Connecticut’s New Britain Museum of American Art is presenting the first-ever retrospective of 19th century artist Susie M. Barstow (1836-1923), a prolific and important artist during her lifetime who has received little scholarly attention until now.
Barstow exhibited and sold work alongside Hudson River School icons such as Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Church and Asher Brown Durand. In the exhibition “Women Reframe American Landscape,” which runs from Nov. 18 through March 31, 2024, major works by Barstow are on view, along with the artist’s sketches and materials and a selection of works by artists in her circle, including long-forgotten female artists including Julie Hart Beers, Fidelia Bridges, Charlotte Buell Coman, Eliza Greatorex, Mary Josephine Walters, and Laura Woodward. The exhibition coincides with the first monograph on Susie M. Barstow authored by art historian Nancy Siegel.
Running simultaneously with the Barstow exhibition is a presentation of contemporary works by artists including Teresita Fernández, Guerrilla Girls, Marie Lorenz, Tanya Marcuse, Mary Mattingly, Ebony G. Patterson, Anna Plesset, Wendy Red Star, Jean Shin, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Cecilia Vicuña, Kay WalkingStick, and Saya Woolfalk. According to the museum, these artists “draw upon diverse processes and perspectives to complicate and rethink our relationship to land and landscape today. Responding to and at times challenging historical narratives, many of the artists created unique, site-responsive installations for this exhibition.”
More information on this offering is available on the museum’s website.
Photo: Susie M. Barstow, “The Ruins of Kenilworth Castle” (1880). From the Barstow Family Trust Collection; photo courtesy New Britain Museum of American Art.
