DespiteherpainstakingfusionofFridaKahlo’spersonalmotifs,Gorelick modulated her subject’s distinctive facial features. Most obviously, she deemphasized Kahlo’s joined eyebrows and wispy moustache, although they remain on her diminutive counterpart. While Diego on My Mind providedthecostumefortheupperhalfofthemonumentalfigure,herface isderivedfromClassic Frida (with Magenta Rebozo)(1939),aphotographby Nickolas Muray (1892–1965). Gorelick executed a pencil study, in which Kahlo’stiltedhead,plaitedhair,earrings,necklace,andfragmentaryrebozo are nearly identical to her source (1976; Figure 3.18). In the painting, she transferredthefacetotheopeninginKahlo’sTehuanaheaddress.Toaccess the humanityofherartisticforebear,Gorelick useda mirror;73 thus, there is a self-reflective quality that accords with Cynthia Mailman’s God and Diana Kurz’s Durga. In a curious turn of events, Gorelick experienced a fallthattemporarilyinjuredherback,whichcausedhertopaintthelarge canvaswhilelyingprostrate;74hercoevalphotographsshowtheunfinished canvas positioned sideways on the easel. This remarkable happenstance was redolent of Kahlo’s suffering and heightened Gorelick’s already strong identification with her.75Aside from the face, a further but subtler manipulationofKahlo’simagemaybefoundinthejewelryadorningher folded hands. Kahlo rarely included rings in her self-portraits and never insuchquantity.76Insteadoffollowingherrolemodel’sexample,Gorelick faithfully copied the hands, rings, and bracelets from a photograph that wastakenonJuly2,1954,whenKahlo,illwithbronchialpneumonia,made her last public appearance at a political demonstration to oppose the US overthrow of the Guatemalan president.77 The sources for the face and

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3.18 ShirleyGorelick,Study for the Head of “Frida Kahlo” (1976),pencilonpaper, 25½×20in.©JamieS.GorelickandStevenM.Gorelick.Photo:MarkamKeithAdams

3.19 ShirleyGorelick,Frida Kahlo I(1976),silverpointonpreparedMasonite, 24×20in.Privatecollection.©JamieS.GorelickandStevenM.Gorelick

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3.20 Shirley Gorelick,Frida and Diego(1976), silverpoint onprepared Masonite,24× 20in.Private collection.© JamieS.Gorelick andSteven M.Gorelick

handsofGorelick’sFrida Kahlo,therefore,areseparatedbyabout15years. The artist’s in-progress photographs reveal that the hands were not substantially altered after she painted them, but the Tehuana headdress waslengthenedtocoverportionsofKahlo’sforearms.Inaddition,Gorelick appended the skeletons to the existing bracelet on the figure’s left wrist and cleverly used the pendant on her other arm to fashion a support for the miniature orthopedic corset. A study of the bejeweled hands is also foundinthelowerleftcornerofGorelick’ssilverpoint,Frida Kahlo I(1976; Figure 3.19). Directly above them are the elegant, disembodied forearms from Muray’s photograph. Occupying most of the panel is a rendering of Kahlo’s head, wrapped in a rebozo, which was modeled on the same photographasthelowersetofhands.Kahlo’snarrowedeyes,pronounced cheeks, prominent lips, and squared features belie the apparent glamour oftheearlierphotographicsources.Theintenselyhumanfaceseemstobe careworn but resilient,78 as opposed to the mask-like gravity of the selfportraitthatinspiredthediminutiveFridainGorelick’spainting.Apencil drawing repeats, in reverse, the isolated and swathed head (1976; private collection).Threeyearslater,Gorelickreturnedtothishumblevisage,but usedacircularcanvasandsilverpointtorenderonlythefaceandasmall portionoftheheaddress(1979;privatecollection). Shirley Gorelick typically addressed a particular theme in a number of individual compositions,79 as was the case with Frida Kahlo. She executed

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3.21 Shirley Gorelick,Frida Kahlo II(1976), silverpoint onprepared Masonite,20× 24in.Private collection.© JamieS.Gorelick andSteven M.Gorelick

twoothersilverpoints,eitherasexploratorystudiesorindependentcognate works. Their exact relationship to the large canvas is unclear because Gorelick’soeuvrecontainsmanysilverpoints,someofwhichareautonomous compositionswhileothersarestudiesofmorethanonefragmentaryfigurative element.Frida and Diego(1976;Figure3.20),whichseemstobelonginthelatter category,isaquartetofheadscopiedfromdisparatesources.Thetwoatthetop arestudiesofKahloasayoungwoman.Theprofileintheupperleftisbased onaphotographthatshowsherpaintingSelf-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States(1932;privatecollection)whileshewasinMichigan withRivera,whowasexecutinghisfrescosattheDetroitInstituteofArts.80 Totherightisafrontalviewofherhead,copiedinreversefromaphotograph takenbyImogenCunningham(1883–1976)in1931.Inthelowerleft,Kahlo is pictured from slightly below, as inspired by another photograph from 1954. Her noble bearing and accentuated bone structure downplay her glamorousness. Indeed, her beleaguered face is in striking contrast to the youthfulimagesonthesamepanel.Riveraappearsonlyonce,inthelower right, holding a stylus and resting his thumb and index finger on his chin. Althoughhewasunmistakablydrawnfromanentirelydifferentsource,he seemstocontemplatethegravityofhisnearbywife’sexpression.Gorelick’s silverpointcallstomindRivera’slament,“Toolatenow,Irealizedthatthe mostwonderfulpartofmylifehadbeenmyloveforFrida.”81BothFrida and Diego and Frida Kahlo II (1976; Figure 3.21) were deemed “outstanding” by one reviewer, who perceived Gorelick’s “gentle, sympathetic view of her

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models.”82Indeed,hersensitiveportrayalsmovebeyondthemerereplication of photographic sources, which is particularly evident in Frida Kahlo II. Beforeabackgroundofsimplifiedfoliage,theMexicanpainterturnstoward the viewer, her head held slightly aloft and framed by negative space that implies her flowing dark hair. Her direct stare and isolated face convey a senseofconfidence,satisfaction,andperhapseventriumph.Althoughbased on a photograph, the artist truncated the figure in order to isolate Kahlo’s evocativeface.Gorelickseemstocapturetheindomitablespiritthatpropelled Kahlo’s art as she explored her own physical and emotional suffering. Incontrasttotheiconicdepictionandabundantpersonalsymbolisminthe canvas for The Sister Chapel, Gorelick’s silverpoints avoid ostentation and functionasmorepersonalmeditationsonKahlo’shumanity. Mostofthesilverpointswereexhibited,withthenine-footcanvas,inasolo showatSOHO20GalleryinJanuary1977,83twoyearsbeforeThe Sister Chapel premiered.Inherreviewoftheexhibition,HollyO’Grady“applauded”the artist’sdecisiontocommemorateFridaKahlo,butconcludedthat“theactual worksuffersfromapoorlyconceiveduseofcolor.Theredsandbluesofthedress arealsorepeatedinthebackground,thuscompetingwiththefigure’spotential presence.”84Contrariwise,BarbaraCavalierelaudedthe“multiplesymbology, towering presence and blazing color,”85 while Ellen Lubell proposed that Gorelick’s“incorporationofconciseyetrevealingsymbolsandanadaptation of a subtly different style of painting” might yield “more such interpretive works.”86WhenFrida KahlowasexhibitedwithThe Sister Chapel,AmeiWallach recognizedasimilaritybetweenitsfrontalemphasisandthe“Spanishcolonial painting”thatinfluencedKahlo,althoughshedismissedGorelick’scoloras “vulgar.”87 The artist, in fact, approximated the color schemes of Kahlo’s TehuanaheaddressandtheleavesinFlower of Life,buttheproliferationofblue wasGorelick’screation.Her“inventedcolor,”asshedescribeditinthe1960s, iseasilyobservedinHomage to Picasso I,Three Graces III,andotherpaintings from the same period. In essence, her hues affirm Kahlo’s often arbitrary, non-naturalistic color choices without attempting to replicate them fully. Furthermore, the exceedingly shallow space follows Kahlo’s idiosyncratic self-portraiture, but the carefully modeled face of the monumental figure accords with the meticulous realism that distinguishes Gorelick’s work of the 1970s. In the end, Frida Kahlo demonstrates Shirley Gorelick’s ability to incorporate the salient symbolism and stylistic qualities of her precursor’s imagerywhileremainingtruetoherownartisticidentity. Frida Kahlo is Gorelick’s largest work, matched only by Tess Three Times (1981–82),whichpostdatedandwasapparentlyinspiredbythepaintingfor The Sister Chapel.Thecanvaseshavethesamedimensions,butTess Three Times isorientedhorizontally.Thepaintingisoneofaseriesthatexploresthefaces, expressions,andinteractionsoftheartist’sclosefriends,Dr.TessForrest(1922– 2009)andDr.JosephBarnett(1926–88),bothofwhomwerepsychoanalysts.The 2009) and Dr. Joseph Barnett (1926–1988), both of whom were psychoanalysts. 88 couplelivedinGreatNeck,whereDr.Forrestmaintainedaprivatepractice. The couple lived in Great Neck, where Dr. Forrest maintained a private 88 Tess ThreeTess Times the sitter’s oversized head and torso practice. Threepresents Times presents the sitter’s oversized head and torsoinin aa

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3.22 Shirley Gorelick,Tess in a Blue Dress (Dr. Tess Forrest) (1980),acrylic oncanvas,70× 70in.©Jamie S.Gorelick andStevenM. Gorelick.Photo: KarenMauch Photography

succession of different views, which returns to Gorelick’s reduplication of models, as in Giorgione’s Meadow and Three Graces III, but the realism and intensity are heightened. The latter is also true of Tess in a Blue Dress (Dr. Tess Forrest) (1980; Figure 3.22), a single-figure composition in which the sitter’s penetrating stare and vibrant blue dress are remarkably assertive.89 From the mid-1970s, Gorelick underpainted her canvases in pink or blue,90 which explains the color scheme of Tess in a Blue Dress. ThedominanceofredandbluehuesisalreadyfoundinFrida Kahlo,which waspaintedoverapaleblueground.TessForrest’sdresshassimilarlyrich blues,whicharerepeatedintherug.Liketheintricatefloralchaplet,venation of leaves, and patterned textiles in Frida Kahlo, Gorelick differentiated the woodgrain,leather,andfabricinTess in a Blue Dress.Shewasalsoattentive tothebooks,someofwhichhavelegibletitlesthatoffercluesaboutthesitter. Carl Jung, psychotherapy, sexuality, and erotic literature are some of the topicsnotedontheirspines.Theidentifiedvolumes,suchasGandhi’s Truth: On the Origins of Militant Nonviolence(1969)bytheinfluentialpsychoanalyst Erik H. Erikson (1902–1994), pertain to the sitter’s profession. Before she painted ErikH.Erikson(1902–94),pertaintothesitter’sprofession.Beforeshepainted Frida Kahlo, Gorelick showed little interest in the specific accoutrements andindividualizedenvironmentsofhersubjects.InTess in a Blue Dress and severalotherexamplesofGorelick’slatework,thepersonalconnotationsof Frida Kahlo’s fantastic symbology seem to have found a realistic mode of expression.

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Notes

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1

BettyHollidaytoGloriaFemanOrenstein,December31,1976,typedletter,photocopy,Betty Hollidaypapers,privatecollection.

2

“Drawings:ConcurrentDevelopment:TwoThemes,”pressreleaseforConcurrent Development: Two Themes: Figures, Sun FlowersbyBettyHolliday,FirehouseGallery,NassauCommunityCollege, GardenCity,NY,April30–June2,1984,BettyHollidaypapers.

3

HollidayvariouslyidentifiedheralmamaterasHarvard–Radcliffe,HarvardUniversity,and theFoggMuseum,HarvardUniversity;however,whileHarvardandRadcliffeofferedjoint instructionbeginningin1943,Radcliffediplomaswereissueduntil1963.

4

“BettyHolliday’sDrawingsandPaintingsatRoslyn’sBryantLibraryGalleryinNovember,”press releaseforBetty Holliday: Drawings—Paintings,BryantLibrary,Roslyn,NY,November6–29,1995, photocopy,BettyHollidaypapers.

5

DorothyGeesSeckler,“FuroroverFigure,”Art in America 49,no.1(1961):98–9.The“fledgling” Hollidaywasactually36yearsold.

6

Seckler,“FuroroverFigure,”100.

7

MalcolmPreston,“FigurativeImpact,”Art,Newsday, September28,1971.

8

JeanneParis,“ForcefulLIArtisthasExcitingExhibitofPhoto-Sculpture,”Art,Long Island Press, September19,1971.Herearliestextantmedium-formatnegatives,dated1962,arephotographsof NewYorkCityandworksintheartist’sstudio.Aconsiderablygreaternumberofnegativesexist from1963and1964,whichattesttoherburgeoninginterestinphotography.

9

HelenA.Harrison,“TheBoldnessandDelicacyofBettyHolliday,”New York Times,March18, 1979.

10

JuneBlum,Unmanly Art (StonyBrook,NY:SuffolkMuseum,1972),4,brieflyremarked,“Women oftenuseformalistframeworksasvehiclesforimpartingmaterial.”Horizontal Broomwasamong theworksshownintheexhibition.

11

GloriaFemanOrenstein,“TheSisterChapel:ATravelingHomagetoHeroines,”Womanart1,no.3 (Winter/Spring1977):20.

12

HollidaytoOrenstein,December31,1976.

13

Onthemountsofherslides(BettyHollidaypapers),theartistinconsistentlyidentifiedthe paintingasMarie-Louise (Nurse),Marie-Louise (Nurse) (Early Study for Sister Chapel),My Father’s Nurse,andNurse (Study for Sister Chapel).

14

HerexuberanceandrobustnessdrewtheattentionofbothJeanneParis,“SophisticatedPrimitive,” ArtReview,Newsday,March24,1978,andMalcolmPreston,“ComplementaryStyles,”Art, Newsday,April8,1978.

15

HollidaytoOrenstein,December31,1976.AspectsofgenderinthepoetryandlifeofMarianne Moorehaveattractedattentionmorerecently.See,forexample,JeanneHeuving,Omissions Are Not Accidents: Gender in the Art of Marianne Moore (Detroit:WayneStateUniversityPress,1992); KathrynR.Kent,Making Girls into Women: American Women’s Writing and the Rise of Lesbian Identity (Durham:DukeUniversityPress,2003),167–234.

16

TheactualtitleofHolliday’spainting,ifiteverhadone,isunknown.Shedidnotmaintain consistentrecordsoftitles,dates,media,anddimensionsforherwork.

17

HollidaypresentedsmallcolorphotographsofMarie-Louise (Nurse)andMarianne Moore/MarieLouisetohercollaboratorsin1976;theyarenowintheSylviaSleighpapers,1803–2011,bulk 1940–2000,GettyResearchLibrary,LosAngeles(2004.M.4).SinceMarianne Moore/Marie-Louise did notfittheparametersforThe Sister Chapel,whichwerealreadyestablishedby1976,itseemslikely thatitwasexploratory.

18

JohnPinna,telephoneconversationwithauthor,August15,2006.

19

AmeiWallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld—theSisterChapel’sTrinity,”Art,Newsday,January 29,1978.

20

HollidaytoOrenstein,December31,1976.

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21

HollidaytoOrenstein,December31,1976.

22

QuotedinRollieMcKenna,Rollie McKenna: A Life in Photography (NewYork:AlfredA.Knopf, 1991),142.

23

JohnMalcolmBrinninandBillRead,The Modern Poets: An American–British Anthology(NewYork: McGraw-Hill,1963).

24

McKenna,Rollie McKenna,142.

25

QuotedinOrenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”20.

26

MarianneMoore,O to Be a Dragon (NewYork:VikingPress,1959).

27

MarianneMoore,The Complete Poems of Marianne Moore(NewYork:MacmillanCompany,1967), 179,194,and202.

28

PatriciaC.Willis,Marianne Moore: Vision into Verse(Philadelphia:RosenbachMuseumandLibrary, 1987),30.

29

GuyRotella,Reading and Writing Nature: The Poetry of Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, Marianne Moore, and Elizabeth Bishop (Boston:NortheasternUniversityPress,1991),154–5.

30

AphotographofHolliday,wearingtheclochehatandstandinginfrontofMarianne Moore, appearedasanillustrationtoWallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld.”Sheisalsovisibleina numberofphotographstakenbyJohnPinnaattheopening.

31

BettyHolliday,“MarianneMoore,”printedonthereverseoftheposterforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1 (InstituteforArtandUrbanResources),January15–February19,1978.

32

CharlesMolesworth,Marianne Moore: A Literary Life(NewYork:Atheneum,1990),431.

33

Molesworth,Marianne Moore,xxi.

34

Willis,Marianne Moore,28.

35

Rotella,Reading and Writing Nature,154.ArevealingselectionofMoore’ssources,including reproductionsofseveralworksofart,wasexhibitedattheRosenbachMuseumandLibraryin 1987;seeWillis,Marianne Moore.

36

RandyMalamud,Poetic Animals and Animal Souls (NewYork:PalgraveMacmillan,2003),96.As notedbytheauthor,oneofMoore’sessaysinThe Dial (1927)referredtotherecentdeathsoftwo KomododragonsattheBronxZoo,assertingthatwehavea“mererighttosnakesinstoneand story,”asopposedtopossessingthemliterally.

37

Willis,Marianne Moore,30.

38

Wallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld.”

39

PressreleaseforBetty Holliday: Large Works—Notations—Drawings,CentralHallArtists,Port Washington,NY,March1–25,1979,photocopy,BettyHollidaypapers.

