About this Book

This book presents the work of more than 150 women artists who live or once lived west of the Mississippi River. The first half of the book consists of fifteen interpretive essays specifically addressing 19th- and 20th-century art by Native Americans, Asian Americans, lesbians, and other under-represented groups within a thematic framework. Concepts of community, identity, spirituality, and locality are explored in interdisciplinary contexts. The second half of the book is an alphabetical listing of all the artists discussed in the essays, with biographical information, notes on exhibitions and collections, and the artists own statements about their work and their visions. Together these artists represent the full spectrum of ethnicities and cultures that comprise the American west. The text is lavishly illustrated with more than 300 reproductions, including 32 pages of color.