The 1960s marked a turning point for women artists in the art world. Fueled by the Civil Rights movement and second-wave feminism, artists began knocking on the doors of the establishment and dismantling the myth of the lone male genius.
“The 1960’s was a period of profound social change when women were challenging established ideas about their roles in society and, increasingly, demanding greater visibility and agency with the art world,” says Sally Martin Ktaz, the show curator.
Sandy Skoglund, Fragile Steps (Walking on Eggshells), 1997 gelatin silver print 6¾ x 8½ in. Collection of Michael Carr and Peter Goldblum © Sandy Skoglund
A Gallery of Their Own: Women Artists from the Carr and Goldblum Gift de Young opened in August of 2026 at the de Young Museum and will remain open until February 2027. The exhibition features artworks made exclusively by women artists active since the 60s.
“Women artists pushed against the the conventions of photography, printmaking and drawing, exploring surrealism and the fantastical movement and perception, dimensionality, and new ways of representing the natural world,” says Katz. “In that sense, the works embody a larger desire to question boundaries and expand what these mediums could be.”
Jay DeFeo (1929–1989), Untitled, 1973 cut gelatin silver print 2¼ x 4¼ in. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Promised Gift of Michael Carr and Peter Goldblum
Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010), one of the many trailblazing artists connected with the feminist movement, is featured in the show. Her sculptural works are tactile and often use hard or rough materials to dispute stereotypical views of femininity.
Other works in the collection demonstrate the challenge of capturing movement in still media in the postwar era, bringing a sculptural approach to works on paper or exploring the notion of mapping the natural world.
Lee Krasner (1908–1984), Free Space, 1975 screenprint on Lenox 100 paper 19½ x 261/16 in. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Promised Gift of Michael Carr and Peter Goldblum
Artist Jay DeFeo is represented in the exhibition. DeFeo’s work was influenced by Abstract Expressionism and her fascination with Asian, African and prehistoric art.
Her art evolved to incorporate the dualities of representation and abstraction, organic rhythms and geometric form, refinement and expressionism. Working with unorthodox materials, her work also explored the broadest definitions of sculpture, drawing, collage and painting.
Her works Impressions of Africa No. 9 and Untitled are on view at the Gallery of Their Own exhibition, showcasing her fearless techniques and use of new materials and experimentation with photography.
Jay DeFeo (1929–1989), Impressions of Africa No. 9, 1989 oil and alkyd paint with charcoal 14 x 11 in. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of Michael Carr and Peter Goldblum
The exhibition is drawn from the promised gift of local collectors Michael Carr and Peter Goldblum, and other works featured in the collection are from Judy Dater, Jay DeFeo, Lee Krasner and Yayoi Kusama, among others.
“The exhibition is, in part, a celebration of both the artists and that long-term act of look, collecting and supporting women’s art. That intimacy between artists, artworks, collectors and eventually the museum became an important part of the story I wanted to tell,” says Katz. —
Powered by Froala Editor