40

PhyllisBraff,“PotpourriReflectsDiversity,”Art,New York Times,September19,1982.

41

MalcolmPreston,“FourLongIslandersinSoHo,”ArtReview,Newsday,June21,1983.

42

HelenA.Harrison,“TheHumanFigureMakesaComebackasaMotif,”Art,New York Times, September4,1983.

43

Braff,“PotpourriReflectsDiversity.”

44

Press release for Shirley Gorelick: Paintings, 1965–1970,SOHO20Gallery,NewYork,NY,September 1965–70, SOHO 20 Gallery, New York, NY September PressreleaseforShirley 30–October18,1986,photocopy,collectionofJamieS.Gorelick.

45

See,forexample,FrancisHaskell,“Giorgione’sConcert ChampêtreanditsAdmirers,”Journal of the Royal Society of Arts119(July1971):543–55.

46

PressreleaseforShirley Gorelick: Paintings, 1965–1970. –70.

47

CharlotteStreiferRubenstein,American Women Artists, from Early Indian Times to the Present (Boston:G.K.Hall,1982),403.

48

PressreleaseforShirley Gorelick: Paintings, 1965–1970. –70.

49

ShirleyGorelick,untitledartist’sstatement[c.1980],typed,photocopy,collectionofJamieS. Gorelick.

50

MalcolmPreston,“ParallelExpressions,”Art,Newsday,July9,1974,reportsthatallthreeworked there.BorisOurlicht,whosewifemodeledforThree Graces IV (1969),Three Graces V (1969),anda numberofotherworks,recalledthatonewasajanitorandtheotherswerehisfriends,butthought thattwoofthemenmighthaveworkedthere;BorisOurlicht, telephoneconversationwithauthor, June28,2010.

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51

HelenA.Harrison,“PeopleasPaintinShirleyGorelick’sWorks,”Art,New York Times,February 11,1978.

52

Gorelick,untitledartist’sstatement[ca.1980].

53

Pressreleasefor3/realists,Women’sInterartCenter,NewYork,NY,September13–October4,1973, photocopy,collectionofJamieS.Gorelick.

54

Thefirstintheseries,nowknownasThree Sisters I(1974;privatecollection)wasexhibitedwiththe titleWestchester GauguinatCentralHallArtistsGalleryin1974;seePreston,“ParallelExpressions.”

55

Pressreleasefor3/realists.

56

PressreleaseforShirley Gorelick: Recent Realist Paintings,SOHO20Gallery,NewYork,NY,January 8–February2,1977,photocopy,collectionofJamieS.Gorelick.

57

EllenLubell,“ShirleyGorelick,”ArtsReviews,Arts Magazine 51,no.7(March1977):40.

58

Rubinstein,American Women Artists,403.

59

Wallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld;”JamieGorelick,e-mailmessagetoauthor,April1,2008.

60

Pre-1980publicationsdevotedsolelytoKahloarefew.AmongthemareLolaOlmedo,Museo Frida Kahlo(MexicoCity:MiguelGalas,1968),asmallcataloguethatconsistsprimarilyofillustrations; GloriaFemanOrenstein,“FridaKahlo:PaintingforMiracles,”Feminist Art Journal (Fall1973): 7–9;HaydenHerrera,“FridaKahlo:HerLife,HerArt,”Artforum14,no.9(May1976):38–44;and HaydenHerrera,Frida Hayden Herrera, Frida Kahlo: An Exhibition, 1910–1954(Chicago:MuseumofContemporaryArt, 1910–54 (Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art, 1978),asmall,28-pagecatalogueofthefirstretrospectiveofKahlo’sworkintheUnitedStates. HerPortrait of Frida and Diego(1931;SanFranciscoMuseumofModernArt)wasamongtheworks inthelandmarkexhibition,Women Artists, 1550–1950,whichopenedattheLosAngelesCounty MuseumofArtin1976andtraveledtothreeothervenues,includingtheBrooklynMuseum;see AnnSutherlandHarrisandLindaNochlin,Women Artists, 1550–1950 (LosAngeles:LosAngeles MuseumofArt,1976),335–7.

61

AsimilarobservationwasmadebyDianaKurz,interviewbyauthor,NewYork,NY,September 17,2006,audiocassetterecording.

62

SeeMargaretA.Lindauer,Devouring Frida: The Art History and Popular Celebrity of Frida Kahlo (Hanover,NH:UniversityPressofNewEngland,1999).

63

HaydenHerrera,Frida Kahlo: The Paintings(NewYork:HarperCollinsPublishers,1991),7.

64

ShirleyGorelick,“FridaKahlo,”printedonthereverseoftheposterforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1 (InstituteforArtandUrbanResources),January15–February19,1978.

65

ThenameisfromSigmundFirestone,whocommissionedit.SeeChristie’sLatin American Sale,Sale 2173,NewYork,NY,May28–29,2009,Lot13.

66

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”19.

67

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”19.

68

OntheiconographyofThe Two Fridas,see Herrera,135–8.

69

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”19.

70

OnthesimilaritiesofKahlo’splantstogenitalia,seeHerrera,Frida Kahlo,89.Thephotographsare inthecollectionofJamieS.GorelickandtheSylviaSleighpapers.

71

WhentheartistsofThe Sister Chapel metonJune22,1976,Gorelickbroughtoneofthein-progress photographstodisplayinMaureenConnor’smaquette.Sheheightenedtheimagebyadding smallstripsalongthetopandbottomedges,conspicuouslyextendingthehemofKahlo’sdress toeliminatethecropping.Gorelick’sadjustedphotographofFrida KahloisintheSylviaSleigh papers.

72

Herrera,Frida Kahlo,141–2.

73

JoyPerla,“ShirleyGorelick:PerceptiveMasterofPortraitPainting,”North Shore: The Magazine for Living on the Gold Coast 5,no.2 (February–March1981):27.

74

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”19;Wallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld;” SandraL.Langer,“TheSisterChapel:TowardsaFeministIconography,withCommentarybyIlise Greenstein,”Southern Quarterly 17,no.2(Winter1979):36;Perla,“ShirleyGorelick,”26–7.

75

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”19;Langer,“SisterChapel,”36;Perla,“Shirley Gorelick,”26–7.

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76

InherSelf-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky(1937;Washington,DC,NationalMuseumofWomen intheArts),Kahloportrayedherselfwitharingandredfingernails.Shealsowearsrings,for example,inMe and My Parrots (1941;privatecollection)andSelf-Portrait with the Portrait of Doctor Farill (1951;privatecollection).Inthelatter,shealsohasabracelet.

77

Herrera,Frida Kahlo,218.

78

JeanneParis,“ChineseMastersatQueensMuseum,”Art,Long Island Press,January16,1977.The authorreferstoher“strength,determinationandherwomanliness.”

79

Harrison,“PeopleasPaint.”

80

LindaBankDowns,Diego Rivera: The Detroit Industry Murals(Detroit:DetroitInstituteofArts, 1999),58.

81

DiegoRivera,My Art, My Life(NewYork:CitadelPress,1960),287.

82

MalcolmPreston,“LargeScalewithDifferences,”TheArts,Newsday,February11,1978.

83

PressreleaseforShirley Gorelick: Recent Realist Paintings.Gorelickjoinedtheall-womencooperative in1974;seeEllenLubell,“SoHo20,”Womanart1,no.1(Summer1977):16.

84

HollyO’Grady,“ShirleyGorelick,”ExhibitionReviews,Feminist Art Journal 6,no.1(Spring1977): 40.

85

BarbaraCavaliere,“ShirleyGorelick,”Reviews,Womanart 1,no.4(Spring–Summer1977):25.

86

Lubell,“ShirleyGorelick,”40.

87

Wallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld.”

88

“Barnett—Dr.TessForrest,”PaidNotice:Deaths,New York Times,January18,2009.

89

PhyllisBraff,“MixingPowerandDelicacy,”Art,New York Times,September11,1983,responded to“thepowergeneratedbyShirleyGorelick’smassive,realisticfigures.”

90

BarbaraFlugColin,“ShirleyGorelick,”Arts Magazine 56,no.8(April1982):15.

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4 June Blum, BettyFriedanastheProphet Alice Neel, BellaAbzug—theCandidate

June Blum (b. 1929) AstheWomen’sLiberationMovementadvancedinthelate1960s,JuneBlum’s burgeoningfeministviewpointledhertostageaseriesof“time-space-light environment events,” which were descended from Happenings but closely tiedtotheartist’sinterestsinpaintingandsculpture.1ThefirstwasThe Female President (1968–69), presented at the North Shore Community Arts Center inGreatNeck,NewYork.Blumrecognizedthat“thefurthestthingforour society,atthattime,wasafemalepresident.”2Shewroteanabstractscriptin whichawomanwasthePresidentoftheUnitedStatesandgavebirthtoher successor,anotherfemale.Usingoverheadprojectorswithtransparenciesof variousdesigns,shecreatedchanginglighteffectsondancersandactors,who wereaccompaniedbysoundsandelectronicmusic.Theconceptofafemale president was identified as “vaguely far-fetched” by one reviewer, who characterized the entire event as “really far-out.”3 Blum was disappointed thatcriticsignoredthe“emotionalcontent”andrespondedonlytotheformal aspects,especiallyheruseoflight.4Asshelaterasserted,“Idofeelthereis genderinart,thatfemaleconsciousnessexistsandshouldbeencouraged.”5 The motivation for subsequent time-space-light environment events was similar. Medusa (1970), for example, was presented at Nassau Community College Experimental Theatre in Garden City, New York, and addressed discrimination based on appearances. Colored and black-and-white forms were projected onto an undulating draped fabric that was stretched from ceilingtofloor.Theartistincorporatedtheaudience,whose“flowofchanging moods” was to be affected by “the flow of lights.”6 American Queen (1972), stagedattheOklahomaArtCenterMuseuminOklahomaCity,likewiseused glassslidesthatwerepaintedbytheartistandprojectedontofabricthatwas stretchedaroundtheroom;electronicsounds,anactor,andadancerwerealso partofthework.7ThiseventwasanabstracthomagetoJacquelineKennedy 8 8 Onassis (1929–1994), for whom Blum felt “a certain empathy.” Onassis(1929–94),forwhomBlumfelt“acertainempathy.”

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4.1 JuneBlum, Bonnie with Bride Doll(1973),oilon canvas,30×26 in.©JuneBlum

After creating time-space-light environment events for several years, Blumresumedpaintingoncanvas,butwasdisinclinedtorevisittheblackand-white abstractions that dominated her work between 1963 and 1968.9 She turned to figurative work and, occasioned by her involvement with feminism,oftenchosewomenashersubjects.10Inaspanofonlythreeyears, BlumjoinedandactivelyparticipatedinWomenintheArts(WIA),became afoundingmemberofCentralHallArtistsonLongIsland,andbeganher tenureascuratoroftheContemporaryArtProgramattheSuffolkMuseum in Stony Brook, New York. In the latter position, which she held from 1971 to 1975, Blum was responsible for the groundbreaking, all-women exhibition,Unmanly Art,mountedin1972.Hercontemporaneouspaintings, which are mostly portraits of family members, evolved correspondingly. InBonnie with Bride Doll(1973;Figure4.1),Blumportrayedhereight-yearold niece, Bonnie Braile, with a stereotypically feminine toy, which she received as a Christmas present from the artist. The gift was suggested by Bonnie’s mother, Joan Braile, who is June Blum’s younger sister. After an extensive search yielded no results, Blum finally found one in a neighborhood store.11 While the doll was given to Bonnie at Yuletide, the portrait was executed the following summer. Casually dressed in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, Bonnie happily holds the doll, whose ostentatious and flounced matrimonial gown obscures most of the girl’s upper body.

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4.2 JuneBlum, Pat Mainardi Reading TFAJ (1974),oilon canvas,48×50 in.©JuneBlum

Withitsextremeartifice,thedollintrudesonanotherwiseinnocentpicture ofagirloutdoors.Blumaddedtheleafybackgroundfor“contrast,”12yetit alsocallsattentiontothedifferencesbetweenthatwhichistrulynatural— the foliage and innocent girl—and that which is deemed “natural” for women—marriage and, presumably, motherhood. The painting seems to question gender stereotypes, but the artist deliberately left the painting opentointerpretation.13 Blum’sfeministcontentislessequivocalinaseriesof50-inchportraits ofstrongwomeninthevisualarts.Pat Mainardi Reading TFAJ (1974;Figure 4.2)depictsthefeministartist,critic,andarthistorianonthestepsthatled tothestudioofJuneBlum’shouseinBrooklyn.Thesitterholdsthecurrent edition of The Feminist Art Journal, in which she published “Quilts: The Great American Art.”14 The periodical, which ceased publication in 1977, was founded in 1972 by Mainardi (b. 1942), Cindy Nemser (b. 1937), and Irene Moss.15 Specific to her sitter, Blum included the journal’s masthead, thetitleofMainardi’sessay,andalooselyrenderedgrisaillecopyofZubie Cole Spaulding’s Sunburst and Grandmother’s Flower Garden (1849; Denver ArtMuseum),whichwasillustratedinthearticle.Atthesametime,Blum’s own work recurs at the upper right, where a black-and-white abstraction hangsonthewall;totheleftofthestairs,apushpinholdsadiagramfrom oneofherlightinstallations.Theidentitiesoftheartistandsitterarethus

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intermingled. In other paintings, Blum situated her contemporaries in the environments where they worked or lived.16 Sylvia Sleigh at Home (1975) depictsBlum’scolleagueonthesofainthesittingroomofherresidence.In contrasttoPat Mainardi Reading TFAJ,thefigureoccupiesconsiderablyless ofthecanvas.BydecreasingSleigh’srelativesize,Blumexploredheridentity through the ambiance of her home. The distinctive tiled floor, sofa, and decorativelampsarerecognizableelementsinSleigh’spaintings,including her SOHO 20 Group Portrait (1974; St. Louis, University of Missouri), and were familiar to those who visited her. On the wall hangs Sleigh’s Double Image: Paul Rosano (1974; private collection), one of the controversial paintings of hirsute nude males for which she became well-known. Blum similarly painted Cindy Nemser (1975), in which the feminist author and critic is seated in her living room in Brooklyn. Nemser is surrounded by worksofart,includingaPlexiglaslightsculpturebyLilaKatzen(1925–98). works of art, including a Plexiglas light sculpture by Lila Katzen (1925–1998). HerhandrestsontheFall1974issueofThe Feminist Art Journal,forwhich sheinterviewedLouiseNevelson.17Stylistically,Blum’sdebttotheso-called naïve painters, particularly Henri Rousseau (1844–1910), is evident in her intuitiveresponsestosubjectsandforms,whicharefrequentlyreducedto curvilinearandangularshapes.Spaceiscompressedandelementsthatare perpendicular to the picture plane appear to be tilted, most evidently in thestepsofPat Mainardi Reading TFAJ andthefloorinSylvia Sleigh at Home. Further,lightandshadowaregenerallydefinedasbroad,flatareasofcolor. LikethejunglepaintingsofRousseauortheruralscenesofGrandmaMoses (1860–1961),Blumhassacrificedillusionismtothedemandsofcomposition. In1975,BlumexecutedtwopaintingsofprominentwomenattheBronx MuseumoftheArts,whichwasthenhousedintherotundaoftheBronxCounty Courthouse.Unlikeherotherportraitsoffriendsandassociates,whomshe invitedtositforher,afour-weekgrantallowedBlumtopaintthesewomenin theirprofessionalenvironment.Judith Van Baron(1975;Figure4.3)andBeatrice Kalkut Colby(1975;privatecollection)representthemuseum’sdirector18and Kalcut program director,19 respectively. Blum’s portraits are far from the stolid depictionsoffounders,presidents,andhigh-rankingofficialsthathavelong beensanctionedbypublicinstitutions.Eachofthepaintingsincorporatesthe distinctivetileflooroftherotunda,butthemoveablepartitionsthatserved asexhibition“walls,”distinguishedbytheircasters,areonlyfoundinJudith Van Baron.Inthebackgroundareglimpsesofotherartists’worksondisplay. VanBaronsitsupright,smartlydressedandcalmlypositionedbeforeapier. Her uncompromising gaze, coupled with the sturdy architectural element, suggests the steadfastness of her personality. Earlier that year, Van Baron curated The Year of the Woman,20 an exhibition that included Sylvia Sleigh’s Double Image: Paul Rosano,aswellasBlum’saforementionedportraitinwhich that painting appears. Sleigh’s three-quarter-length nude was among the allegedly offensive works that prompted calls for the removal of the show, but Van Baron resolutely rejected such censorship,21 in part by eloquently defendingSleigh’spaintinginthecontextofnudemalesinarthistory.22

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4.3 JuneBlum, Judith Van Baron (1975),oilon canvas,48×50 in.©JuneBlum

JuneBlum’sportrayalsofstrongwomenculminatedinBetty Friedan as the Prophet (Plate5),aportraitofthefeministmatriarchwhosegroundbreaking book, The Feminine Mystique (1963), invigorated the burgeoning Women’s LiberationMovement.Inbothcharacterandstyle,theimageismoreiconic thanBlum’searlierportraits.23Themonumentalandcommandinglyfrontal figure stands before a distant mountain and curving desert road.24 Like MosesdescendingMountSinaiwiththeTenCommandments,25BettyFriedan (1921–2006)deliversThe Feminine Mystique,tuckedunderherarm,tofuture generations. In contrast to her Hebrew predecessor, Friedan’s revelation carriesnoimplicationofdivineinspiration.Instead,herinnersearchandthe brillianceofherownmindhaveledhertodivulgethesecretof“theproblem that has no name.”26 Furthermore, Friedan’s distinctly female identity is emphasized by a flowing red dress with a ruched décolleté and a pair of delicatefloralearringsthatarevisiblebeneathhergracefullyflowinghair.As BlumwroteinherstatementforThe Sister Chapel, Betty,thepublicfigure,representsthecontemporarywomanandherstruggle towardsequalopportunitiesinourtime. Bettyherself,representstomethesuccessawomancanachievebyfightingand consistentlyworkinghardtowardsagoal. Betty,inthispainting,isametaphorforthecontemporarywomanartist.Iwanted torepresenttheworking,living,struggling,existing,growingwomanofourtime.

