Female Modern Art

Female modern art and design is classic and timeless. Women such as Ray Eames and Frances Knoll have played an important role in shaping mid century modern art and design. Female artists and designers add a unique touch to their work and the world.

Ray Eames
The woman that first comes to mind is of course Ray Eames. She, along with her husband Charles, paved the way for excellent creative design ideas and thought. She and Charles also produced a series of amazing films and created some of the most iconic Mid Century Modern pieces. Born Ray-Bernice Alexandra Kaiser in 1912 in Sacramento California and died in 1988, 10 years to the day after Charles.

Florence Knoll
She was born in 1917 and worked with such Mid Century Modern Art luminaries as MIes van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen. She and her husband, Hans Knoll, took his furniture company to new modernist heights. Her modernist vision is evident in Knoll's design direction. After his death, Florence took over as the head of Knoll.

Frances Higgins
Frances and her husband Michael explored and created wonderful glass pieces utilitzing the "fused glass" method. By the 1950s they were selling their colorful glass pieces to upscale retail stores and their work was featured in the Chicago Merchandise Mart. Higgins glass is highly collectible and sells for high prices on eBay.

Clarice Cliff
Born in 1899 in the United Kingdom she started working on pottery when she was 13 years old. She was given her own studio and her famous "Bizarre" series was born in 1927. She achieved great wealth and notority from her incredibly creative pottery design. She died in 1972.

Eva Zeisel
Born in Hungary in 1906 and is best known for her "Town and Country" line of dishes, reproductions of which were sold in 1998 through the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Graceful and beautiful her work spans decades, and at the age of 100 she still produces new work.

Eileen Gray
Influenced by Le Corbusier, she was an architect and furniture designer best known for her circular glass E1027 table, Bibendum chair, as well as the E-1027 villa in southern France. She created female modern art in the form of exquisite furniture and architectural design.

Emmy Hennings
Even if you are a seasoned Mid Century Modern Art veteran, you probably have never heard of Emmy Hennings. She was one of the few female pioneers in the Dada art movment in the early 1900s. She, along with Hugo Ball, a co-founder of the Caberat Voltaire in Switzerland, contributed to the earliest seeds of Modern Art through their Dada art and happenings. Emmy was a poet and a performer. I consider Dada to be a very important part of what we now know today as "Modern Art" and her role in female modern art is firmly established.

Cherry Capri
Featured in one of my favorite Mid Century Modern Lounge Forums, Lotta Living. Cherry is fun, colorful, and caters great parties, and more!

Know of a female modern art pioneer that I have neglected to mention? Let me know!