During the month of March, 2023, Kevin Christopher Gallery is highlighting the art of 10 women artists who worked in a time when modern art was not widely accepted, much less artworks created by women artists.

Wally Strautin, Hanne-Lore Sutro Nepote, Madge Knight, Juliette Steele, Janet Scudder, Virginia Banks, Polia Pillin, Lois Elaine Cohen, Florence Alston-Swift, and Zaraha Schatz created the 16 works we have chosen for this exhibition at a time when men, especially white men, dominated the art world.

All of these women endured biases and discriminatory practices of the 20th century while following their passions to create works of art.

Janet Scudder was forced to resign from her job at a wood carving factory when she learned the local union planned to go on strike after discovering there was a woman working at the factory.

Madge Knight and Hanne-Lore Sutro Nepote gave up their careers as artists to support their husbands, who were also working artists. (Charles Houghton Howard and Alexander Nepote respectively.)

The oppression of women artists was so great that one has to wonder if Valleja ‘Wally’ Strautin may have signed her paintings ‘Wally Strautin’ to lead viewers to believe they were painted by a man, so the works would be viewed without bias.

Today, nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century, women artists are increasingly receiving the attention they deserve, as art appreciators explore and consider works of art created by women and minority artists.

Although all of the women included in this exhibition are no longer living, each of their legacies live on in the works they have left behind for us to enjoy.

Kevin Christopher Gallery has always celebrated compelling works of art, by all modern artists, regardless of gender, race, age, or notoriety, and it is our honor to offer the works of art created by these trailblazing women in ‘Modern Women’.