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Bettyisthefemininecrusader,thelivingproofofthechangeofwomen’s consciousnessthroughherfield,literature. Betty’sdeterminationisshownthroughtheseriousnessofherfacialexpression, proclaimingherunswervingdedicationtohergoalsandideals,andahighorder ofintellectandabilityservinghersetcourse.27

Positionednear the picture plane, Friedan is“forward-moving;”28 thus, she standsasasymbolfortheadvancementofwomen. Unlike Blum’s earlier sitters, Betty Friedan was not known to the artist. Sheobtainedherpotentialsubject’stelephonenumberandcalledtoaskifshe wouldsitforaportrait.Friedanneitheragreednordisagreed;herresponse was equally ambiguous when Blum called a second time. The artist finally wenttoFriedan’sapartment,wherethedoormanrangthefeministmatriarch andBlumwasgrantedanaudience.29Asuccessionofsevensittings30yieldeda grisaillebustandtwofull-lengthportraits,allofwhichservedaspreparatory studiesforthenine-footpaintingthatwouldjoinThe Sister Chapel.Thesessions weredemanding,yetBlumperseveredthroughFriedan’s“verybusyandfarreachingschedule,whichwentonuninterruptedduringthisperiod,involving interviews, innumerable telephone calls, and business appointments, all carried on while I worked with brush, canvas, and camera.”31 Privately, Blum confided to Ilise Greenstein that Friedan “took her emotions out on everyonearoundher,includingme,”whensheanticipatedanegativereview of her latest book, It Changed My Life: Writings on the Women’s Movement.32 4.4 JuneBlum, Betty Friedan (1976),oilon canvas,22×16 in.©JuneBlum

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Blumfurtherremarkedthatherown“emotions…arebeingbatteredaround toomuch”andquestionedwhethersheshouldcontinuethesessionsorwork fromthephotographsthatshehadalreadytaken.33Ofthepaintingsexecuted inthesitter’sapartment,Blum’ssmallgrisaillesketchisthemostimmediate (1976;Figure4.4).Friedan’seyesareslightlydowncastandherheadisturned alittletoherright,asifcaughtinanintrospectivemoment.Blumsimplistically articulated the sitter’s features, adding only the most essential elements of shadow,andlooselydepictedFriedan’shairandruffledcollar.Thelatteris economically rendered in the lower right of the canvas with dramatically undulating lines that resemble an underdrawing. Despite the stylization of Blum’snine-footpainting,thefundamentalcharacteristicsofFriedan’sface, astheartistinterpretedthem,arealreadydiscernibleinthegrisailleportrait. In particular, she has heavy-lidded eyes with darkly outlined pupils and curvilineardemarcationsoftheeyelids,anelongatedandslightlydrooping nose,andstraightlips. Betty Friedan Seated (1976;Figure4.5)andBetty Friedan Standing(1976;Figure 4.6) were alsopaintedinthesitter’sapartment,butthelatterwascompleted in the studio.34 The red dress, selected by the sitter, appears in all of Blum’s paintingsofFriedan;totheartist,itsuggestedthe“vibrancyofwomen.”35At times,thecelebratedfeministposedinahigh-backedchairbeforeacrowded bookcase,asrecordedintheartist’sphotographs.Partofthechairispreserved in Blum’s seated portrait, while the shelves were retained for the standing figure.Althoughthesittingsoccurredindoors,theportraitsdepictFriedanin ametaphoricallandscape,“inkeepingwiththeexpanseofhercapabilitiesto reachpeople.”36InBetty Friedan Standing,theoutdoorbackgroundisglimpsed through the regular intervals of horizontal shelves, which are strewn with books, and the sitter’s feet rest on a patterned and fringed rug from her apartment. The background of the monumental painting ultimately became anaridlandscape,withitsattendantpropheticsymbolism,butotherelements weretransferredfromthefull-lengthversions.Betty Friedan Standingprovided theoverallpostureofthefigure,aswellasthehairstyle,whilethelonebook andplacementofthesitter’sarmsarederivedfromBetty Friedan Seated.Blum addedthedelicatefloralearrings,whichFriedanworewithadifferentdress, tosoftentheintensegazeandsculpturalfaceofthemonumentalfigure.37Betty Friedan as the Prophet initiallycontainedtheblack,open-toedshoesthatappear inBlum’sfull-lengthstudies,buttheydrewattentionfromthefaceandbook;38 thelandscapewasalsogeometricallyabstract.39Blum’smodificationsresulted inalessrigid,floatingqualitythatreinforcesthesemi-divinepresentationof thefigure.Inaddition,theoverallproportionsaremoresatisfactory.Friedan appears to be compacter, which effectively conveys her actual shortness of staturewithoutdiminishinghertowering,iconicstatus.40 As an extension of the paintings, June Blum conceived four nonlinear andnon-chronological“conceptualdocumentations,”createdbetweenApril and December 1976. On Painting Betty Friedan is the most straightforward and documentary of these artist’s books. It commences with a photograph of Blum on a ladder, freehandedly sketching Friedan’s form on the canvas

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4.5 JuneBlum, Betty Friedan Seated(1976),oil oncanvas,58×36 in.©JuneBlum 4.6 JuneBlum, Betty Friedan Standing(1976), oiloncanvas, 72×38in.© JuneBlum

thatbecameherpaintingforThe Sister Chapel.Astheimpetusforthesittings and the inspiration for the resulting series of paintings and artist’s books, Blum’s portrait is a felicitous introductory image. This is followed by an assortmentof18photographsthatBlumtookduringthesessionsinFriedan’s apartment.IncontrasttoOn Painting Betty Friedan,theotherthreeconceptual documentations,whichconstitute The Dress Series,41moredirectlyconcernthe artist’svicariousliaisonwithFriedanthroughhergarment.Whenthesitter brieflylefttown,shelentthedresstoBlum,42whowishedtocapturethecolor andfoldsaccurately.Unabletodrapeitcorrectly,theartistdecidedtowearit. Afterdonningthedress,Blum“feltstrange”becauseitseemedasifshewere invadingFriedan’sprivacyandencroachingonherindividuality;atthesame time,shewascompelledto“dosomethingwithit.”43AsBlumlaterexplained, she“became”BettyFriedanwhensheworethedress,44afetishisticexperience thatinvolvedacomplexinteractionofidentities.Accordingtotheartist, Iliketohaveacertainstrength,yetstillhaveasoftnessandunderstandingof otherpeople.…IhadtobecarefulthatIdidn’tgettooattachedandthatIdidn’t gettootransformed.ButIhadtoexperimentwiththefactthatIdidhavethe dresson.Iwasdealingwithsomeonewhohadaverystrongpersonality.45

Revisitingtheperformativequalityofherearliertime-space-lightenvironment events, Blum’s conceptual documentations from The Dress Series trace her

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4.7 JuneBlum, Transformations (1976),from The Dress Series, detail,conceptual documentationof 14photographs byMaurice C.Blum.© JuneBlum

conflictedencounterwithhersubject,butwithoutnarrativeandrarelywith overtsymbolism. Transformations,thefirstinThe Dress Series,consistsof14double-exposure photographs taken by Blum’s husband, Maurice. Most of them feature the artist,capturedinasuccessionofimagesinwhichsheiswearingFriedan’s dressandsittingonapairoffoldingstoolsthatwereplacedinheryard.In two instances, Blum and her ethereal doppelgänger seem to embrace in a show of sisterly solidarity (Figure 4.7). She later described the photograph as“myselfembracingthisotherperson;”46thus,itrepresentsmorethanthe mereduplicationofBlum’slikeness.Indeed,itisavisualmanifestationofthe innerdialoguebetweentheartistandhersenseofBettyFriedan.Severalothers suggest imaginary interactions between Blum and herself as an emanation of Friedan. One photograph shows Blum’s apparitional form admonishing hercompanion,whostubbornlyplantsherfistsonherhips.Inthiscase,she seemstochannelthefeistyandinexorablefeministwhochampionedwomen’s liberation.Therepetitivespectralformsarerevealinginotherwaysaswell. Sincethetechnologytocreateaconvincingcompositephotographhadlong been available, a believable representation was obviously not the desired outcomeofthedoubleexposure.Instead,theintangibilityofherreduplicated form seems to evoke the artist’s inner struggle with Friedan’s powerful personality.Blum’sindeterminateform,repeatedthroughoutherconceptual documentation, suggests the impossibility of commingling the artist and her subject. Despite her fascination with Friedan, Blum was unwilling to surrenderherself,irrespectiveofherrolemodel’sstrength.Atbest,theartist couldaccesssomepartsofFriedan’scharacterand,whilewearingthedress, inhabitthem.

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4.8 JuneBlum, Betty Friedan Head Study #1 (1976), oiloncanvas, 23¼×21¼in. ©JuneBlum

Transformations concludes with the superimposed images of the artist’s faceandBetty Friedan Head Study #3 (1976),oneoffivesuchpaintingswith identical dimensions that Blum derived from her photographs after the sittings ended. The canvases, all completed in 1976, allowed the artist to continueherexplorationofFriedan’svaryingstatesofmind.47Eachcontains a portion of the red dress and four of them are set against a light blue background, as in the full-length paintings. The first two busts are frontal, withFriedan’simpenetrablefacestaringdirectlyattheviewer.Betty Friedan Head Study #1 (Figure 4.8) corresponds most closely to the panel for The Sister Chapel.Theeyebrows,nose,andmoutharequitesimilar,althoughthe head of the monumental figure is generally more stylized, slightly wider, and more compact. In Betty Friedan Head Study #2, the eyelids are smaller and the forehead is higher, both of which contribute to the strength of her piercingstare.Thethirdintheseriesiscomposedinthesamemanner,but Friedan’s face is rounder and smoother, her eyebrows are lowered, and her lips form a slight smile. Moreover, the unusual golden tones of the background liken her to a Byzantine icon. Betty Friedan Head Study #4 is alsodirect,butherfaceisturnedthree-quarters.Thisisalsotrueofthefifth version,buttheheadisclosertoaprofileandoccupiesalargerportionofthe canvasthanintheotherpaintings.Inthisportrait,Friedanwearsadangling circular earring that actually accessorized the red dress during the sittings.

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When Blum exhibited the head studies at N.N. Gallery in Seattle,48 the artist’s identification with her subject led one reviewer to see some of the bust-length studies as “Ms. Friedan’s face melded withMs.Blum’s—theimmersionwasthat successful.”49 The artist, however, insists that the studies are not self-portraits masquerading as Betty Friedan,50 but concedes, “perhaps I saw a little of Betty inallofus.”51 Blum nonetheless used the head studies as “masks” in The Metamorphosis of June Blum, the second conceptual documentation in The Dress Series. Most of the photographs show Blum standing or sitting outside with one of the bust portraits held in front of her face (Figure 4.9).TheartistalternatelywearsFriedan’s red dress and her own sleeveless white top with red-and-white checkered pants. In these odd juxtapositions, Blum again exploredhercomplicatedinteractionwith Betty Friedan’s fluctuating personality by hiding her own identity behind the painted surrogates of her own creation. With Blum situated awkwardly behind them,sheresistsbeingsubsumedbyFriedan.Thetwoaremingled,yeteach is discernible in the photographic hybrids. Their personalities cannot fully merge, as is true of the double-exposure images in Transformations. Even whenBlumpositionsonehandinaself-consciousemulationofheridol,the pairing of a head study and the artist’s body is discordant. The title of the conceptualdocumentation,The Metamorphosis of June Blum,isalsotelling.Like Transformations,itindicatesaninconstantstate.Sheismetamorphosing,but is never fully transformed. In the end, Blum is neither pupa nor butterfly. If she is the former, she is unaffected by her engagement with Friedan; if sheisthelatter,Friedanhascompletelyremadeher.Themetamorphosisis, therefore, only partial but substantial. It can never reach a total resolution. This mutability finds further embodiment in Blum’s internal organization of the three conceptual documentations. Most notably, the final image in The Metamorphosis of June Blumisaphotographoftheartist,inFriedan’sred dress,standingalonebesidethefoldingstoolthatappearsinTransformations. It recurs, unaltered, as the third image in June Blum as Betty Friedan, the artist’s final book in The Dress Series. Blum seems to suggest that even her seeminglydiscrete“documentations,”likeherencounterwithBettyFriedan, areincapableoftakinganentirelyfixedform.

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4.9 JuneBlum, The Metamorphosis of June Blum (1976),from The Dress Series, detail,conceptual documentationof 17photographs byMaurice C.Blum.© JuneBlum

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4.10 JuneBlum, June Blum as Betty Friedan (1976), fromThe Dress Series,detail, conceptual documentationof 17photographs byMaurice C.Blumand JuneBlum.© JuneBlum

InJune Blum as Betty Friedan,theartiststands,sits,jumps,walks,andposes withpropswhilewearingthereddress(Figure4.10).Intwophotographs,she imitatesBetty Friedan Seated.Inanother,sheholdsasmallmirror,asifpreparing forher“role”asthefeministleader.TwoothersshowBlumwithaman’shat and an umbrella, which are curious masculine signifiers that counteract the implied femininity of Friedan’s frilly red dress. Blum seems to emphasize the nontraditional character of Friedan, who was sometimes maligned for her unglamorous features, a way of criticizing her that Blum found unfair and inappropriate.52 Moreover, she challenges the stereotypical notion of femininity,whichFriedanexaminedinThe Feminine Mystique.Thecombination ofmaleandfemaleattributesalsoseemstovisualizetheuneasynavigationof equalrightsforwomen.Otherphotographsinthisconceptualdocumentation presentBlumsteppingthroughawoodenframe,asifdeliberatelyviolatingits rectangularboundary,justasFriedanrefusedtoberestrictedbyapatriarchal visionofwomanhood.IftherewereanyquestionthatBlumis“performing” Betty Friedan, an actual photograph of her, taken by the artist, is included. TheaforementionedimagesinJune Blum as Betty Friedan aresituatedbetween photographs of Blum in her leaf-strewn yard, exuberantly emancipated, presumably by Friedan’s revelations.53 As in Pat Mainardi Reading TFAJ and The Metamorphosis of June Blum,theartist’sownworkrecurs.Inthisinstance, heroutdoorsculpturalabstractions,madeofstretchedjerseymaterial,reaffirm Blum’sroleinthenegotiation ofherownidentity andthat ofBettyFriedan. Thisisafittingendtoagroupofchallenginginteractionsbetweentheartistand hersubject.AlthoughBlum’sengagementwithFriedanwasheavilyone-sided, itwasultimatelyatransformativeexperience.Whilesherefusedtoallowher rolemodel’sstrongpersonalitytodominateherwork,shecouldnotavoidthe effectofthisimportantfeminist.

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4.11 JuneBlum, The Individual Museum: The Amusing of Modern Art (July11,1977), performanceat thecornerof53rd Streetand5th Avenue,New York.Photo: MauriceC.Blum. ©JuneBlum

Returningtotheactivistcharacterofmuseumprotests,inwhichBlumhad participatedearlier,shereinvigoratedherconceptualworkwithThe Individual Museum: The Amusing of Modern Art (Figure 4.11), for which Betty Friedan wasapowerfulimpetus.Thethree-houreventwasstagedonJuly11,1977, at the northwest corner of 53rd Street and FifthAvenue in New York,54 the blockwheretheMuseumofModernArtislocated.Usingababycarriageas a“portablewomb,”55Blumcarriedherprogeny—fourofherheadstudiesof BettyFriedan—“directlytothepubliconthestreet.”56Threeofthepaintings were hung from the carriage and a fourth was propped between the bed andcanopy,facingBlumlikeachild.57TheartistworeaT-shirt,emblazoned withthewordsBY JUNE BLUM.Sheinteractedwithanumberofpassersby anddistributedinformationaboutdiscriminationagainstwomen,especially wheretheMuseumofModernArtwasconcerned.58AsBlumexplainedinher pressreleasefortheevent, Thisisthemostdirectmeansofexhibitingworkandrevivestheconceptof Renaissanceartistswhoopenedtheirshopstoexhibitandsellworktothepublic. …GalleriesandMuseumshavetakenovertheroleofpatronage,limitingpublic exposuretoaone-sidedandinflatedartmarket.This“IndividualMuseum”is theextensionofsocialstatementsJuneBlumhasworkedwithforthelastnine yearsbegining[sic]withherlightenvironmentevent“TheFemalePresident,” performed…in1969.59

Although she was not thinking about The Feminine Mystique when she conceivedThe Female President,BlumadmitsthatFriedanwasprobablythe motivation.60Asshelaterremarked,“IfoundhersointerestingtopaintthatI reallywassorrywhenthewholethingended.”61Blumexecutedafinalportrait

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of Betty Friedan in 1978 (private collection). The modest, 20-inch canvas depicts her in the high-backed chair from her apartment, seated with her handsonherknees.Followingtheearlierfull-lengthportraits,Blumadded alightblueandpalegreenbackgroundtoimplyalandscape.Intheend,the numerousphotographs,paintedportraits,and“conceptualdocumentations” pointtooneinescapableconclusion:JuneBlumcouldnotcreateasinglework thattrulyepitomizedherfeministrolemodelbecauseBettyFriedanwasnot soeasilycontained.

