The Cooley Gallery is proud to announce, Her Way, An Exhibition and Sale of Paintings by American Women over three centuries, on view from Thursday, October 9th - Saturday, November 15th.  The Cooley Gallery opens this exhibition as a part of a town-wide celebration of women artists and their place in American art history.

Ask any woman, or any minority for that matter, if getting the recognition or respect of the majority is easy especially in a field as fiercely competitive as art.  Back in the days of the Old Lyme art colony, Willard Metcalf (1858-1925), a highly respected painter and teacher, expressed his disdain for women artists referring to them as "blots" on the landscape.  He even went so far as painting a woman at her easel titling the canvas "Poor Little Bloticelli" (Florence Griswold Museum).

Throughout history women artists have been challenged by social and cultural limitations. Luckily for all of us there were fearless female pioneers experimenting and creating in spite of convention. Her Way, opening October 9th in Old Lyme at The Cooley Gallery, is an exhibition highlighting the talents of a select group of women and an excuse to re-introduce some wonderful artistic talents.

Gender experience, life experience and professional expectations play a strong role in an artist's work.  Opportunity, acceptance and exposure are among the greatest concerns for artists and for women, these could seem insurmountable.  This exhibition will include some predictable subjects as well as some less so.  

Among the historic artists represented is Fidelia Bridges, ANA, (1834-1923), who was born in New Jersey and made a name for herself through greeting card illustration. She achieved the rare honor, for a woman at that time, of membership in the American Watercolor Society. She studied under William Trost Richards at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and was admitted as an associate member to the prestigious National Academy of Design in 1873. Hers is among the best known names of American Pre-Raphaelite painters, capturing faithfully nature’s precise details.

Matilda Browne (1869-1947) was the only woman whose image appears in The Fox Chase, a painted panel in the celebrated dining room of the Florence Griswold House. In the painting, her hands are thrown up in the air (although it appears as if she is sneaking a peak with one eye open) at the sight of a bare-chested Childe Hassam at his outdoor easel.  An art student seeing a naked form? The shock!  She is the only woman depicted and was flatteringly described by her peers as painting with "male vigor."  Ms. Browne's artistic legacy continues through her sympathetic cow and vital flower paintings.  She was defying stereotypes at an early age.  At the tender twelve one of her floral paintings was accepted into an exhibition at the prestigious National Academy of Design.

Stories of Helen Savier DuMond's (1872-1968) independent mind and spirit abound.  Her husband, Frank Vincent DuMond, was always on the move as a beloved painter and instructor.  Included in this exhibition will be her landscape paintings of the nearby countryside completed during the summers she spent in Lyme.

F. Julia Bach (1887-1978) was quoted, "Any intelligent person can learn to draw, but that does not mean that anyone can become an artist. For the artist must do more than reproduce what he sees - he must interpret - give something of himself to his painting."  Remember the convention of the male pronoun? Julia Bach secured a living by teaching art.  Summers were spent in Bethel, Connecticut at her aunt's farm where she completed many of her floral still lifes.  There's a spectacularly painted rose in this exhibition.

Jean Swan Gordon (1922-2013) became a member of Lyme's art history only last year having lived in Lyme painting watercolors for the last twenty-five years.  The Gallery is thrilled to be able to offer the Connecticut premier of Ms. Gordon's vibrant florals on both canvas and paper here in her hometown.

An exhibition celebrating women's art would not be complete without the assemblages of Maureen McCabe.  These boxed narratives of historical and, typically rare, objects presented in excruciating detail are about power and gender often wrapped in lore.  Maureen is a retired professor emeritus at Connecticut College.
 
Another famous woman artist with strong ties to Connecticut is Janet Fish.  Janet Fish is the granddaughter of the Old Lyme Art Colony painter Clark Voorhees (1871-1933). Janet is a third generation artist in her family. Her work includes richly colored and highly complex table top stilllifes.  The Gallery is thrilled to have a painting by Ms. Fish in this exhibition.

Judy Friday's work has been represented by The Cooley Gallery for over twenty years.  She defies all stereotyping as a master of almost any media be it sculpture, photography, paint or fabric.  This exhibition will include varied mediums such as oils, pastels and fiber art.  

Her Way at The Cooley Gallery exhibits works by artists as dauntless and creative as any who just so happen to be women.

The Cooley Gallery will host an opening reception for Her Way on Thursday, October 9th from 5 - 8 p.m. The public is welcome. The exhibition runs through Nov. 15, 2014.
 
Founded in 1981 and located in the heart of historic Old Lyme, the Cooley Gallery specializes in fine American paintings from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, and select contemporary artists. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Please call (860) 434-8807 or visit www.cooleygallery.com for additional information. The Cooley Gallery is located at 25 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT 06371.