Jan, 07, 2025
Media Alerts
Phoenix Art Museum, FOCUS on European Art event highlights underrecognized women artists from the 17th-century Dutch Baroque period
Virginia Treanor from the National Museum for Women in the Arts sheds light on practices of female artists from the era in the context of newest Dutch art installation at PhxArt
PHOENIX (January 7, 2025) –This January, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) and FOCUS on European Art partner to present Virginia Treanor, Senior Curator at the National Museum for Women in the Arts, celebrating the Museum’s newest installation The Collection: Dutch Art Expanded. Treanor will highlight 17th-century Dutch women artists, many of whom were often overlooked during the time period, during the art talk Women Protagonists of the Dutch Baroque. The event will be presented on January 30 at 7 pm at Phoenix Art Museum. Tickets are free for Museum Members and included with general admission and can be reserved here.
From 1610 to 1670, Dutch art flourished in the Netherlands. Artists transformed previous genres of art by investigating how light reflects off different surfaces, revealing the enlivened and true character of their subjects. Dutch Art Expanded pairs 17th-century landscape, portraiture, interior, and still life paintings with prints and decorative art objects from the collection of PhxArt. Alongside these historical works, the installation features artworks by Arizona-based artists Rachel Bess and Alanna Airitam, whose practices are inspired by hidden histories and aesthetic concerns associated with the 17th-century movement. In her Phoenix studio, Bess creates a sense of romantic drama through her intimate portraits and still life vanitas paintings reminiscent of Dutch artists. In photography, Airitam celebrates Black beauty and through her Golden Age series (2017) centers Black men and women in the narrative of the Dutch Renaissance. In placing these contemporary works in conversation with artworks from the era, Dutch Art Expanded offers fresh perspectives and challenges preconceived notions on the formerly so-called “Golden Age.”
Dr. Virginia Treanor is the Senior Curator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C. Committed to scholarship that both elucidates and contextualizes the contributions of historical women, Treanor has curated exhibitions on 17th, 18th, and 19th century art. Treanor holds a Ph.D. in 17th century Dutch and Flemish art, which she earned at the University of Maryland under the direction of Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr. She has held positions at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Gallery of Art, among other institutions. She is a member of CODART, Historians of Netherlandish Art, Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender, and the Association of Art Museum Curators. She also serves on the editorial board for Lund Humphries’ Illuminating Women Artists book series. Currently, Treanor is planning an exhibition on Dutch and Flemish women artists of the 17th and 18th centuries to open in late 2025.
This event is hosted in partnership with FOCUS on European Art, a membership-based 501(c)(3) support organization that promotes education in the arts, with special emphasis on European art and art history.
For more information about this event, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org. For more information on FOCUS on European Art, contact FocusOnEuropeanArt@outlook.com.
About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art of our region and world. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, PhxArt creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. Each year, 300,000 guests on average engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 21,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PhxArt also presents live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education programs and workshops, an art+music festival, and more for the community. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.
About FOCUS on European Art
FOCUS on European Art is a charitable organization that promotes education in the arts, with special emphasis on European art and art history. FOCUS organizes salons, presentations and other events virtually and in person for its members and guests, inviting distinguished local, national, and international scholars and curators as speakers. FOCUS also supports art education and collections in public art museums by funding acquisitions, exhibitions, conservation, educational programs, and other board-approved donations. To learn more about Focus on European Art, visit focusoneuropeanart.org.