Alice Neel (1900–1984) (1900–84) June Blum and Alice Neel first met at the Brooklyn Museum in October 1971,when14representativesfromninewomen’sorganizationsconvened to discuss the institution’s discriminatory practices with its new director, Duncan Cameron. Blum and Neel were two of the five representatives from Women in the Arts.62 Most of the group’s proposals were rejected, but Cameron was willing to mount an exhibition of works by women if theorganizationsraisedthefunds.63Blum,whowaschosenastheMuseum LiaisonforWIA,wasinstrumentalincoordinatingWorks on Paper—Women Artists,64anexhibitionthatfinallymaterializedatthemuseumin1975,by whichtimeMichaelBotwinickwasthedirector.65Blumhadlittleinteraction withNeelatthemeetinginBrooklyn,butinvitedhertoexhibitapainting in Unmanly Art at the Suffolk Museum in 1972.66 As a consequence, Neel asked her to sit for a portrait that she once waggishly described as “the woman who resembles Louis XIV” (Figure 4.12).67 Her sitter, who wears a fashionable pantsuit and displays her distinctive bouffant, was more recentlylikenedto“atrendysuburbanitewhohaspaidtohaveherexcellent bighairimmortalized.”68Neel’sportraitisaninsightfulresponsetoBlum’s personal restraint and professional tenacity.Although she appears as the consummatecurator,69Blumalsowearsamacraménecklaceandcloisonné ringofherowncreation,70twounobtrusiveremindersthatsheisanartistas well.JuneBlum’sgenuineadmirationforherseptuagenariancontemporary promptedhertopaintabustportraitofNeel(c.1972–73)thatwasbasedon aphotograph. AlthoughAliceNeelparticipatedinwomen-centeredexhibitions,including Unmanly Art and Women Choose Women, her relationship to feminism was nuanced.InaninterviewwithBarbaraleeDiamonstein,theartistremarked,“I believeinfeminism.Iwasbornbelievinginit.Mymotherusedtosay,Idon’t knowwhatyouexpecttodointheworld,you’reonlyagirl.Butifanything, that made me more anxious to do something.”71 At the same time, Betty Friedan’sThe Feminine Mystiquefailedtoresonatewithher.AsshetoldCindy Nemser,“Women’soppressionhasbeenuniversal,butIcouldn’treadBetty FriedanbecauseofallthosestatisticsandbecauseIwassuchasnob.Icouldn’t identifywiththehousewifeinQueens.Ididn’thaveheraids—herwashing

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machine,hersecurity.Ididn’thaveanyof that.”72 Neel’s attitude toward feminism is perhaps best summarized by Denise Bauer,whocontends,“Justasshebelieved in the ideals of communism but wasn’t a good party member, she had ambivalent feelingsaboutthewomen’smovement.”73 This is further expressed in an another interview,inwhichNeelremarked, TheythinkI’mabigwomen’slibber.Iam, butIstopshortofthem.Idon’twanttostress iteveryminute.There’smoretolifethanjust women…Ithinkwomenshouldhavethe samerightsthatmenhave.Buttheterrible thingisthatsometimestheygetthemandthen they’reworsethanmen,morereactionary.74

Neel’s resistance to the “feminist” label is also complicated by other published statements,includingonethatwaswritten forJune Blum, Audrey Flack, Alice Neel: Three Contemporary American Women Realists, an exhibition at Miami–Dade Community College in Florida.75 Neel showed five works, four of which she described as “studies of the ‘new woman’” and characterizedindetailtheiridentitiesinrelationtoWomen’sLiberation.76 The complexities of Neel’s point of view are further confounded by her contributiontoThe Sister Chapel,theonlyfeministcollaborationinwhichshe participated,77particularlybecausealloftheotherartistseitheridentifiedas feministsordirectlyalignedwiththecause.Theunorthodoxnoninterventionist nature of The Sister Chapel, however, seems to have suited Neel’s highly individualized way of working. She attended meetings only occasionally, createdherpaintingindependently,andpresentedhercanvasforexhibitionat theappropriatetime.Moreover,shewastheonlyartistexcusedfrom“cleaning, painting,hanging,andlighting”atP.S.1,78apparentlybecauseofherageand declininghealth.Inlightoftheselimitedexpectations,The Sister Chapel was notaltogetherunlikeotherthematicshowsthatnecessitatedthecreationofa newwork.ForThe Male Nude,heldattheSchoolofVisualArtsin1972,Neel chosetopaintanewpictureoftheexhibition’scurator,JohnPerreault(1972; NewYork,WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt),insteadofshowingJoe Gould (1933), which he requested.79 Besides the unmistakably feminist slant of The Sister Chapel,thetoweringdimensionsofthefiguralpanelswereinconsistent withNeel’swork.Inthe1970s,hercanvaseswereoftenlargerthaninprevious decades,80 but she rarely executed full-length standing portraits81 and did not paint on a monumental scale, except for Bella Abzug—the Candidate.

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4.12 AliceNeel, June Blum(1972), oiloncanvas,60 ×40in.Private collection.© TheEstateof AliceNeel

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4.13 AliceNeel, Mayor Koch (1981), oiloncanvas, 65¾×40in. Privatecollection. ©TheEstate ofAliceNeel 4.14 AliceNeel, Toby Urbont (1965),oilon canvas,70×32 in.©TheEstate ofAliceNeel

Infact,shedescribedhercanvasforMayor Koch (1981;Figure4.13)as“huge” and melodramatically said, “Oh, I killed myself on this. I thought I’d die. I thought I’d never get it. It’s a big canvas. It’s sixty-six by forty.”82At that size,Mayor KochisdwarfedbyBella Abzug,whichis42incheshigherand20 incheswider.83Furthermore,oneofhertallestworksisNancy and the Rubber Tree (1975),anarrow80-inchpainting,yetitfallsmorethantwofeetshortof Bella Abzug.ForNeel,thisuniquelylargecompositionpresentedachallenge. Theoutlinedrighthand,amorphousgraypatchesaroundthefigure,andlarge areasofnegativespaceareconsistentwithNeel’sotherworks,84suchasToby Urbont (1965;Figure4.14),thefull-lengthportraitofafellowartist,85butAbzug onlyoccupiesabout85percentofthecanvas,leavinganatypicalexpanseof unpaintedbackground.Neelwasreportedlyafraidtoclimbaladdertoreach the uppermost portion of the canvas,86 so her figure—still over life-size—is undereightfeettall.PerhapsherexplanationforpaintingEdwardKoch(1924– 2013),themayorofNewYorkCity(1978–89),shedssomelightonhernine-foot workforThe Sister Chapel:“Iwasn’tgoingtomissachallengelikethat.”87 WhileNeeleventuallyselectedBellaAbzugasher“femalehero,”thereis someevidencethatsheinitiallyvacillatedonherchoiceofsubject.InApril1976, aftertheunveilingofMaureenConnor’smaquette,SylviaSleighwrotetoNeel, “We all think that it would be particularly apposite if you did paint a black womanasyourheroine,aswehavenotasyetgotone,andIthinkthathadbeen

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yourintention.”88ItispossiblethatSleigh confused her proposed subject with that ofAliceLandes,anearlyparticipantinThe Sister Chapel whose work often featured African-American women, but Neel also had a long history of painting persons of color. Such works were more prevalent in the years when she lived in Spanish Harlem (1941–62) and include, among others,Black Spanish-American Family (1950; private collection), Dominican Boys on 108th Street (1954; London, Tate Modern), Two Girls, Spanish Harlem (1959; private collection),andAlvin Simon (1959;private collection). Her portraits of marginalized Hispanic subjects, however, are less assertive than her slightly later paintings of African-Americans.89 For example, she painted James Farmer (1964), a portrait of the civil rights leader and co-founder of theCongressofRacialEquality(est.1942), and Abdul Rahman (1964), a cab driver and “black nationalist.”90 Kinuthia (1973) andFaith Ringgold(1976;privatecollection) similarlydepictaself-satisfiedbusinessman and a confident contemporary artist, respectively.Byfarthemostsensitivework is Carmen and Judy (1972), which portrays Nancy Neel’s Haitian cleaning woman withherdaughter,afrail,developmentally disabledchildwhodiedsoonthereafter.91 Inlightoftheseworks,itisnotinconceivablethatNeelwouldhaveconsidered anAfrican-AmericansubjectintheearlystagesofThe Sister Chapel. Nothingmoreismentionedofthepurported“blackwoman,”butGloria OrensteinidentifiedNeel’santicipatedcanvasasPregnant Woman with Child whenshereportedontheprogressofThe Sister Chapelinthesummerof1976.92 Neelsporadicallypaintedvisiblyenceintewomen,butarenewedinterestin mother-and-childimagerycoincidedwiththebirthofherfirstgrandchildin 1967.93 In the several years preceding the advent of The Sister Chapel, Neel painted Pregnant Betty Homitzky (1968; Figure 4.15), Claudia Bach, Pregnant (1975;privatecollection),andfiveothers.94MarjorieKramer(b.1943),apainter andfeministactivist,specificallycitedtheformerin1971,whenshewrote,

4.15 Alice Neel,Pregnant Betty Homitzky (1968),60×36in. Privatecollection. ©TheEstate ofAliceNeel

AliceNeelaskedmeifIthoughtanyofherworkwasfeminist.Iwassureher consciousnesswasfeministandthatthiswouldshowthroughherworkjustas lecherycanshowthroughamanartist’simages.Alicedidanunromanticnude ofapregnantwomanholdingherarmsawayfromherbodybecauseshewastoo hotandsweatytoleanonherself.Alicesaiditshowedpregnancyasaburden. FeministArtcomesoutoffeministconsciousness.95

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4.16 AliceNeel, Margaret Evans Pregnant(1978), oiloncanvas, 57¾×38in. Privatecollection. ©TheEstate ofAliceNeel

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Notwithstanding Neel’s equivocation on feminism, Kramer’s remarks may illuminate her contemporary’s proposed Pregnant Woman with Child. Betty Homitzky’s slender arms and legs hardly seem capable of supporting her swollen abdomen and engorged breasts. Her discomfort, to which Kramer alluded, is registeredintheflushedskinonherchest andleftarm.AsinPregnant Woman (1971), aportraitofNancyNeelthatwasexecuted afewyearslater,thesitter“losesselfhood and becomes defined by her condition.”96 In the 1970s, Neel periodically revisited the theme of gravidity, most notably in Margaret Evans Pregnant (1978; Figure 4.16). Margaret (b. 1944) was the wife of John Evans (1932–2012), a collage artist with whom Neel was friendly. She activelysolicitedMargaret’sparticipation, situated her on an uncomfortable chair, and focused first on painting her abdomen.97 This rigidly frontal nude was unprecedentedinNeel’soeuvre;likewise, her purposeful manipulation of the sitter and environment were uncharacteristic of her working method.98 Margaret Evans Pregnant,therefore,atteststoNeel’sinterestandeffectivenessinportraying theunglamorousaspectsofanexpectantmother. Inthe1970s,mothersandchildrenwerefrequentsubjectsinNeel’swork, throughwhichshediscredited“themythofblissfulall-absorbingmotherhood, asdidsomanyworkingwomenintheiractuallives.”99Theartist’sinclination towardthisthemewasobservedbyJoanMarterin1978,whenshereviewed Neel’sback-to-backsoloshowsattheGrahamGalleryandDouglassCollege.100 InNeel’sportraits,Martersawa“frankdepictionoftheambivalentattitude ofmothersrealizingtheawesomeresponsibilitiesofchild-rearing.”101Given herinterestingravidityandmotherhood,itisperhapsunsurprisingthatNeel wouldproposeaPregnant Woman with ChildforThe Sister Chapel,yetherportraits ofexpectantmothersdonotincludeanyextrauterineoffspring.Inaddition, sherarelydepictedclothedpregnantwomen,withthenotableexceptionsof Couple on a Train (1930)andBlanche Angel Pregnant (1937;NewYork,Whitney MuseumofAmericanArt),butbothwerecreatedinthe1930s.102Conversely, thewomenarenotvisiblypregnantinhermanypaintingsofmotherswiththeir children,whichincludeMrs. Paul Gardner and Sam (1967),Linda Nochlin and Daisy(1973;Boston,MuseumofFineArts),Ginny and Elizabeth (1975;private collection), and Ann Sutherland Harris and Neil (1978), to name only a few.

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Moreover, Neel rarely painted a second, postnatal portrait of a pregnant woman whosatforher.Themostobviousexception is her daughter-in-law, Nancy, who appearsfrequentlyasasitter.Pregnant Betty HomitzkywasunusuallyfollowedbyBetty Homitzky and Jevon (1968), which portrays Homitzkyasequallyuncomfortable,albeit in a significantly different way, as she dandlesherinfantson.IfthetitleofNeel’s unrealized Pregnant Woman with Child accuratelyreflectsherintent,theartistwas planning to combine the two aspects of maternity that most interested her,103 but which she typically reserved for separate compositions. For The Sister Chapel, Neel ultimately settled on a progressive politician and social reformer, Bella Savitzky Abzug (1920–1998), whichaccords accordswith with her her long(1920–98), which (1920–1998),whichaccordswithherlongstandingidentificationwithleftistideology (Plate 9). Decades earlier, Neel painted portraits of Pat Whalen (1935; New York, Whitney Museum of American Art), a communist activist and maritime labor organizer, whose fist rests on the Daily Worker, which carries a headline about steelandcoalstrikes; ArtShields(1950),a journalistwhochronicledthestrugglesoftheworkingclass;MikeGold(1952), acommunistnovelistandsupporteroftheSovietUnion,whoappearswith copiesoftheNew MassesandDaily Worker;and“Brother”BillMcKie(1953), acommunistandunionorganizerattheFordMotorCompany.104Unlikeher earlierportraitsofCommunistPartymembers,mostofwhichdepicthermale associates,105Neel’sworksofthe1970sfeature“thenewgenerationofleftist womenactivistsandartistswhowereleadingthewomen’smovement,”such asMarxist Girl (Irene Peslikis) (1972).106WhileBellaAbzugwasinstrumentalin foundingandpromotingtheWomen’sLiberationMovement,hereffortswere alignedwithherbroaderroleasanantiwaractivistandchampionofhuman rights. Considering Neel’s well-known and oft-repeated background, it is nosurprisethatshefavoredAbzugasa“heroic”woman.Moretothepoint, Sandra Langer suggests that Neel’s painting evokes Abzug’s activism, “for whichtheliberationisthasbeenmadetopaysuchahighpricebyarepressive malehierarchy.ItisapriceNeelherselfhaspaidaswell,andperhapsthisfact lends her portrait even more impact.”107 In the same year that she executed Bella Abzug, the artist was commissioned to paint another influential public figure,ArchbishopJeanJadot(1909–2009),thechiefapostolicdelegatetothe UnitedStates,whoservedinthatcapacitybetween1973and1980(Figure4.17).

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4.17 AliceNeel, Archbishop Jean Jadot(1976),oilon canvas,60×40in. CollectionofSt. CharlesBorromeo Seminary, Wynnewood, PA.©TheEstate ofAliceNeel

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The portrait was created for the Exhibition of Liturgical Arts at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia.108 Although controversial,JadotsuccessfullyadvocatedtheChurch’sgreateracceptance ofminoritiesandwomen,aswellasdiminishingsomeoftheorganization’s strictures on contraception and official Church annulments for divorced Catholics.109AsNeellaterrecalled,Jadot“wascompletelyfortheworking class.…Helovedtheoppressed.”110 The full title of Alice Neel’s painting, Bella Abzug—the Candidate, is confirmed by early sources on The Sister Chapel.111 Since the artist failed toprovideastatementforthereverseoftheexhibitionposter,thesubtitle helps to elucidate the work, which was completed in October 1976.112 In July of that year, BellaAbzug concluded her third term in the US House of Representatives. Instead of seeking a fourth Congressional term, she campaignedforaseatintheSenate,butlostintheDemocraticprimaryto Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927–2003) on September 14.113 Bella Abzug—the Candidate portrays her as an ebullient Senatorial hopeful. When The Sister Chapel premiered,Abzug had been out of office for about 18 months, yet sheremainedaprominentfigureandcontinuedtoseekpublicoffice;thus, Abzug was still “the candidate.” Her unsuccessful bid for Mayor of New YorkCityin1977wasfollowedbyathwartedattempttoreturntotheUS HouseofRepresentativesin1978.Bychance,thelattercoincidedwiththe inauguralexhibitionofThe Sister Chapel.Attheopening,Neelspoketellingly aboutBella Abzug—the Candidatein“arapidpatterofartcriticism:” ThebreastsItookalittlelibertywith…StewartMott,themillionaire,saysshe’s notgoingtolikethem,butIwantherinCongress,don’tyou,anditshowsshe wouldnurturetheelectorate.I’llbetshe’llhatetheface,muchasIloveitbecause itshowsherenergy,andIthinkthehatisgreat—it’slikeacowboy—oh,Ishould havesaidcowgirl.AndIlikethelittleankles.114

Neel’s comparison of Abzug to a cowgirl is apt because she seems to be a synthesis of political activist and Wild West gunslinger. She wears her vibrantred,broad-brimmedhatlikeamarshal.Shebecamefamousforher headwear, which she initially donned in order to be taken seriously as a professional lawyer.115 Besides the bold hat, Abzug’s arms are positioned at her sides, as if ready for a duel outside a saloon. Instead of weapons, however, she has a wide smile, an inviting open left hand, nourishing breasts,amatronlyfloral-printskirt,abeadednecklace,andapairofhighheeled shoes. She has been described as “weirdly Valkyrian,”116 perhaps because the nurturant breasts resemble a cuirass. As observed by Amei Wallach in her review of The Sister Chapel, the figure’s gesture is “at once welcomingandatthesametimearathermalevolentkindofbegging—‘like aVenusflytrap,’asoneoftheartistsputit.”117Thattheportraitinspiressuch florid,metaphoriclanguageisatestamenttoNeel’ssuccessincapturingthe characterofherformidablesubject. The allusive references in Neel’s portrayal of Bella Abzug, such as the nurturing breasts and “cowgirl” hat, were not unique to that painting.

