During the early twentieth century it was extremely difficult for a woman to succeed as an artist, they often resorted to signing their work with male names, and so for those few who did prevail it should be regarded as an even greater achievement, and considerable re-assessment is deserved by those who were overlooked in their time.
HFA's exhibition "The Second Sex"
[Further works can be found in the ARTISTS section.]
Below is a list of names of women abstract artists mentioned in Michel Seuphor's "Dictionnaire de la Peinture Abstraite" from 1958, as well as other sources, and a PDF of biographical summaries updated by HFA can be found here:
Women Artists in Post-War France (biographies)
Women Artists in Post-War France (photographs)
ACCARDI, Carla (1924-2014) Italy
ASSE, Genevieve (1923-2021) France
BARNS-GRAHAM, Wilhelmina (1922-2004) UK
BERGMAN, Anna-Eva (1909-1987) Norway
BERTRAND, Huguette Arthur (1925-2005) France
BLOCH, Pierrette (1928-2017) Switzerland
BLOW, Sandra (1925-2006) UK
BOISECQ, Simone (1922-2012) France
BONNET, Anne (1908-1960) Belgium
BOUMEESTER, Christine (1904-1971) Netherlands
BRUNSCHWIG, Colette (1927)
CAHN, Marcelle (1895-1981) France
CALMIS, Charlotte (1918-1982) France
CARO, Anita de (1909-1998) USA
CHESNAY, Denise (1923-2016) France
CITRON, Minna (1896-1991) USA
CLAISSE, Genevieve (1935-2018) France
CLAUSEN, Fransiska (1899-1986) Denmark
COPPEL, Jeanne (1896-1971) France
CROWLEY, Grace (1895-1979) Australia
DELAUNAY, Sonia (1885-1979) France
DREIER, Katherine (1877-1952) USA
DUMITRESCO, Natalia (1915-1997) Romania
DUSTIR, Wilma (1914-?) Russia
ERASMUS, Nel (b.1928) South Africa
ERZINGER, Lili (1908-1964) Switzerland
FALKENSTEIN, Claire (1908-1997) USA
FINE, Perle (1908-1988) USA
FREIST, Greta (1914-1993) Austria
FRELINGHUYSEN, (MORRIS), Suzy (1912-1988) USA
GODIN, Raymonde (1930-2023) Canada
GOLDFARB, Shirley (1925-1980) USA
GONTCHAROVA, Natalie (1881-1962) Russia
GRENIER, Madeleine (1929-1982) France
GUTH, Hella (1912-1992) Czech Republic
HAASS, Terry (1923-2016) France
HOCH, Hannah (1889-1978) Germany
HOLLEY, Francine (1919-2020) Belgium
HUNZIKER, Frieda (1908-1971) Netherlands
JAFFE, Shirley (1923-2016) USA
JAN, Elvire (1904-1996) Bulgaria
JANIN, Louise (1893-1997) America
JING-LANG, Xie [nickname Lalan] (1921-1995) China
KARSKAYA, Ida (1905-1990) Russia
KLAPISCH, Liliane (1933) Israel
KOSNICK-KLOSS, Jeanne (1892-1966) Poland
LOLO, Dolores Soldevilla (1911-1971) Cuba
LOUBCHANSKY, Marcelle (1917-1988) France
MANTON, Maria (1915-2003) Algeria
MARC, Evelyn (1915-1992) France
MAREZ-DARLEY, Nelly (1906-2001) France
MARK, Anna (1928) Hungary
MASON, Alice Trumbull (1904-1971) USA
MITCHELL, Joan (1926-1992) USA
MOLNAR, Vera (1924) Hungary
MOSS, Marlow (1890-1958) UK
MULLER, Juana (1911-1952) Chile
NEGRI, Nina (1909-1981) Argentina
NEMOURS, Aurelie (1910-2005) France
PAGAVA, Vera (1907-1988) Georgia
PAN, Marta (1923-2008) Hungary
PINK, Lutka (1916-1998) Poland
PAVLOWSKY, Jacqueline (1921-1971) France
PENALBA, Alicia (1913-1982) Argentina
RAYMOND, Marie (1908-1988) France
REBAY, Hilla (1890-1967) Germany
REIGL, Judit (1923-2020) Hungary
RUDULPH, Rella (1906-1988) USA
SAUR, Greta (1909-2000) Austria
SEKULA, Sonia (1918-1963) Switzerland
SPENCER, Vera (1926-2021) Czech Republic
STARITSKY, Anna (1911-1981) Ukraine
TAEUBER-ARP, Sophie (1889-1943) Switzerland
TRYGGVADOTTIR, Nina (1913-1968) Iceland
VAITO, Agathe (1928) Hungary
VEZELAY, Paule (189-1984) UK
VIEIRA DA SILVA, Maria Elena (190-1992) Portugal
WALDBERG, Isabelle (1911-1990) Switzerland
WEBB, Marie (1917-1958) Australia
ZEID, Fahr-el-Nissa (190-1951) Turkey
MARIE RAYMOND (1908-1988)
“MONTAGNE”
oil on canvas, 89 x 145cm, (35 x 57in),
signed lower right, painted 1961
EXHIBITED:
Galerie Cavalero, Cannes, 1963.
"Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-1970",
Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2023.
[SOLD]
VALENTINE PRAX (1889-1981)
“LE PAYSAN AU BORD DE LA MER”
oil on canvas, 50 x 60 cm (19 3/4 x 23 1/2in)
signed lower right
painted circa 1958
CHRISTINE BOUMEESTER (1904-1971)
“PAYSAGE AUX CHEVAUX”
oil on canvas, 50 x 150cm (19¾ x 59in),
signed lower right “Christine”, and dated, 1953
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Camille Renault.
MARCELLE CAHN (1895-1981)
“COMPOSITION, 1949”
oil on wood, 24 x 33cm (9 1/2 x 13in)
signed lower left, painted in 1949
EXHIBITED:
“Salon des Réalités Nouvelles”, Paris, 1949, (illus. in cat.)
[SOLD]
PATRICIA DISKA (1924-2003)
“FORME TECHTONIQUE”
black marble on wooden base,
height 28cm (22 3/4in),
signed underneath
[SOLD]
HUGUETTE ARTHUR BERTRAND (1920-2005)
“COMPOSITION, 1954”
oil on canvas, 100 x 73 cm (39 1/2 x 28 3/4in)
signed lower right, also signed and dated on reverse, 1954
EXHIBITED:
Galerie Arnoux, Paris
PROVENANCE:
Private Collection, New York
[SOLD]
NINA NEGRI (1909-1981)
“COMPOSITION D’ORO”
oil on canvas, 50 x 65 cm (19 3/4 x 25 1/2in)
signed lower right,
and counter-signed on stretcher
painted c.1950
[SOLD]
DORA MAAR (1907 - 1997)
“COMPOSITION GÉOMÉTRIQUE”
oil on canvas, 116 x 89cm (45½ x 35in)
bears stamp of the Artist’s Estate lower left,
and signed on reverse
painted c.1967
PROVENANCE: The Estate of the Artist
[SOLD]
JACQUELINE PAVLOWSKY (1921-1971)
“ENTRE-DEUX, IMPOSSIBLE ÉCHAPÉE”
oil on canvas, 50 x 100cm, (19 ½ x 39 ½ in)
signed and dated, 1967
also signed, dated, and titled on reverse
bears atelier stamp, “Atelier J Pavlowsky No.139”
[SOLD]
BOYADJIEVA, LIUBA (1923-2005)
“OISEAU”
bronze, height 51cm (20in)
signed and dated, 1977,
and numbered 1 of an edition of 6
EXHIBITED:
“Liuba”, Galerie Hervé Odermatt, Paris, 1979, (no.23)
[SOLD]
HELENE GUINEPIED (1883-1937)
"LA LÉGENDE DE LA RIVIÈRE"
Oil on canvas, 78 x 96cm (30¾ x 37¾in)
Signed lower right,
Painted 1921-1922
[SOLD]
Below is a list of names of women abstract artists mentioned in Michel Seuphor's "Dictionnaire de la Peinture Abstraite" from 1958, as well as other sources, and a PDF of biographical summaries updated by HFA can be found here:
Women Artists in Post-War France (biographies)
Women Artists in Post-War France (photographs)
ACCARDI, Carla (1924-2014) Italy
ASSE, Genevieve (1923-2021) France
BARNS-GRAHAM, Wilhelmina (1922-2004) UK
