As political, economic, and industrial changes ushered in the modern era during the 1800s, women in Europe and the United States took advantage of opportunities to establish more public lives outside their traditional roles in the home.  By the 1880s, a generation of “new women” were pursuing higher education, entering the workforce, and joining efforts to establish rights previously denied to women, including the right to vote. The works in this exhibition show women in Paris and London participating in the professional and leisure activities newly available to them at the turn of the twentieth century. A selection of works by women artists working during the period is on view throughout the permanent collection galleries for European Art.

Organized by Christine Giviskos, Curator of Prints, Drawings, and European Art