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Although one reviewer described Abdul Rahman (1964;Figure4.18)as“acabdriver and Black Muslim, amused by his own charadeofkinglinessinfezandrobe,”118 Neelthoughtofherpaintingdifferently. According to her, “He is a nationalist, a black nationalist, even though there’s a certain hysteria about him. Do you see thatgauntletthat’slikewhatroyaltyhad? The circle next to his head was really the rising sunofAfrica,but it lookslike the number ten. I just liked it there.”119 Using the term gauntlet to describe his gloveandlinkingittosovereignty,Neel cleverlyimpliedbothacombatantanda person of status. Likewise, the symbolic African sun, which is incongruous as a background element in a painting that wasexecutedinNeel’sapartment,refers to the continent of Rahman’s presumed ancestry. The artist “just liked it” as she wouldlater“likethelittleankles”ofBella Abzug.Anumberofothersuchexamples exist, including Richard in the Era of the Corporation(1979),inwhichNeelregardedhersonas“caughtinablockof ice.”120InVirgil Thompson (1971;Washington,DC,NationalPortraitGallery), thecomposer’slowerbody“mademethinkofelephants,”accordingtothe artist, who recalled that he had only recently returned from traveling in Africa.121Neel’sabilitytoseehersittersinthiswayisundoubtedlyresponsible, atleastinpart,forherinsightfulandoftenwittypaintings. Typical of her paradoxically serious but caricatured compositions, Bella Abzug is “a comical, touching and wicked portrait,” as described by AmeiWallach.122Hereffectiveportrayalisallthemorecompellingbecause BellaAbzugdidnotactuallysitforNeel.123Astheartist’saforementioned commentsdemonstrate,Abzughadnotseenthepaintingwhenitpremiered with The Sister Chapel in January 1978. Moreover, Neel—and allegedly Stewart Mott, a wealthy, self-styled “avant-garde philanthropist,”124 supporter of a wide variety of causes and political campaigns, and friend oftheartist—speculatedthatAbzugwouldfindfaultwiththefigure’sface andbreasts.Intheabsenceofanactualsitter,Neelusedaphotographthat sheobtainedratherunconventionally,aselucidatedbyanunlikelysource. Yearslater,ShirleyAleyCampbell(b.1925)recountedacuriousstoryabout AliceNeel’sinteractionwithBellaAbzug,whichshewastoldwhilevisiting the former Congresswoman to “interview” her for a group portrait of Abzug,BarbaraMikulski(b.1936),MillicentFenwick(1910–92),andGladys Abzug, Barbara Mikulski (b. 1936), Millicent Fenwick (1910–1992), and Gladys

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4.18 AliceNeel, Abdul Rahman (1964),oilon canvas,46×34 in.©TheEstate ofAliceNeel

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125 Spellman (1918–1988). oftraditional traditional sittings, sittings, Campbell Campbell typically typically (1918–88).125125 Instead  Instead Insteadofof traditional sittings, Campbell Spellman studies her subject while he or she is engaged in ordinary activities. She simultaneously interviews, observes, and makes sketches in order to find “themomentoftruth”inwhichapersonisrevealedtoher.126Accordingto theartist,

IwenttoNewYorktointerviewBellaAbzug.Iwalkintoherofficeandofcourse she’sputtingonhermakeupandhasahaton.Andshesaid,“Youknow,the funnythingis,thiswomancameintomyofficeandwentthroughmydrawers, myfiledrawers.”Shesaid,“Doyouhaveanypicturesofyourself?”AndBella said,“Well,yeah,there’ssomeinthere.Ifyouwant,youcantakeafew,andsend thembacktome.”Soshesaid,“IfoundoutmonthslaterthatwasAliceNeel.”… Shesays,“Ididn’tknowwhoshewas!”127

When the interviewer asked Campbell if Neel painted a portrait ofAbzug, she replied, “I don’t know, I’ve never seen one of her, but she might have andmaybeitjusthasn’tbeenshown.”128Campbell’sclosingcommentslend credibility to her digressive story. Neel’s celebrity seems to have been the motivationforhertorepeatitmanyyearslater,buttheanticipatedclimax— thatNeelcreatedanine-footportraitofAbzugforThe Sister Chapel—isnotably absentfromCampbell’saccount. AliceNeelwasdisinclinedtopaintfromphotographs,129buthadalready setaprecedentforportrayingacelebratedpublicfigurewithoutthebenefit ofanysittings.Kate Millett(1970;Figure4.19)wasderivedfromphotographs suppliedbyitscommissioner,Timemagazine;130thefaceof“Women’sLib” appearedasthecoverillustrationfortheissuedatedAugust31,1970.Sexual Politics (1970),131 based on Millett’s doctoral dissertation, was released only a few months earlier and almost immediately caused a sensation. In an interviewwithCindyNemser,Neelexplained, Ididitfromphotographsbutthetruthisit’sbetterfromphotographsthanifI’d doneitfromlife,althoughfromlifeitwouldhavebeenmoreaccuratebecause shelookssmallerandmoredoubledin.ShelooksmoreheroiconTime.WhenI metherattheArtStudentsLeagueIsaidtoher,“Whydidn’tyouposeforme? Afterallyoubelieveinwomen’sliberation.I’mawoman.”Shesaid,“Because theDaughtersofBilitus[sic]ofwhichIamamemberdonotbelieveinhavinga leader.”132

Kate (b. 1934) 1934) was was evidently evidently disinclined disinclined to to serve serve as as a a figurehead; Kate Millett Millet (b. figurehead; however,theDaughtersofBilitis(1955–72),establishedinSanFrancisco,was alesbianrightsorganizationthat,infact,hadapresidentandvice-president from the outset.133 Neel subsequently painted Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882– 1945)forthecoverofTime,datedFebruary1,1982,whichcarriedtheheadline, “TheNewDeal:FDR’sDisputedLegacy.”Onoccasion,Neelalsopaintedfrom memory,asshedidforDead Father (1946)andEllie Poindexter (1962;private collection),134aswellasThe Death of Mother Bloor (1951),afuneraryimageofthe CommunistPartyleaderEllaReeveBloor(1862–1951),andAudrey McMahon

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(1940), which depicts the director of the New York division of the Federal Art ProjectoftheWorkProjectsAdministration (WPA) who repeatedly terminated and rehiredNeel.135Thelatterisadark,perhaps satiricalimageofMcMahon(1890–1981),a womanlargelyunknowntoNeel,136whose gaunt face and jaundiced color are in strikingcontrasttothestylishlytiltedblack hatonherhead. Regardless of whether the source was an actual sitter, the artist’s memory, or photographs, Neel’s working method wasrelativelyconsistentandquiteunlike those of her collaborators in The Sister Chapel. She did not execute preliminary studies,whichexplainsherabsencefrom the exhibition of preparatory works for The Sister Chapel that was held at the ElizabethWeinerGallerytowardtheend of 1978.137 Instead, she would typically “visualizetheportraitfromheadtotoe,” according to BennyAndrews, and began by outlining directly on the canvas, usually in blue paint.138 This technique is apparent in Bella Abzug, which retains most of the initial blue outlines. Neel’s characteristic adjustments, inwhichshealteredthefigurewithoutfullyobliteratingtheearlierforms, can be seen inAbzug’s left hand, which she moved several inches to the right.Thisisalsoevidentinthefigure’srightupperarmandcollar,where earlierstrokesofbluehaveonlybeenpartiallycovered.Thelegs,too,were initiallythinner,asthepentimenti demonstrate.Neelwidenedbothcalves, butretainedthetapered“littleankles,”aboutwhichshecommentedatthe opening of The Sister Chapel. Given the size of the canvas, she may have begun with the feet, as she did with Cindy Nemser and Chuck (1975).139 In heridiosyncraticfashion,Neelalsoleftthefigure’srighthandaslittlemore than an outline filled with color. Abzug’s eyes and necklace are likewise represented. Although the loosely rendered figure in Bella Abzug—the Candidate did not meet the height requirement for the panels in The Sister Chapel, the painting shows that Neel’s quintessential portrait style could indeedtranslatetoamonumentalcanvas.

4.19 Alice Neel,Kate Millett (1970),acrylic oncanvas,39¾× 28½in.National PortraitGallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC,giftofTime magazine.© TheEstateof AliceNeel

Notes 1

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ElvirettaWalker,“ToLuminalArtistJuneBlum…LightIsLife!‘AmericanQueen’Show InspiredByJackieK.Onassis,”Oklahoma Journal (OklahomaCity),February27,1972;JuneBlum, conversationwithauthor,March17,2009.

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2

Blum,conversationwithauthor,March17,2009.

3

“LightandFar-Out,”Newsday,June1,1969.Photographsoftheeventconveyitssomewhat psychedelicquality.

4

DelorisTarzan,“BlumPaintsFriedan:AStudyinFeministArt,”Seattle Times,February15,1977; LylaFoggia,“GenderinArt:PanelDiscussion—and/or,Seattle,Washington,”Women Artist’s Newsletter 3,no.3(September1977):5.

5

QuotedinFoggia,“GenderinArt,”5.

6

“CampusArt:TakeItLightlyOrWithMusic,”Newsday,February6,1970.

7

Walker,“ToLuminalArtistJuneBlum.”

8

Walker,“ToLuminalArtistJuneBlum.”

9

Fortheseworks,seeJune Blum: Black and White Paintings, 1963 through 2010(CocoaBeach,FL:Blue NoteBooks,2010).

10

PressreleaseforJune Blum: Portraits,BrevardMuseumofArt,Melbourne,FL,July3–August9, 1998,photocopy,collectionofJuneBlum.

11

JuneBlum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,June30,2012.

12

JuneBlum,conversationwithauthor,June20,2007.

13

Blum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,June30,2012.

14

PatriciaMainardi,“Quilts:TheGreatAmericanArt,”Feminist Art Journal2,no.1(Winter1973):1, 18–23.

15

ForthehistoriesofThe Feminist Art JournalandWomanart,seeCorinneRobins,“TheWomen’sArt Magazines,”Art Criticism1,no.2(1979):84–95.

16

RhettDelfordBrown,“JuneBlum/IliseGreenstein,”Reviews,Womanart2,no.1(Fall1977):32.

17

Nemser’sinterviewsofLilaKatzenandLouiseNevelsonarefoundinCindyNemser,Art Talk: Conversations with 15 Women Artists,rev.ed.(NewYork:HarperCollinsPublishers,Inc.,1995), 43–67,201–27.

18

JudithVanBaronwasthedirectoroftheBronxMuseumbetweenSeptember1974andher resignationinmid-1976;seeGraceGlueck,“NewChiefintheBronx,aPhiladelphiaGiantand Dr.Perry’sFirsts,”New York Times,July2,1976.

19

Women’s Art: Miles Apart (Orlando:ValenciaCommunityCollege,1982),10.

20

SeeThe Year of the Woman (Bronx:BronxMuseumoftheArts,1975).

21

GraceGlueck,“NudeArtinHallsofJusticeStirsaStorminBronx,”New York Times,February20, 1975.

22

JudithVanBaron,Director,BronxMuseumoftheArts,toHon.RobertAbrams,Borough President,January23,1975,typedletter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers,1803–2011,bulk 1940–2000,GettyResearchLibrary,LosAngeles(2004.M.4).

23

GloriaFemanOrenstein,“TheSisterChapel:ATravelingHomagetoHeroines,”Womanart1,no.3 (Winter/Spring1977):18,recognizedits“archetypalaspect.”

24

Itisdescribedasa“superhighway”bybothOrenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”18, andSandraL.Langer,“TheSisterChapel:TowardsaFeministIconography,withCommentaryby IliseGreenstein,”Southern Quarterly 17,no.2(Winter1979):34.

25

Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”18;Langer,“SisterChapel,”34.

26

BettyFriedan,The Feminine Mystique (NewYork:W.W.Norton&Company,Inc.,1963;reprint, 1997),57–78.

27

JuneBlum,“BettyFriedan,”printedonthereverseoftheposterforThe Sister Chapel,P.S.1 (InstituteforArtandUrbanResources),January15–February19,1978.

28

Blum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,June30,2012.

29

JuneBlum,conversationwithauthor,June19,2007.

30

JuneBlum,untitledartist’sstatement,inJune Blum, Audrey Flack, Alice Neel: Three Contemporary American Women Realists(Miami:Miami-DadeCommunityCollege,SouthCampusArtGallery, 1978),4.EightsittingsarereportedbyAmeiWallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld—theSister Chapel’sTrinity,”Art,Newsday,January29,1978.

31

Blum,untitledartist’sstatement,inJune Blum, Audrey Flack, Alice Neel,4.

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32

JuneBlumtoIliseGreenstein,July1,1976,handwrittenletter,carboncopy,collectionofJune Blum.ThereviewofBettyFriedan,It Changed My Life: Writings on the Women’s Movement (New York:RandomHouse,1976),waspublishedthreedayslater.SeeStephanieHarrington,“Betty Friedan,VerbalSexism,EricHoffer,TheVillageVoice,theCentennial,”New York Times,July4, 1976.

33

BlumtoGreenstein,July1,1976.

34

Blum,conversationwithauthor,June19,2007.

35

Blum,conversationwithauthor,June19,2007.

36

Blum,untitledartist’sstatement,inJune Blum, Audrey Flack, Alice Neel,4.

37

Blum,conversationwithauthor,June19,2007.ShealsoremarkedthatFriedan’sfacewas“likea sculpture,”whichfascinatedher.Blum’sphotographsshowFriedanwearingthefloralearrings withasimple,patterned,andratherdowdygarment.

38

JuneBlum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,June7,2010.

39

TheearlierstateofthepaintingisrecordedinMauriceBlum’sphotographoftheartistinfrontof thepainting(collectionofJuneBlum).

40

Shedescribedherselfas“quiteshort”inBettyFriedan,Life So Far: A Memoir(NewYork:Simon& Schuster,2000),15.

41

Theseriestitleisnotconsistentintheextantdocuments.The Dress Seriesisthetitlethatappears ontheartist’sprintedannouncementcard,whichliststhe“conceptualdocumentations”thatwere availablein1976.

42

Tarzan,“BlumPaintsFriedan.”

43

JuneBlum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,April20,2010.

44

Blum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,April20,2010.

45

Blum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,April20,2010.

46

Blum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,April20,2010.

47

Blum,untitledartist’sstatement,inJune Blum, Audrey Flack, Alice Neel,4.

48

June Blum: Portraits of Betty Friedan,N.N.Gallery,Seattle,WA,February8–26,1977.

49

Tarzan,“BlumpaintsFriedan.”

50

Blum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,April20,2010.

51

JuneBlum,introductiontoJune Blum, Audrey Flack, Alice Neel,3.

52

Blum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,June30,2012.

53

TheyarethefirstandfinalthreephotographsinJune Blum as Betty Friedan.

54

PressreleaseforThe Individual Museum,53rdSt.and5thAve.,July11,1977,photocopy,Sylvia Sleighpapers.Accordingtothisdocument,LynnAbelswastoserveas“artist-historian”and MauriceC.Blum,theartist’shusband,wouldbe“doingphotographicdocumentation.”

55

CatherinePerebinossoff,reviewofThe Amusing of Modern ArtbyJuneBlum,Women Artists Newsletter 3,no.5(November1977):10.

56

PressreleaseforThe Individual Museum.

57

DocumentaryphotographsbyMauriceBlumshowthatBetty Friedan Head Study #3andBetty Friedan Head Study #4 were onthesidesofthecarriage,whilethegrisaillebustwasaffixedtothe front.

58

JuneBlum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,July5,2009.

59

PressreleaseforThe Individual Museum.

60

Blum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,June30,2012.

61

Blum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,April20,2010.

62

JuneBlum,“LoveforSale—$50,000,”New York Element2,no.6(November/December1971):4.

63

“TheWomenArtists’Movement:AnAssessment,”Womanart 1,no.3(Winter/Spring1977):32. Atthetime,theinstitutionhad“allkindsofproblems”andwas“reallyaverypoormuseum,”as explainedbyDuncanCameron,interviewbyRuthBowman,ViewsonArt,WNYC93.9FM,June

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29,1972,http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/archives/2012/apr/26/duncan-cameron/(accessedJune26, 2012).

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64

Works on Paper—Women Artists,BrooklynMuseum,September24–November9,1975.Inthe exhibitionwereBlum’sLandscape Figure (1968)andNeel’sTwo Puerto Rican Girls (1957).

65

JuneBlum,“WomenArtistsWinPromiseofShowinBrooklyn,”Art Workers News,April1975: 1–2.DuncanCameron(1930–2006)wasdirectorfrom1971to1974;MichaelBotwinick(b.1943) succeededhimandremaineduntil1983.

66

JuneBlum,telephoneconversationwithauthor,March15,2012;NeelshowedAndy Warhol(1970; NewYork,WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt).

67

AliceNeel,untitledartist’sstatement,inJune Blum, Audrey Flack, Alice Neel,11.Thisoutlandish remarkisespeciallyamusingwhenoneconsidersthatBlumwasbothanexhibitorintheshow andtheauthoroftheintroductiontothecatalogue.

