The Abstract Gallery, Art of This Century Gallery, 1942, New York, NY, USA. Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
During World War II, the celebrated modern art collector Peggy Guggenheim decided to make history in New York, the emerging epicentre of modern art. Her ambition? To curate a groundbreaking exhibition, a first of its kind in the United States: a show featuring solely women artists.
This apparently revolutionary display featured 31 women from multiple nationalities, including some from Latin America. But who were the ones included? And even more interesting: why were they selected? And why were others, such as the famous Remedios Varo or Anita Malfatti, so openly excluded?
Peggy Guggenheim at the Art of This Century Gallery, with two paintings from the 31 Women exhibition. AD Magazine.
Her “Art of This Century” gallery showcased the exhibition, which opened in 1942. Blending a private collection with a commercial gallery, Guggenheim wanted to distinguish it from other New York galleries by exhibiting the most avant-garde art of the time, swiftly establishing it as a focal point for emerging artists.
Before escaping Europe, “Peggy was determined to buy one painting a day from uneasy artists eager to sell for dollars as the threat of war loomed on the horizon”. Thus, she had the space, recognition, and extraordinary paintings to be exhibited. But how did she come up with this “groundbreaking” idea?
"The world of art had room for women as mistresses or models… Some women painters toiled in the shadows of well-known husbands or lovers and sacrificed their own reputations... Others simply couldn't get their work shown". Jacqueline Weld, philatropist & art connoisseur.
Trying to make a revolutionary statement in the arts, her close friend, artist, and advisor Marcel Duchamp suggested the exhibition, and Guggenheim, interested in disrupting, loved the idea.
Paradoxically, the jury consisted of Duchamp, André Breton, the artist Max Ernst, the curator James Johnson Sweeney, and the dealer Howard Putzel. So, was she disruptive enough? Could she have come up with the exhibition by herself without Duchamp's suggestion? How does this particularly male jury affect the artist selection? What was the relationship with these Latin American artists?
The exhibition opened on January 5, 1943, and included only four artists from Latin America. Some were born in the region, and others were or will be deeply connected to it. Let's dive into the ones selected and explore the notable omissions despite their contributions to modern art and their close relationship with the jury.
Argentina
Leonor Fini
Leonor Fini, “The Shepherdess of the Sphinxes” (1941)
Guggenheim saw “The Shepherdess of the Sphinxes” in Fini's studio in Monte Carlo in 1941. Her partner, the artist Max Ernst, was deeply interested in her work and encouraged Peggy to buy it before travelling to America from Marseilles.
According to Guggenheim, she bought it because “Max adored her and wanted me to... In New York, Breton very much objected to its being in my collection, but because of Max, he couldn’t do anything about it.” Despite these differences and Peggy’s opinion, “The Shepherdess of the Sphinxes” was included in both the inaugural exhibition of the Art of This Century Gallery in 1942 and again in the "31 Women" exhibition in 1943.
Fini, on the other hand, insisted on maintaining her independence, never accepted either the label of "woman artist" or surrealist and, in fact, detested André Breton for his misogynist views. Nonetheless, she participated in the surrealist group, and her works have been included in most surrealism exhibitions, including the International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Galleries in London and "Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism" at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1936
Leonor Fini, Max Ernst, and Enrico Colombotto Rosso, Courtesy of the estate of Leonor Fini.
At the time of the women's exhibition, Fini had already received recognition as an artist and had her first solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in 1938. So, was Fini exhibited for her work, already and extensively recognised, or was it for Ernst's admiration, who years later defined her as an “Italian fury” of “scandalous elegance, caprice and passion"? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
To discover more secrets about Fini’s work, stay tuned for her new class in our course Great Artists from Latin America courses, stay tuned!
Mexico-Britain
Leonora Carrington
Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington, Marcel Duchamp and André Breton, Herman Landshoff, 1942
While Carrington may not have been identified as a Mexican artist during the exhibition, we've included her on this list because most of her artistic practice would be developed in Mexico, where she arrived soon after the show.
Carrington's artwork held a special place in Peggy Guggenheim's collection despite her previous involvement with Peggy’s partner, Max Ernst. This admiration led to Carrington being one of only four artists featured with two pieces in the exhibition. Remarkably, one of these pieces, "The Horses of Lord Candlestick," marked the first painting ever purchased by Guggenheim from a female artist.
