A special category?: some women artists in all-female shows (Argentina, 1930s)

GLUZMAN, GEORGINA

Birmingham

Conferencia; Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC); 2018

SECAC

In 1936 the noted Argentine art critic Julio Rinaldini accused women artists who took part in all-female shows of putting themselves in a special category of artists: those with limited talent and creativity. Considering this influential statement, why would any woman participate in a show like that? This paper will shed light on the career of some women artists who took part in these events, particularly in the shows organized by the Club Argentino de Mujeres, a feminist organization whose annual show became a fixed event in the Buenos Aires?s artistic calendar. I will analyze the trajectories and critical reception of women artists such as the sculptor Antonia Artel, the sculptor and engraver María Carmen Portela, the painter Lola Nucífora, and the sculptor Augusta Tarnassi de Palma. These four women artists, who came from different backgrounds and had different artistic interests, decided to identify themselves as women artists despite the attacks of many critical voices.