68

BlakeGopnik,“AliceNeelandPortraiture’sAlternativeFace,”Washington Post,November13, 2005.Despitehistongue-in-cheekcharacterization,theauthoracknowledgesinthefollowing sentencesthatBlumwasanimportantfeministcurator.

69

PamelaAllara,Pictures of People: Alice Neel’s American Portrait Gallery(Hanover,NH:University PressofNewEngland,1998),203.

70

JuneBlum,conversationwithauthor,August19,2009.

71

BarbaraleeDiamonstein,Inside New York’s Art World(NewYork:RizzoliInternationalPublications, Inc.,1979),261.

72

Nemser,Art Talk,118.

73

DeniseBauer,“AliceNeel’sFeministandLeftistPortraitsofWomen,”Feminist Studies28, no.2(Summer2002):390.TheauthormentionsandillustratesBella Abzug—the Candidate,butthe paintingisnotdiscussedindetail.

74

AlexanderRusso,Profiles on Women Artists(Frederick,MD:UniversityPublicationsofAmerica, Inc.,1985),206.

75

June Blum, Audrey Flack, Alice Neel: Three Contemporary American Women Realists,SouthCampus ArtGallery,Miami–DadeCommunityCollege,Miami,FL,December5–6,1977andJanuary4–19, 1978.

76

Neel,untitledartist’sstatement,inJune Blum, Audrey Flack, Alice Neel,11.

77

Allara,Pictures of People,204.

78

SylviaSleigh,memorandumto“TheSisterChapelartists”[1977],typed,photocopy,SylviaSleigh papers.

79

“UndergoingScrutiny:SittingforAliceNeel,”inAlice Neel,ed.AnnTemkin(Philadelphia: PhiladelphiaMuseumofArt,2000),70–71.

80

JoanMarter,“AliceNeel,”Reviews,Womanart 2,no.3(Spring1978):38.

81

Afewwerepaintedinthe1960s,suchasToby Urbont (1965),Joey Scaggs (1967),andJohn Evans (1986).Inthefollowingdecades,mostofthefull-lengthstandingportraitsfeatureNeel’s grandchildren,asinOlivia(1970),Olivia in Red Hat (1974;privatecollection),Olivia in African Dress (1972),Alexandra (1976),Elizabeth (1977),andElizabeth in Red Hat (1984).

82

Russo,Profiles on Women Artists,199,204.

83

ItisinterestingtonotethatAbzug,despitehertoweringpresenceinbothpoliticsandthepainting, lostthemayoralelectionof1977toEdwardKoch.

84

See,forexample,MiraSchor,“AliceNeelasanAbstractPainter,”Woman’s Art Journal27,no.2 (Fall–Winter2006):12–16.

85

“Urbont—Toby,”Deaths,New York Times,November23,2008.TobyUrbont(1934–2008)attended theSkowheganSchoolofPaintingandSculpture,NewYork,NYin1958–59;see“InMemoriam,” Skowhegan Newsletter(2009):9.

86

MalcolmPreston,“APantheonofWomen,”Art,Newsday,December6,1978.

87

Russo,Profiles on Women Artists,204.

88

SylviaSleightoAliceNeel,April22,1976,handwrittenletter,photocopy,SylviaSleighpapers. Ahandwrittendraft,withthesamestatement,isalsoamongtheSylvaSleighpapers.

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89

Allara,Pictures of People149.

90

QuotedinPatriciaHills,Alice Neel(NewYork:HarryN.Abrams,Inc.,1983),116.

91

AnnSutherlandHarris,Alice (LosAngeles:LoyolaMarymount Ann Sutherland Harris, Alice Neel: Paintings 1933–1982 1933–82 (Los Angeles: Loyola Marymount University,1983),38.SeealsoDeniseBauer,“AliceNeel’sPortraitsofMotherWork,”NWSA Journal 14,no.2(Summer2002):119.

92

GloriaFemanOrenstein,“SisterChapel,”Womanart 1,no.1(Summer1976):31.

93

CarolynCarr,Alice Neel: Women(NewYork:RizzoliInternationalPublications,Inc.,2002),13.

94

Forthesevenpregnantnudesexecutedbetween1964and1978,seePamelaAllara,“‘Mater’of Fact:AliceNeel’sPregnantNudes,”American Art8,no.2(Spring1994):6–31.OnPregnant Betty Homitzky,seealsoDeniseBauer,“AliceNeel’sFemaleNudes,”Woman’s Art Journal15,no.2 (Autumn1994–Winter1995):25.

95

MarjorieKramer,“SomeThoughtsonFeministArt,”Women and Art,no. 1(1971):3.

96

BarryWalker,“Pregnant Woman,1971,”inAlice Neel: Painted Truths,byJeremyLewisonetal. (Houston:MuseumofFineArts,2010),208.

97

BarryWalker,“Margaret Evans Pregnant,1978,”inAlice Neel: Painted Truths,212.

98

JeremyLewison,“ShowingtheBarbarityofLife:AliceNeel’sGrotesque,”inAlice Neel: Painted Truths,46.Thesitter’spostureechoesNeel’searlierBlanche Angel, Pregnant (1937;NewYork, WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt).SeealsoAllara,Pictures of People,241,whosuggeststhat EdvardMunch’sPuberty (1893;Oslo,Nasjonalgalleriet)influencedMargaret Evans Pregnant.

99

AnnTemkin,“AliceNeel:SelfandOthers,”inAlice Neel,24–8.

100 Alice Neel: Drawings and Paintings,GrahamGallery,NewYork,NY,October4–29,1977;Alice Neel, MabelSmithDouglassLibrary,DouglassCollege,NewBrunswick,NJ,October29–November23, 1977. 101 Marter,“AliceNeel,”39. 102 Allara,“‘Mater’ofFact,”11–12,18. 103 Allara,“‘Mater’ofFact,”7,estimatesthatroughlyhalfofNeel’sworkfrom1964to1978was“the portrayalofparentsandchildren.” 104 Allara,Pictures of People,83,108–12;AndrewHemingway,Artists on the Left: American Artists and the Communist Movement 1926–1956(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,2002),134,249–51. 1926–56 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002), 134, 249–51. 105 Allara,Pictures of People,112. 106 Bauer,“AliceNeel’sFeministandLeftistPortraitsofWomen,”391. 107 Langer,“SisterChapel,”35. 108 PhoebeHoban,Alice Neel: The Art of Not Sitting Pretty (NewYork:Macmillan,2010),303.The exhibitionwasheldJuly29–August7,1976. 109 DouglasMartin,“JeanJadot,PapalEnvoy,Diesat99,”New York Times,January22,2009. 110 QuotedinHills,Alice Neel,173. 111 Orenstein,“SisterChapel:ATravelingHomage,”14;GraceGlueck,“WomenArtists’80,”Art News79,no.8(October1980):61.Theexhibitionposter,whichlackstheparentheticalsubtitleof Wybrants’sSelf-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero),similarlyomitsthesecondpartof Neel’stitle. 112 LawrenceAllowaytoIliseGreenstein,October30,1976,typedletter,carboncopy,SylviaSleigh papers. 113 ThisisalsonotedbyDeniseBauer,Alice Neel’s Feminist Portraits: Artists, Writers, Activists and Intellectuals(NewPaltz:StateUniversityofNewYorkatNewPaltz,SamuelDorskyMuseumof Art,2003),32. 114 QuotedinLaurieJohnston,“The‘SisterChapel’:AFeministViewofCreation,”New York Times, January30,1978. 115 SuzanneBraunLevineandMaryThom,Bella Abzug: How One Tough Broad from the Bronx Fought Jim Crow and Joe McCarthy, Pissed Off Jimmy Carter, Battled for the Rights of Women and Workers, Rallied against War and for the Planet, and Shook Up Politics Along the Way(NewYork:Farrar,Straus andGiroux,2007),28–9. 116 RichardFlood,“GentlemanCallers:AliceNeelandtheArtWorld,”inAlice Neel,64.

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117 Wallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld.” 118 JackKroll,“ACuratorofSouls,”Newsweek67,no.4(January31,1966):82. 119 QuotedinHills,Alice Neel,116. 120 QuotedinHills,Alice Neel,167. 121 Harris,Alice Neel: Paintings,34. 122 Wallach,“Women,God,andtheWorld.” 123 Flood,“GentlemanCallers,”63–4,incorrectlygroupsBellaAbzugwiththe“legionofartworld[sic]womenarrivingatWest107thStreettohavethemselvesandtheircontributions commemorated.” 124 DouglasMartin,“StewartR.Mott,70,OffbeatPhilanthropist,Dies,”New York Times,June14, 2008.AccordingtoStewartR.Mott(1937–2008),heandAliceNeelmetthroughJohnRothschild (1900–85) in the 1960s. As he later recalled, “I was immediately charmed by her sense of humor (1900–1985)inthe1960s.Ashelaterrecalled,“Iwasimmediatelycharmedbyhersenseofhumor andpolitics.Shewasalarger-than-lifepersontome,asayoungtwenty-two-year-oldstudent findingmyway;”quotedinHoban,Not Sitting Pretty,329.Neelpaintedhimtwiceasayoung man,mostmemorablyinaportraitwithanunkemptbeardandtartankilt(1961). 125 ShirleyAleyCampbell,telephoneconversationwithauthor,November28,2011. 126 “ShirleyAleyCampbell,”1986ClevelandArtsPrizeforVisualArts,http://clevelandartsprize.org/ awardees/shirley_aley_campbell.html(accessedNovember27,2011). 127 ShirleyAleyCampbell,interviewbyJamesEllis,July21,2000,transcript,ArtistsArchivesofthe WesternReserveOralHistoryProject. 128 Campbell,interview. 129 BarryWalker,“PortraitsfromMemory,”inAlice Neel: Painted Truths,166. 130 Flood,“GentlemanCallers,”64. 131 KateMillett,Sexual Politics(GardenCity,NY:Doubleday,1970). 132 Nemser,Art Talk,118.NeelmadethesameclaimaboutMillett’sreasoninginPiriHalasz,“Alice Neel:‘IHavethisObsessionwithLife,’”Art News73,no.1(January1974):49. 133 MarciaM.Gallo,Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Rise of the Lesbian Rights Movement (NewYork:Carrol&GrafPublishers,2006),5. 134 Temkin,“AliceNeel:SelfandOthers,”24–7;Walker,“PortraitsfromMemory,”167. 135 SusanRosenberg,“PeopleasEvidence,”inAlice Neel,33. 136 Walker,“PortraitsfromMemory,”167;Rosenberg,“PeopleasEvidence,”33. 137 OnLawrenceAlloway’sdiagramoftheproposedlayoutoftheexhibition,everyoneexceptAlice Neelisassignedaspaceinthegallery. 138 “UndergoingScrutiny:SittingforAliceNeel,”inAlice Neel,74–5.SeealsoHills,Alice Neel,143–4; Russo,Profiles on Women Artists,197. 139 “UndergoingScrutiny,”74.

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5 Sylvia Sleigh, Lilith Cynthia Mailman, God Diana Kurz,Durga

Sylvia Sleigh (1916–2010) SylviaSleighwasthefirsttocompleteandexhibitherpaintingforThe Sister Chapel.Despiteitsunusualsizeandfantasticsubject,theartistshowedLilith (Plate7)inhersoloexhibitionatA.I.R.Gallery,whichopenedonJanuary31, 1976,justninedaysaftershesignedanddatedthelargecanvas.1Laterthat year,MayStevensandElsaGoldsmithlikewiseexhibitedtheirmonumental “role models” in solo shows; Shirley Gorelick followed in January 1977. Sleigh nevertheless regarded Lilith as a component of The Sister Chapel and identified it as such.2 Most contemporary reviewers recognized its purposefuldivergencefromherotherwork,3buttheirassessmentsranged from“cartoony”to“anuncharacteristicandwonderfulextravagance.”4Her depictionofanudebeforeapatternedbackgroundisgenerallyconsistent withmuchofherworkfromthisperiod,buttheallegoricalsuperimposed figure, primeval garden, and nocturnal–diurnal sky are anomalous. Like an impossible character in the lore of mythology, Sleigh’s dual male and femalenudestandsontheflaredlaciniatepetalsofanoversizedparrottulip (Tulipa gesneriana)withagiantflame-likedaylily(Hemerocallis)behindher head and shoulders,as if she has just emerged in the paradisiacal garden filledwithverdantplantsandenormouspurple,pink,andwhitevariegated tulips. Lilith occupies the entire height of the canvas, her raised left arm cropped in a manner consistent with Sleigh’s portraiture but unlike the otherfiguresinThe Sister Chapel.Intheupperleftisthedarkenednightsky; totherightisavibrant,prismaticprogressionofhuesthatsignalsdaytime. Toreinforceherfeministsubject,SleighaddedtheconstellationCassiopeia, namedforthemythologicalqueenwho,chainedtoherthroneandupsidedownforhalftheyear,wassetamongthestarsasPoseidon’spunishment forheraudaciousclaimthatsheandherdaughter,Andromeda,weremore

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beautiful than the Nereids or Hera. Besides the parallel to Lilith as an ancient scorned woman, Cassiopeia had personal relevance for the artist. The constellation was reportedly seen by her mother above Llandudno, Wales,onthedaySleighwasborn.5 SleighselectedLilithbecause“itcouldbeaveryuniversalfigureandsort ofincludemen,inaway.”6Atthetime,Lilithhadonlyrecentlybeenclaimed asaproto-feministsubject,mostnotablyinthewritingsofJudithPlaskow.7 AccordingtoThe Alphabet of Ben Sira,aparodicmedievalpseudepigraph,God createdhertobethecompanionofAdam,but AdamandLilithimmediatelybegantofight.Shesaid,“Iwillnotliebelow,”and hesaid,“Iwillnotliebeneathyou,butonlyontop.Foryouarefitonlytobein thebottomposition,whileIamtobeinthesuperiorone.”Lilithresponded,“We areequaltoeachotherinasmuchaswewerebothcreatedfromtheearth.”But theywouldnotlistentooneanother.WhenLilithsawthis,shepronouncedthe IneffableNameandflewawayintotheair.8

ThetalecontinuesasGodsendsthreeangelstoretrieveher.Ifsheagreesto return,“whatismadeisgood;”ifnot,onehundredofherchildrenmustdie eachday.WhenthewillfulLilithhearsthis,sherefusestoconcede,agreeing to allow the intervallic demise of her demon children. She also swears to causeillnessanddeathamonginfants.Inthecabbalisticthirteenth-century Treatise on the Left Emanation,RabbiIsaacbenHa-KohenfurtherlinkedLilith andthedemonSamael,who“werebornasone,…intheimageofAdamand Eve,intertwinedineachother.”9Sleigh’spaintingisnotexegetic,norisit couchedinJewishmysticism,buttheideaofan“intertwined,”harmonious male–female incarnation is relevant to Sleigh’s painting, in which gender equality is manifested.10 In addition, given her obvious affinities with the Pre-Raphaelites,11 it is perhaps no coincidence that Sleigh chose Adam’s first wife, who was the subject of Lady Lilith (1866–68, altered 1872–73; Wilmington,DelawareArtMuseum),12apaintingbyDanteGabrielRossetti (1828–82).HisworkwasbasedonapassageinFaust byJohannWolfgangvon (1828–1882). His work was based on a passage in Faust by Johann Wolfgang Goethe(1749–1832),inwhichLilithischaracterizedasadeadlytemptress. von Goethe (1749–1832), in which Lilith is characterized as a deadly temptemp­ Although Sleigh did not place as much emphasis on Lilith’s flowing tress. Although Sleigh did not place as much emphasis on Lilith’s flowing tresses as Rossetti, her layered contrapposto nude retains a suggestion of sensualpower.Moreover,theprimevalbackgroundofoversizedleavesand blossomsisreminiscentoftheVictorianpenchantforflowersymbolismand the wallpaper such as as “Anemone” the wallpaperdesigns designsby byWilliam WilliamMorris Morris(1834–1896), (1834–96), such and“Compton.”Infact,Morris’s“Seaweed”wallpapercoveredonewallof Sleigh’sstudioandappearsinthebackgroundofseveralportraitsthatshe executedinthe1970s.13 Sleigh’s inclination to paint religious and literary subjects in a modern idiom, like her Pre-Raphaelite forebears, can be traced to the early 1950s, when she was living in Pett, near Hastings, England. The Flight into Egypt (1950; Figure 5.1), her largest painting at the time, was an attempt to integrate a biblical subject and the artist’s contemporary experience.