She acquired this painting for $80 at Carrington’s studio in Paris in 1938 before she started her collecting spree. The other image, “La joie de patinage” was painted in 1941 in New York City. “I put my being into my painting. For me, the value of a work is the labour it takes to become yourself, making something honest. It’s the work of a lifetime,” said the artist.
Leonora Carrington, "The Horses of Lord Candlestick" (1938) I "La joie de patinage” (1941).
“When Carrington arrived in New York in July of 1941, she was unknown; by the time she left, eighteen months later, she was unforgettable”. Grimberg
Learn the secrets behind her work in our course, 11 women who ignited the avant-garde in Latin America, and discover if Carrington was indeed a Surrealist artist.
Portugal-Brazil
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, "Le couloir (ou Intérieur)" 1948 © ArtBasel
Although Vieira da Silva was born in Portugal, she lived and developed part of her work in Brazil between 1940 and 1947, just at the outbreak of war. Interestingly, during this period, the painter and poet Arden Quin visited Vieira da Silva’s studio in Rio de Janeiro, took photographs of some of her work, and gave them to Joaquín Torres García, who wrote a flaring article about her work in the journal Alfar in 1942.
As a leading member of the European abstractionism movement, her participation in the Exhibition by 31 Women strongly represented this particular style, deeply advocated by the curator James Johnson Sweeney. However, there is not much information available about her work "Ballet" exhibited in the show. The piece, painted in 1939, was probably acquired by Guggenheim in Europe just before they were both exiled. Despite that, we know that Vieira da Silva was familiar with the avant-garde circles of theatre, dance, and Russian ballet and painted several ballet compositions, perhaps as an excuse to explore the space, rhythm, and music of abstractionism.
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and her husband, the Hungarian painter Árpád Szenes.
Like Fini, Vieira da Silva already had a well-known career at the time of the exhibition. In May 1931, she participated in two major Paris art fairs: the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Surindépendants. Two years later, she had her first solo exhibition at Galerie Jeanne Bucher in Paris—her main dealer throughout her career—and in 1942, her first-ever museum show at the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro.
Mexico
Frida Kahlo
Kahlo and Breton, 1938
The final Latin American artist featured in the exhibition was none other than Frida Kahlo. Breton was fascinated with her work during his visit to Mexico City in 1938 and hailed her as the ultimate surrealist artist (interestingly, she was the only woman featured in his book on painting). However, their relationship was not exactly ideal. In reality, at the time of the 31 Women exhibition, Kahlo was upset with Breton and might have agreed to be part of it due to Duchamp’s suggestion.
While Breton's endorsement led to Kahlo's first solo show at Julien Levy’s Gallery in New York, his 1939 invitation to Paris distanced her completely from the surrealist dream. After convincing her that she would have her first solo show in the French capital, he ended up pulling together a last-minute poorly prepared exhibition called Mexique, including various objects that Breton had bought in Mexico and pictures of Manuel Alvarez Bravo. She would have left before the exhibition had it not been because she got sick, and Duchamp was able to take care of her during her illness and ensure the show reached some level of completion, so it would not have been a total disappointment to her.
Therefore, Duchamp’s persistence succeeded in retrieving Kahlo's paintings and inviting the artist to exhibit at the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in London. However, Kahlo, tired of the over-intellectualism of the Surrealist group, declined the invitation. Soon after, the war broke out. For some art historians, Kahlo made the correct choice in deciding to bring her paintings to Mexico; otherwise, much of her work would have been lost in Europe during the war.
In the 1940s, her career was independent of her husband, Diego Rivera; her work was acclaimed by international collectors and included in different shows both in the United States and Mexico. Now, the pencil drawing "Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair" part of the 31 Women exhibition could have occurred due to Duchamp’s suggestion, not only because of her current international recognition but also to continue the previous unconcluded history during the Paris exhibition.
Frida Kahlo, "Self-portrait with cropped hair" (1940)
Study 7 of her artworks in detail in our course, 11 Women Who Ignited the Avant Gardes in Latin America.
And who was not included?
Notably, most of the artists exhibited in the 31 Women Show were already established and had direct connections with certain members of the jury: Max Ernst, Breton, and Duchamp. Still, we wonder about the thought process behind their selection. Was it simpler for Guggenheim to let the jury propose their friends? Was it easier for the jury to select artists who were already renowned or closely connected to them? Did they choose only artworks that were already in New York? And why were others excluded despite their connections from years before?
Here's a list of other Latin American artists who we still wonder why they were not included.
Brazil
Anita Malfatti
Anita Malfatti.
