Women's Work

For centuries, Western art treated quilting, embroidery and ceramics as lesser crafts. They were set apart from painting and sculpture and considered a better fit for women. Many artists have since taken these crafts back and reshaped them, filling them with imagination, personal vision and the experience of being a woman.

This book traces that shift and focuses on the women who challenged the old ranking of the arts. Through trial and experimentation, inventive thinking and a clear assertion of their own identities, they transformed the materials they worked with. Their work has changed how art history is told, and the phrase 'women's work' has moved from a dismissive label to something worth praising.

Each featured artist receives a biographical entry, and the volume is illustrated with many images of her work. It introduces these inventive artists, tells their stories and considers what their practices have left behind.