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5.1 Sylvia Sleigh,The Flight into Egypt(1950), oiloncanvas,35× 45¾in.Courtesy oftheEstateof SylviaSleigh

Thepicturewasexecutedforanearbychapel,whichappearsontheshore in the distance. This uncommissioned work was rejected, but Sleigh was “thrilled”withthelandscapethatshepainteden plein air;thefigureswere addedwhenshetookthecanvashome.14Thesenseoflocationiseffectively conveyedbythesignpost,whichdirectstravelerstoIcklesham,Winchelsea, Rye, Ore, Hastings, Pett, and Fairlight. While the landscape vista and its directionalsignagewerereal,theChristChildanddonkeywereborrowed frompaintingsbyPeterPaulRubens(1577–1640).15JosephandMarywere modeledbyaJewishfriendandalocalyoungwoman,respectively.Thepose ofhertwentieth-centuryMadonna,however,wasbasedonanudestudyof LawrenceAlloway,whomshemarriedfouryearslater.Withayellowhat inplaceofanimbus,theyoungmotherofGodsitsonahillockinawhite dressthatsuggestshervirginalpurity.Joseph,whoiscladinacheckered yellow shirt and brown slacks, is likewise depicted in contemporary clothing.ConsistentwithtraditionalimagesoftheHolyFamily,hisposition issecondaryandheisolderthanMary,asindicatedbytheflecksofgray in his slightly receding hair.Although the landscape and shadows of the figuresarebothconvincing,Sleigh’sexperimentwasnotentirelysuccessful. Joseph’semphaticgesture,whichismeanttodirecttheviewertothechapel on the shore, is nevertheless ambiguous. In his innocent nakedness, the Rubens baby is also awkward and his precarious balance reveals that he belongsinanothercomposition. A few years later, Sleigh prepared a small modello for an ambitious but unrealized 12-foot-high Altarpiece of the Resurrection (1954; Figure 5.2).16

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5.2 Sylvia Sleigh,Modello for an “Altarpiece of the Resurrection” (1954),oilon paper,mounted oncardboard, 15×9¾in.(as mounted),12× 9½in.(image). Courtesyof theEstateof SylviaSleigh

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The composition was inspired by Piero della Francesca’s celebrated fresco, The Resurrection (c. 1455; Sansepolcro, Museo Civico, Pinacoteca). Sleigh’s slender risen Christ triumphantly exits an open rupestrian tomb, which is quite unlike Piero’s robust savior stepping from his rectangularsarcophagus.Shealsoreduced the number of sleeping guards, relocated the spears, and set the scene in a grassy landscape.Beforeabandoningtheproject, Sleigh executed life-size preparatory drawings of the two guards, both unclothed.Asamodelforthefigureonthe left,sheagainusedLawrenceAlloway;the guard on the right was posed by Clifford Wood,afriendandrectorinPett.Thetwo men discouraged Sleigh from completing the Altarpiece of the Resurrection,17 after whichsheceasedanydirectappropriation oftheso-calledOldMastersuntiltheearly 1970s.Inthelaterpaintings,shereimagined and updated historic works by inverting the established genders of the artist and subject.Philip Golub Reclining (1971;private collection),forexample,isbasedonDiego Velázquez’sVenus with a Mirror (“Rokeby Venus”) (c.1650;London,National Gallery),18butthenudeadolescentmalelooksintoamirrorthatreflectsthe femaleartistintheactofpainting.19Hermostfamouswork,The Turkish Bath (1973;UniversityofChicago,DavidandAlfredSmartMuseum),isahybrid ofJean-Auguste-DominiqueIngres’spaintingofthesamename(1863;Paris, MuséeduLouvre)andTitian’sVenus and the Lute Player (c.1565–70;NewYork, MetropolitanMuseumofArt).20Moreover,Sleigh’sVenus and Mars: Maureen Connor and Paul Rosano (1974; Milwaukee Art Museum) was inspired by SandroBotticelli’sVenus and Mars (c.1485;London,NationalGallery).21Inthe samemonththatsawthecompletionofLilith,SleighfinishedFête Champêtre (1975–76;privatecollection)andThe Garden(1976),bothofwhicharebasedon Titian’sConcert Champêtre (c.1511;Paris,MuséeduLouvre),whichwasthen attributedtoGiorgione.22 Sleigh’s grandest painting of this variety is Court of Pan (after Luca Signorelli) (1973; Figure 5.3). The canvas replicates the composition and approximatedimensionsofLucaSignorelli’slostoriginal(c.1490;formerly Berlin,KaiserFriedrichMuseum),whichwasoneofseveralhundredworks destroyed by fire at the Flakturm Friedrichshain in May 1945.23 Sleigh had seen reproductions of the painting as a child, but never the original.24

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To replicate Signorelli’s composition, she projected a black-and-white reproductionontothecanvas,whichmatchesthedimensionsoftheoriginal.25 Unlike her predecessor, she used her husband and friends—Lawrence Alloway,JoachimNeugroschel(1938–2011),RuthAnnFredenthal(b.1938), and Philip Golub (b. 1954)—as models.26 Consistent with her interest in lifelikenudes,sheaddedpubichairtothefemalefigureintheforeground, disregarded the goat legs of Signorelli’s central figure, and eliminated all tracesofclothingamongthesixprincipalfigures,includingthestrategically placed loincloths and garlands that covered the male genitalia in her fifteenth-centurysource.Court of PanisslightlylargerthanLilith,butoriented horizontally. It was, nonetheless, a close copy of an earlier work, which presentedfewerchallengesthanthecreationofanentirelynewcomposition for The Sister Chapel. Lilith was also the largest figure that the artist ever painted.27 InpreparationforLilith,SleighexecutedAnnunciation: Paul Rosano (1975; Figure5.4),28averticallyorientedcanvasthatis18inchesshorterandeight inchesnarrowerthanherpaintingforThe Sister Chapel.Itsimilarlyfeatures afull-length,frontalfigurebeforealushgardenofflowers.Withitstitular reference to Gabriel’s divine revelation, Rosano becomes the angel of modernityandthecontemporaryviewerreplacesthevirginalrecipientof thebiblicalmessage.29AsJackBurnhaminsightfullyexplained,

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5.3 Sylvia Sleigh,Court of Pan (after Luca Signorelli) (1973),oilon canvas,76×113 in.Collectionof LoisN.Orchard. Courtesyof theEstateof SylviaSleigh

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Sleigh’switandallusionsarehere attheirbestbecausethegardenisa specificallyreligioussymbol,thatisthe hortus conclusus orenclosedgardenof theVirgin,signifyingherImmaculate Conception.PaulRosanoasGabrielgreets theVirgin,whointhiscasebecomes theviewerandartist,withthe“fearful symmetry”ofthemalegod-head,Jehovah. AswiththeiconographyofRenaissance andPre-Renaissancedepictionsofthe Annunciation…,Gabriel’shaloemanates fromJehovah’sbeamofdivinelight directedfromaboveandtotherearin Sleigh’scomposition,andismanifested onlybytheglowinghighlightsofRosano’s bushyhaircut.Again,theblueofthe VirginisreiteratedinRosano’sdenim jacketandcut-offdungarees.30

This angelic vision of Sleigh’s favorite model was inspired by a photograph that she took in her backyard garden;31 thus,itlacksadirecthistoricalsource,as doesLilith,andismoreindependentasa compositionthanherreinterpretationsof the“OldMasters.”Indeed,Annunciation: Paul Rosano and Lilith epitomize Sleigh’s individualisticpermutationsoftraditional subjectmatter. IncontrasttoworkslikeAnnunciation: Paul Rosano,Sleigh’sLilith isanundeniably fancifulderivationofherfigurativework. 5.4 SylviaSleigh, Althoughsheinfrequentlydepictedcouples,Lilithhasmorethanapassing Annunciation: Paul resemblancetotheonlyfull-lengthstandingmale–femalepairinheroeuvre. Rosano (1975), Manhattan Landscape with Figures (1968;Figure5.5),whichprecededLilithby oiloncanvas, several years, is a portrait of Holly Hemingway (b. 1944) and R.V. Bendrat 90×52¼in. Privatecollection. (b.1923),whowerethentheproprietorsoftheHemingwayGalleryinNew Courtesyof YorkCity.Inthepainting,Sleighcuriouslyblended“personalnessandformal theEstateof detachment.”32Thefiguresstand,casuallydressedintheirrespectivebikini SylviaSleigh and cutoff shorts, in front of the sculpture garden behind their gallery on East 60th Street. The background is filled with verdant foliage, punctuated byarchitecturalformsoneitherside.Compositionally,thisissimilartoLilith, althoughitfeaturesactualfloraandsomeglimpsesofthecity.InManhattan Landscape with Figures, Sleigh placed the couple close to the picture plane, addinghorizontalrailsandbackgroundarchitecturetoreinforcethefrontality ofthepainting,33whichismediatedonlybyHemingway’sthree-quarterturn. Lilith, too, is assertively frontal, with the warm primordial landscape as a

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relatively flat backdrop. On some level, Lilith’s body is like R.V. Bendrat’s half-clothedform;infact,thepositionsofhislegsarenearlyidenticaltothose of the male form in Lilith. Moreover, Lilith’s turned head and indifferent expression are not unlike those of Holly Hemingway. With its oversized flowers, impossible celestial background, legendary subject, and merged figures,LilithisessentiallyafantasticalexaggerationofSleigh’searlier,more lifelikedoubleportrait. WhiletheunisexdepictionofLilithisuniqueinherwork,Sleighactually commingledthetwogendersmuchearlier,andperhapsmorebelievably,in Lady Hetty Dekker Remington (1949) and The Bride Figure 5.6),34  Dent(The (TheBride BrideI)I)(1949)andThe Bride IIII (1950; (1950;Figure5.6), both of which depict her then-future husband, Lawrence Alloway, as his femininealter-ego.35Inthelatter,Sleighextendedherhusband’sblondehair toformflowinglocks,adornedhisheadwithacoronetandwhitelace,and addedpearlearrings.Shecostumedhiminadresswithgoldarabesquemotifs and adjusted his physique to suggest a tapering, stereotypically feminine waist,coupledwithslightbutroundedbreasts.Allowayispositionedbefore afloralandfoliatebackground,aswasLilith aboutaquarterofacenturylater. The Bride II,however,integratesthemalesitterandhisfemaleaccoutrements, asifAllowayissimplydressingapart.Inthisrespect,thepaintingiscloser to a twentieth-century update of the portrait déguisé that was fashionable twohundredyearsearlier.Lilith,ontheotherhand,isaneffectiveandmore

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5.5 Sylvia Sleigh,Manhattan Landscape with Figures(1968),oil oncanvas,78× 48in.Collection ofR.V.Bendrat. Courtesyof theEstateof SylviaSleigh 5.6 SylviaSleigh, The Bride II(1950), oiloncanvas,24 ×20in.Courtesy oftheEstateof SylviaSleigh

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penetrating rumination on the intrinsic sameness of the genders. The difference between masculine and feminine, Sleigh implies, is limited to slight physiological variations that should not be used to justify social and political constructs. In this regard, Lilith is a visual counterpart to the contemporaneous literature that decriedbiologicaldeterminism.36 ForthefigureofLilith,Sleighdeviseda hermaphroditicoverlay.37Onceagainshe usedPaulRosano(b.1950)asamodeland added the artist Susan Kaprov (b. 1946), whosebeautifulhairappealedtoher.38She wasalreadyexploringhercompositionin earlyJanuary1975,priortothefirstgroup meeting to discuss The Sister Chapel and a full year before Lilith was completed. OnJanuary8,sheexecutedanudestudy of Rosano standing in contrapposto, turned slightly to his left.39 His right armrestsathisside,whilehisraisedleft arm is bent at the elbow and his hand disappears behind his head. Ten days later,Sleighnearlyreplicatedtheposein a drawing of Kaprov, but she is clothed and rotated somewhat more to her left.40 The studies suggest that the artist had already conceived Lilith’s intersexual nature. She had unquestionably settled onthisaspectofhersubjectbyMay1975, when she created a detailed, full-scale drawing of the two models side-by-side 5.7 SylviaSleigh, onthesamelargesheetofpaper(Figure5.7),whichsheneededinorderto Study for “Lilith:” “keep the thing in proportion.”41 Sleigh inscribed the names of her models Susan Kaprov and below their feet and wrote “Study for Lilith Panel in proposed Sisterhood Paul Rosano (1975), Chapel”alongthebottom.42OnlyLilith andSleigh’smuchearlierAltarpiece graphiteonpaper, of the Resurrectionnecessitatedsuchlargepreparatorydrawings.43Shecopied 115½×62in. RowanUniversity theoutlinesofKaprovandRosanoontoseparatesheetsoftracingpaperand ArtGallery, exactinglytransferredthemtothecanvas,oneatoptheother.Initsultimate Glassboro,NJ. form,thepinkfemalefleshofLilith’sbodydominates,whilethebrowntones Courtesyofthe ofthemaleskinarevisibleonlywherehisphysiqueisnotobscuredbyhers.44 EstateofSylvia Theintersectionsoftheirbodiesaredenotediniridescentlavender,whichis Sleigh.Photo: mostnoticeableintheareaoftheheadsandlegs.Rosano’shirsutechestand KarenMauch abdomenarelikewisearticulated,asarehisnipplesandgenitalia;thelatter Photography dangletotheleftofKaprov’spubicregion,asiftounderscorethesuperficial

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dissimilarity of male and female. The lavender outlines of Rosano’s legs minglewithKaprov’spaleflesh,whichvaguelyresemblesadiagramofthe humanvascularorneurologicalsystem. Quiteexceptionally,SleighpaintedLilithinacrylic,whichshedislikedand hadnotusedsince1968.45Herdecisionwasapparentlyaconsequenceofthe monumentalscale,whichposedotherproblemsaswell.Standingonaladder, shebeganatthetopofthecanvas, ButthenIrealized,tomyhorror,thattheheadwasn’treallyasgoodasI’dhave liked,sothen—whattodo?So,thenIpainteda[bust]pictureofPaulthesame size,…putitnexttothepainting[ofLilith]andpaintedit…Hehadtohavea piercinglookoritwouldn’twork.46

The intervening composition, Head of Paul Rosano (1975; private collection), is strictly frontal and initially seems like an improbable rescuer; however, Sleighconceivablyusedittoadjustthefigure’seyes,nose,andmouth.The mergingofthetwofaceseffectivelydiminishedtheindividualizedfeatures ofhermodels,butasimplecomparisonofthefull-scaledrawingandcanvas revealsthatSleighultimatelyadjustedthefarawaylook,refocusingtheeyes somewhatmoretowardthepictureplane.Shewishedtoavoidanyimposition of the actual personalities of Rosano and Kaprov. As she later explained, “They have nothing to do with one another. You know, I mean, they don’t knowoneanother—nothing.”47Theyweresimplymeanttorepresentanidea. Toaccompanyherpainting,Sleighpennedalengthypoem,“TheSongof Lilith,”whichappearedontheposterforThe Sister Chapel.Itreads,inpart, Freedomtoliveandlovelikeawoman, Freedomtothinkandtobe, Freedomtouseallmygifts,nature-given, Freedomtofeelandtosee. Createduniquefromwaterandearth, Notfromtheribofanother: Iamnotyours:Iammine. Iamnotyou:Iamme. Eve,createdwithanarcissist’slove, Wifeofherfatherandbrother, Slavesareherdaughters Thathersonsmaybefree: Freetomurdereachother Daughtersdespised,whoselonged-forsons Aredressedinheavenlyblue; Powerofintellect, Spiritandstrength, Nothingbutjoyforyou. “Blueforaboy,pinkforagirl,” Wearingthehabitofearth, Whiletheboycansoartoheavenlikeabird Thegirlisanchoredfrombirth. …

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PoorEve,oilwhile Hesmokeshisherbs, Abletopleasehimnever, Toopretty,tooplain, Tooold,tooyoung, Ortoowiseandkindaltogether. … Freedomtoexpandlikeaflower Usingyourmindasthejewelitshouldbe, Knowingyourstrengthandpower. Thenyoucanstandanequaltoman, Friendorloverorwife, Workingtogether,braveandstrong, Companionsinanewlife.48

With an asterisk in her third stanza, Sleigh denoted a parallel between the inequities expressed in “The Song of Lilith” and those in New Portuguese Letters,anonlinearfeministbookthatwasoriginallypublishedin1973under thetitleNovas Cartas Portuguesas.49ItwaswrittenbythreePortuguesewomen whowereinspiredbytheallegedwritingsofaseventeenth-centurynun. ForSylviaSleigh,The Sister ChapelresonatedbeyondherpaintingofLilith. Already in 1974, the proposed commemoration of female role models in a “Women’s Chapel” prompted Sleigh to paint feminist subjects, including Scheherezade: Cynthia Mailman (Figure 5.8).50 In May, a year before she createdthefull-scaledrawingforLilith,Sleighdrewasmallpencilstudyfor Scheherezade;thepaintingwasexhibitedfourmonthslateratA.I.R.Gallery.51 TheostensiblyNearEasternsubjectandpatternedbackdroparereminiscent ofSleigh’sThe Turkish Bath,completedthepreviousyear.Scheherezade: Cynthia Mailman casts one of Sleigh’s friends—and later a contributor to The Sister Chapel—in the role of the ancient literary figure. In the frame story of The Thousand and One Nights, Scheherezade avoids execution by telling nightly stories to the Persian king, who persists in sparing her life because she repeatedlystartsatalebutdoesnotfinishitbydaybreak.Afterathousand stories, the king has fallen in love with her (and she has borne him three sons), so she becomes his queen. Sleigh’s painting captures the raconteur’s glamorousness and sensuous appeal, but her alert posture and undaunted expression reveal the knowledgeable and clever woman who outsmarts the ruler of the Persian Empire. In Sleigh’s allegorical works of this type, the pairing of subject and sitter is more than coincidental. Aside from her obvious physical beauty, Cynthia Mailman is a voluble and entertaining storyteller. Furthermore, she is a feminist, as was Scheherezade in Sleigh’s estimation.52Although she contemplated the creation of a larger series that would include Scheherezade: Cynthia Mailman,53 it did not materialize. Her laterGoddess Series,however,similarlyfeaturesfiveofhercontemporariesas modernvariationsonmythologicalwomen,butthecanvasesaremoderately sizedat50incheshigh.TheratioissomewhatdifferentthanthatofLilith,but the Goddess paintings were similarly conceived as vertical panels with fulllength,standingfiguresthatoccupytheheightoftheirrespectivecanvases.