In Homer Boss's 'Independent School of Art'... “we painted for 4 months… The greatest progress I made in my life… I was enchanted with life and painting." Malfatti
In the summer of 1915, Malfatti entered Homer Boss's 'Independent School of Art' on Monhegan Island. There, she met Marcel Duchamp, who had immigrated to New York in 1915 and was already famous after the scandal of his painting 'Nude Descending a Staircase' at the first International Exhibition of Modern Art, the Armory Show, in 1913.
Anita Malfatti, “A estudante (The student)", (1915-16)
By the time of the 31 Women Show, she had broken the Academy's rules, met Duchamp years before, pioneered the modernist movement in Brazil, and, interestingly, challenged modernism itself. But why was she not included in Peggy's exhibition? Did they simply lose touch? Was Guggenheim and the jury unfamiliar with the work she created in Paris during the 1920s? Or was she dismissed because of her new modernist perspective?
Learn more about her groundbreaking practice and the evolution of the concept of modernism in Malfatti’s work in our course, 11 Women Who Ignited the avant gardes in Latin America.
Brazil
Tarsila do Amaral
Tarsila do Amaral
“I want to be the painter of my country” Tarsila do Amaral in 1923
Tarsila do Amaral was at the heart of the avant-garde scene in 1920s Paris, having held two solo exhibitions there in 1926 and 1928, along with group exhibitions in both Paris and New York in 1930. Despite her connections with Picasso, Delaunay, Gris, and Brancusi, none seemed to have caught Duchamp's attention.
Tarsila do Amaral, "Abaporu" (1928)
Guggenheim may have also overlooked her, as she arrived in Europe after Amaral had returned to Brazil. Was Guggenheim unaware of her work, or had she been forgotten just a decade after leaving Paris? Could her exclusion from the exhibition be attributed to a lack of surrealist aesthetic, or perhaps due to her recent work's "anthropophagic" spirit? Was the aim of the jury to present a more universal perspective of modernism rather than a particular country?
Learn more about the Brazilian Modern Art scene and her work in our course, 11 women who ignited the avant gardes in Latin America.
Brazil
Maria Martins
Yves Tanguy, Kay Sage, Maria Martins, Enrico Donati; front row: Marcel Duchamp, Frederick Kiesler. - Woodburry, Connecticut 1947.
Martins had her first solo show at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1941 in Washington, D.C. After the positive reception of her work and being admired by André Breton, she moved to New York, where she joined the group of surrealists in exile.
Maria Martins, "The Impossible III" (1946)
After the 31 Women’s Show in 1943, Martins was deeply admired—and strongly loved—by Duchamp, leading us to assume that, at the time of the exhibition, Duchamp might not have known Martins, or else she would have been included. But what about the other jurors? Was she outside their scope? Wasn’t Breton strong enough to convince the other members of the jury? Was Duchamp better positioned than the other members to propose artists to be exhibited?
Mexico-Spain
Remedios Varo
Varo with, from left, the Russian revolutionary Victor Serge; her companion, the poet Benjamin Péret; and Breton.
“…I came to Mexico searching for the peace that I had not found, neither in Spain – that of the revolution – nor in Europe – that of the terrible war – for me it was impossible to paint amidst such anguish…” Varo
Varo had been in the surrealist circle for over a decade, and Breton and Duchamp were aware of her work. By the time of the exhibition, her work had appeared in Surrealist publications and had been exhibited internationally in London, Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, and Mexico City, including the International Surrealist exhibition organised by Breton and poet Paul Éluard.
Unlike her colleagues André Breton, Max Ernst and Leonora Carrington, Varo fled to Mexico, where she and her partner Benjamin Peret were accepted as political refugees. Was the decision not to include her related to her inability to enter the US because of her partner's political inclinations? Was she excluded because her work did not fit with the curatorial approach of the jury? Or was it due to the current situation the artist was passing through?
Remedios Varo, "La Faim" (1938)
Despite the disruption of the proposal and the well-known jury, only three works were sold in the 31 Women Show. Why? Was New York City not yet prepared to invest in works created by female artists? Was it due to the idea of women artists shaping the narrative of art history during the 20th century? Or were the artists themselves exhibited and selected by the jury? What was the real role of Guggenheim? Was it necessary to have a connection with the male jury to be exhibited? And what type of relationship was required?
And, for you, which other Latin American Artists should have been included?
Learn more about the secrets behind the lives and work of the artists referenced in this article in our course, 11 Women Who Ignited the Avant-Garde in Latin America. To learn more, click on the button below.
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