Women's Culture: American Philanthropy and Art, 1830-1930

by Kathleen D. McCarthy

Kathleen McCarthy here presents the first book-length treatment of the vital role middle- and upper-class women played in the development of American museums in the century after 1830. By promoting undervalued areas of artistic endeavor, from folk art to the avant-garde, such prominent individuals as Isabella Stewart Gardner, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller were able to launch national feminist reform movements, forge extensive nonprofit marketing systems, and "feminize" new occupations.

Genres: Art

342 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1992

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the idea in and of itself is interesting, to outline the role of philanthropy, gender, and art. However, there are some areas that perhaps could have used a bit more thorough documentation/deeper research. While I can't speak to the other chapters, I took several tidbits in Chapter 7 with a grain of salt. As I'm currently writing a Master's thesis on the founding of MoMA, this book was suggested to me by my committee. However, perhaps the author's information is old (it was published nearly 25 years ago) or the author had access to sources I've never seen, but the information presented seemed very off-track (and occasionally off-base) for the founders' biographies. Similarly, her documentation was difficult to decipher and footnotes were few and far between. Ultimately, it helped supply a little more context about the cultural milieu of Jazz Age Manhattan and the American avant-garde.