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For the legendary primordial Chinese matriarch, Nükua, Sleigh used an Asian-American artist named Kim Hardiman (b. 1960) as her model (1984; Figure 5.9). In deference to conventional images of Nükua with a dragon’s tail,Sleighpaintedreptilianscalesatherlowerextremities,whicharevisible beneathHardiman’sdiaphanousgown.Hermostobviousattributeisasmall, leashed, calligraphic dragon with dramatically splayed limbs. Sleigh made further allusions to mythological and historical figures in Sabra Moore: My Ceres (1982),andJoan of Arc with SS Michael and Margaret: Joan Watts(1985), bothofwhichportrayotherartists. In 1974, the year in which Ilise Greenstein exhibited her burgeoning conceptforTheSister Chapel,SylviaSleighwasalsoatworkonalargediptych to commemorate the founding members of SOHO 20 Gallery (est. 1973), thesecondall-womenartist-runexhibitionspaceinManhattan.54ForSOHO 20 Group Portrait (1974;St.Louis,UniversityofMissouri–St.Louis),Sleigh borrowedandredefinedaformatmostrecognizablyusedbyseventeenthcenturyDutchartists,suchasFransHals(1580–1666)andRembrandt(1606– 1669), for portraits of militia groups, regents, and observers of anatomy lessons. 69),forportraitsofmilitiagroups,regents,andobserversofanatomylessons. In their clustered but ostensibly casual arrangement, in which each sitter isvisible,Sleigh’spaintingsarefeministreinterpretationsofHals’smilitia portraits,butwithoutthejollification.Shesituatedthewomeninhersitting room,asevidencedbythedistinctivealternatingoctagonalandsquaretiles, ArtNouveaulamps,andSleigh’sownrecentlycompletedOctober: Felicity

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5.8 SylviaSleigh, Scheherezade: Cynthia Mailman (1974),oilon canvas,52×56 in.AkronArt Museum,Akron, OH,giftofthe BroidoFamily Collection. Courtesyof theEstateof SylviaSleigh. Photo:Akron ArtMuseum 5.9 Sylvia Sleigh,Nükua, The Divine Woman: Kim Hardiman (1984),oilon canvas,50×20in. Privatecollection. Courtesyof theEstateof SylviaSleigh

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5.10 Sylvia Sleigh,Gloria Orenstein (1977), oiloncanvas,36 ×24in.Private collection. Courtesyof theEstateof SylviaSleigh

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Rainnie and Paul Rosano (1974; private collection) hanging above the sofa. In the left panel, the space is deeper and the foreground figures are cropped; however,theanalogousquartetofartists onthesofaandtherepetitionofSleigh’s October: Felicity Rainnie and Paul Rosano in the right panel are effective links to the other canvas. The pendant portrait is a device that has existed for many centuries, although usually reserved for pairings of less complex single-figure compositions. In the same year that she finished Lilith, Sleigh painted Helène Aylon (1976; private collection), the first in a series that eventually numbered 19portraits,executedoverthreedecades, that honor women artists and writers. Their uniform size and consistently half-length figures unite them. Between November 1977 and January 1978, Sleigh completed eight such paintings, including Gloria Orenstein (1977; Figure 5.10) and Diana Kurz (1978), in time for her solo exhibition at A.I.R. Gallery, which opened one day before The Sister Chapel premiered at P.S.1. Gloria Orenstein was painted in 1977, around thetimethatthesitter’sgerminalarticle,“TheSisterChapel—ATraveling Homage to Heroines,” was published in Womanart. At her solo show in January1978,SleighalsounveiledherA.I.R. Group Portrait(1977–78),which hassincebecomeanimportantdocumentofthewomen’sartmovement. Sleigh’s highly finished, nine-foot preparatory study for Lilith also seems to have prompted her to explore drawing more seriously than she previously had. The most ambitious is another large-scale rendering of a man and woman, Alice Attie and Ken Antes (1977; Figure 5.11), which was completedshortlyafterherStudy for LilithwasshowninPaper: An Invitational ExhibitionatStateUniversityCollegeinFredonia,NewYork,inlate1976.55 Alice Attie and Ken Anteswasconceivedasanindependentwork,56makingit Sleigh’slargestdrawingthatisunrelatedtoapaintedcomposition.Further, thedistributionofthefigurescorrespondstoStudy for Lilith.InAlice Attie and Ken Antes,however,themodelsholdhandsandturntowardeachother whilelookingattheviewer.Theunionofmaleandfemaleisthusreturned totherealmofpossibility.AttieandAnteswerenot,infact,acouple,but wereindividuallysolicitedtopose,57aswereRosanoandKaprovforLilith. Quiteuncharacteristically,Alice Attie and Ken Antesandeightotherworks

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onpapercomprisedSleigh’ssoloshowat SOHO 20 Gallery in 1985.58 She had, in fact,rarelyexhibitedherdrawings.

Cynthia Mailman (b. 1942) Although The Sister Chapel prompted new acquaintances and interactions, some of the connections between artists were personal and preexisting. Sylvia Sleigh’s close friendships with Cynthia Mailman and Diana Kurz predated their participationintheprojectandcontinued until Sleigh’s death in 2010. Mailman was painted by Sylvia Sleigh on three occasions, including the aforementioned Scheherazade: Cynthia Mailman andasone of the artists in SOHO 20 Group Portrait. HersisteralsosatforIsis: Pamela Mailman (1982; private collection), one of the paintings in Sleigh’s Goddess Series, and bothwomenareportrayedinThe Sisters: Cynthia and Pamela Mailman (1981;private collection). In the year that Scheherazade was created, Mailman painted Sylvia and Lawrence (1974;privatecollection),abustlength double portrait of Sleigh and her husband, Lawrence Alloway. Mailman alsogaveStudy for “God” #1 (1976),thefirstofsevensmallpreparatoryworks forhercontributiontoThe Sister Chapel,ingratitudeto“mydearfriendSylvia, whohasnotonlybeenagoodandfaithfulfriend,butalwaysastrongsupport formeinmyart,”assheinscribedonthebackoftheframedwork.Mailman waslaterinstrumentalinmountingasoloexhibitionofSleigh’sworkatthe SnugHarborCulturalCenteronStatenIsland.59 Unlike her artist’s statements, public remarks, and early role in the CaliforniachapteroftheNationalOrganizationforWomen(NOW),Cynthia Mailman’spaintingsrarelycontainovertlyfeministcontent.Inthisrespect, Godisanomalous(Plate4).Ithasbecomehermostfrequentlycitedworkand hasbeenreproducedinfeministhistories,60butusuallytotheexclusionofher largeroeuvre.FromherearliestexhibitioninNewYorkCity,Mailmanwas besetbytheproblemofbeingafeministwhoseworkwasnotimmediately recognizable as such. Soon after she returned from California, where her husband, Silver Sullivan, earned a Master’s degree at Stanford University, Mailmanlearnedaboutafeministexhibitionwithanopencallforsubmissions.

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5.11 Sylvia Sleigh.Alice Attie and Ken Antes (1977), graphiteon paper,78×47½ in.Courtesyofthe EstateofSylvia Sleigh.Photo: KarenMauch Photography

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5.12 Cynthia Mailman,View from the Kitchen while Watching My Husband Doing the Dishes,formerly Door and Window (1970),acrylicon canvas,72×58 in.Destroyed.© CynthiaMailman

LeslieSpiegel,afriendandformerclassmateatPrattInstitute,alertedhertothe opportunity.Mailmanwasparticularlykeentoexhibitanewpainting,Door and Window(1970;Figure5.12),whichshowsonewallofherlacklusterkitchen inCalifornia.Throughthetitularopeningsaresunlitglimpsesofsky,grass, trees,andabrownpicketfence.WhenMailmantelephonedtheorganizersfor details,shediscoveredthatonlyfeminist-themedworkswouldbeincluded.61 AssheandSpiegeldrovefromStatenIslandtoManhattanwiththeirworks, Mailmanbecameincreasinglyangryatthethoughtofothersdelimitingher feminist ideology or judging it based on the content of her paintings. She worriedthatthelackoffeministcontentinDoor and Window—and,therefore, its suitability for the exhibition—would be questioned. Thus, on the car ride,MailmanandSpiegelinventivelyrenameditView from the Kitchen while Watching My Husband Doing the Dishes.Thepaintingwasunaltered,butthe clevernewtitlehadobviousfeministovertones,whichsecureditsacceptance forexhibition.62ItappearedinOpen Show of Feminist Art,thefirstofitskindin NewYork,63atMUSEUM:AProjectofLivingArtists,Inc.,inDecember1971. Asanallusiontogenderrole-reversals,View from the Kitchen while Watching My Husband Doing the Dishessuperficiallyaccordswiththenotionthatfeminist paintings should “express a feminist point of view … in a way that a man couldn’thavedoneit,”asassertedin1971byMarjorieKramer,64theorganizer of Open Show of Feminist Art.65 The actual composition, however, seems to

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5.13 Cynthia Mailman,Two Roads Diverge (1974),acrylic oncanvas,42½× 50in.©Cynthia Mailman

satisfyKramer’scriterionforaworkthatshouldnotbecalledfeminist,namely “landscape and other subjects where men’s and women’s views are the same.”66Bycontrast,Mailman’sattitudewasclosertothatofJudithStein,who decriedtherestrictionsofso-calledfemaleimagery,whichwould,forexample, precludeawomanfromexhibitinginafeministgallerybecauseherworkwas nonobjective.67As Mailman declared in 1977, “I do not believe that women shouldbeconfinedintheirchoices.…Thistypeofthinkingcanonlycontinue thehistoricalpressureexertedonwomentostayinareasthatareconsidered acceptableforthembyothers.”68Infact,herpreferredsubjectswereportraits andlandscapeswithnoexplicitdisplayoffeministideology.Intheseworks, asinherretitledDoor and Window,Mailmaneliminatedincidentalelements, tonal variations, and extraneous detail to find the local color and essential form of objects.69 Although not propagandistic, her paintings of roads and landscapes, often viewed through car windows, were political statements.70 In an early description of her work, Mailman explained, “Mountains and landscapes are contrasted with the mechanization of the automobile. In my picturesIhaveportrayedanidealizedworldinwhichnatureandtechnology co-existharmoniously.”71ThisaspectofMailman’sworkwasadoptedbysome reviewers,72yetherpaintingsoftennecessitatemorecomplexreadings. Cynthia Mailman’s lengthy investigation of the convergence of nature andtechnologybeganinearnestwithTwo Roads Diverge (1974;Figure5.13). ThetitleisavariationonRobertFrost’sfamousopeninglineof“TheRoad

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NotTaken.”Likethepoem’sfirst-personnarrator,Mailmanwasatraveler. Herroadwaypaintingswerebasedonphotographsthatshetookfromthe passengerseatofaVolkswagenvan.Atthetime,herworkwaslikenedto the reductive representations of highways by Allan D’Arcangelo (1930– 73 ofwhich whichMailman Mailmanwas wasunaware. unaware.7474Asuperficialrelationshipexists superficial relationship relationship exists 98),73 73 ofofwhichMailmanwasunaware. AA superficial 1998), betweenTwo Roads Diverge and,forexample,D’Arcangelo’sUS Highway 1 (1962;Washington,DC,SmithsonianAmericanArtMuseum).Bothfeature roadsthatleadintothedistance,framedbysimplifiedlandscapeelements that are divided linearly and rendered in flat areas of color. D’Arcangelo, however,emphasizedthevanishingpoint,punctuatedbyimpersonaland unexceptional emblems of the American highway, such as the familiar shield-shapedmarkerforUSHighway1,alightedsignwiththedistinctive Sunoco logo, and electrical wires strung across the road. Mailman’s Two Roads Diverge,ontheotherhand,presentsthecurvingpavementwith twouncertaindestinationsinalandscapethatiscommonbutnotaltogether nondescript.Thetopography,asdefinedbyclustersofvegetationwithtwo distinctlybarrentreesattheleft,wasactuallyinspiredbyMailman’sdesire tocapturetheeffectsofDutchelmdisease.75WhilewidespreadintheUnited Statesandcommonlyknown,thisecologicalproblemwasunimportantin theconsumeristimageryofD’Arcangelo. The theme of personal discovery while traveling the highway— metaphorically and literally—was pervasive in the postwar era. Erskine Caldwell and Margaret Bourke-White’s Say, Is This the U.S.A. (1941) and JackKerouac’sOn the Road (1957)havebeeninvokedinthiscontext,ashas Robert Frank’s cross-country photo-essay, The Americans (1959).76 Songs likeBobDylan’s“DowntheHighway”(1963)and“Highway61Revisited” (1965)alsoembracedtheperipateticlifeontheopenroad.Attimes,painters experimentedwiththeautomotivetheme.Freeway (1966;privatecollection) byVijaCelmins(b.1938),forexample,isanearlymonochromaticglimpse ofamultilanehighway,asobservedthoughthewindshieldofamovingcar. Alex Katz (b. 1927), who was one of Mailman’s teachers at Pratt Institute, represented the interiors of automobiles in Impala (1968) and Ada and Vincent in the Car (1972),althoughoneisaviewfromthedriver’sseatand theotherisfromoutsidethevehicle.Further,HowardKanovitz(1929–2009) depictedotherformsoftransportationinIcarus (1974)andTaxi Bay (1976)— anairplaneandboat,respectively—asseenfromtheinteriorofacar.Asit happened,theseworksdidnotleadtheartiststosustainedexplorationsof vehiculartravel.Incontrast,Mailmandelvedintothethemeformorethan adecade.Beginningin1974,herroadwaypaintingsdrewfurtherattention totheinteractionofnatureandmachinerywithvistasframedbyportions of windshields, hoods, or door posts, sometimes showing wipers or side mirrors,asinLooking Back(1975;Figure5.14). Mailman’s understated forms and restricted tones are also found in her portraiture,againstwhichGod ismoreeasilymeasured.Herfiguralworks, however,areusuallyeasel-sized,bust-lengthrepresentationsofclothedsitters.

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5.14 Cynthia Mailman, Looking Back (1975),acrylicon canvas,50×60 in.Destroyed.© CynthiaMailman

While her economical rendering bears the partial imprint of Alex Katz,77 Mailman’s figures are uniformly illuminated, which allows for none of the highlightsandreflectionsthatappearinhispaintings.Insteadofadoptinghis simplifiedshadows,shetypicallyusedsubtleandselectivelinestodemarcate noses, eyelashes, chins, wrinkles, and other facial features. The hair is often reducedtoanunmodulatedareaofcolor,notunlikethegrovesoftreesand cloud formations in her roadway paintings, but a few well-placed strokes of anothercolorhintatindividualstrands.Mailman’sportraiturethusrepresents adelicatebalancebetweenrestraintandinformality.Onecriticaptlydescribed Judith Tannenbaum(1979;Figure5.15) as“anostensiblyhard,flatcompositional treatment with a remarkably delicate tonal harmony,” noting that “the simplificationissorefinedastoincreasethesenseofcharacterizationwithout theburdenofextraneousdetails.”78Tannenbaum(b.1944)ispositionednear thecenterofthehorizontalcanvas,balancedbyacastshadowontheleftand anornamentedsofawithstripedandfloralupholsteryontheright.Mailman intentionally placed her sitter, a writer and curator of contemporary art, on the embellished divan as an allusion to the decorative art of the women’s movement.79 In this way, she paired a successful female professional and an exampleofso-calledwoman’sworkthatwasreclaimedandreinvigoratedby Pattern and Decoration artists.A similar contrast of flat color and patterned surfacescanbefoundinherotherportraits,asinthesubtlefoliatebackground ofSylvia and Lawrence,thejewelryandlacetrimofEllen Lubell (1975;private collection),andthetessellatedjacketofIrving Selznick (1975;privatecollection).

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5.15 Cynthia Mailman,Judith Tannenbaum (1979),acrylicon canvas,19×30 in.Destroyed.© CynthiaMailman

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WithdimensionsthataresimilartothefiguralpanelsofThe Sister Chapel, Mailman’sLeslie—Eastern Parkway (1974;Figure5.16)provesthattheartist was already working successfully on a large scale when she joined Ilise Greensteinandhercollaborators.Leslie—Eastern Parkwaylikewisedepictsa lonefemale,althoughsheismorecasuallyposedandoccupiesconsiderably lessspaceonthecanvasthanthetoweringdeityinGod.ThesitterisLeslie Spiegel, with whom Mailman had earlier conspired in the retitling of Door and Window for submission to Open Show of Feminist Art. Her environmentconsistsofanornamentalwrought-irondoor,beforewhichshe standsonashallowpavedstepwherethreedeadleavesdelicatelyrest.The elaborateopenworkofthedoorscontraststheuttersimplicityofMailman’s renderingofSpiegel.Simpleandsubtlelinesareusedtoarticulateonlythe mostessentialfacialfeatures,afewflowinglocksofherunboundhair,ared ribbonatherbodice,andoneredshoulderstrap.Thearchitecturalelements areslightlyaskew,asistheupperwindowcasinginView from the Kitchen while Watching My Husband Doing the Dishes, which hints at perspective andenlivensanotherwisesedatecomposition.Furthermore,Mailmanhas deftlylimitedshadowstotheleaves,tracery,andareabeneaththehemof thesitter’sgown. Mailmanreasonedthat“aSisterChapelshouldhaveasisterGod,”80but unlikeherotherpaintings,whichwerebasedonperceivedexperiences,the image of the supreme deity had to be invented by the artist. To this end, sheextensivelyresearchedtheconceptofGod.81Inahandwrittenstatement

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for The Sister Chapel, Mailman opted to include the following straightforward definition of god, taken from the first editionofThe American Heritage Dictionary (1969): god (gŏd)n. 1.Abeingofsupernaturalpowers orattributes,believedinandworshipedbya people.2.Onethatisworshipedoridealized asagod.3. God.Abeingconceivedasthe perfect,omnipotent,omniscientoriginator andruleroftheuniverse,theprincipalobject offaithandworshipinmonotheisticreligions. [