BERGMAN, Anna-Eva (1909-1987) Norway
BERTRAND, Huguette Arthur (1925-2005) France
BLOCH, Pierrette (1928-2017) Switzerland
BLOW, Sandra (1925-2006) UK
BOISECQ, Simone (1922-2012) France
BONNET, Anne (1908-1960) Belgium
BOUMEESTER, Christine (1904-1971) Netherlands
BRUNSCHWIG, Colette (1927)
CAHN, Marcelle (1895-1981) France
CALMIS, Charlotte (1918-1982) France
CARO, Anita de (1909-1998) USA
CHESNAY, Denise (1923-2016) France
CITRON, Minna (1896-1991) USA
CLAISSE, Genevieve (1935-2018) France
CLAUSEN, Fransiska (1899-1986) Denmark
COPPEL, Jeanne (1896-1971) France
CROWLEY, Grace (1895-1979) Australia
DELAUNAY, Sonia (1885-1979) France
DREIER, Katherine (1877-1952) USA
DUMITRESCO, Natalia (1915-1997) Romania
DUSTIR, Wilma (1914-?) Russia
ERASMUS, Nel (b.1928) South Africa
ERZINGER, Lili (1908-1964) Switzerland
FALKENSTEIN, Claire (1908-1997) USA
FINE, Perle (1908-1988) USA
FREIST, Greta (1914-1993) Austria
FRELINGHUYSEN, (MORRIS), Suzy (1912-1988) USA
GODIN, Raymonde (1930-2023) Canada
GOLDFARB, Shirley (1925-1980) USA
GONTCHAROVA, Natalie (1881-1962) Russia
GRENIER, Madeleine (1929-1982) France
GUTH, Hella (1912-1992) Czech Republic
HAASS, Terry (1923-2016) France
HOCH, Hannah (1889-1978) Germany
HOLLEY, Francine (1919-2020) Belgium
HUNZIKER, Frieda (1908-1971) Netherlands
JAFFE, Shirley (1923-2016) USA
JAN, Elvire (1904-1996) Bulgaria
JANIN, Louise (1893-1997) America
JING-LANG, Xie [nickname Lalan] (1921-1995) China
KARSKAYA, Ida (1905-1990) Russia
KLAPISCH, Liliane (1933) Israel
KOSNICK-KLOSS, Jeanne (1892-1966) Poland
LOLO, Dolores Soldevilla (1911-1971) Cuba
LOUBCHANSKY, Marcelle (1917-1988) France
MANTON, Maria (1915-2003) Algeria
MARC, Evelyn (1915-1992) France
MAREZ-DARLEY, Nelly (1906-2001) France
MARK, Anna (1928) Hungary
MASON, Alice Trumbull (1904-1971) USA
MITCHELL, Joan (1926-1992) USA
MOLNAR, Vera (1924) Hungary
MOSS, Marlow (1890-1958) UK
MULLER, Juana (1911-1952) Chile
NEGRI, Nina (1909-1981) Argentina
NEMOURS, Aurelie (1910-2005) France
PAGAVA, Vera (1907-1988) Georgia
PAN, Marta (1923-2008) Hungary
PINK, Lutka (1916-1998) Poland
PAVLOWSKY, Jacqueline (1921-1971) France
PENALBA, Alicia (1913-1982) Argentina
RAYMOND, Marie (1908-1988) France
REBAY, Hilla (1890-1967) Germany
REIGL, Judit (1923-2020) Hungary
RUDULPH, Rella (1906-1988) USA
SAUR, Greta (1909-2000) Austria
SEKULA, Sonia (1918-1963) Switzerland
SPENCER, Vera (1926-2021) Czech Republic
STARITSKY, Anna (1911-1981) Ukraine
TAEUBER-ARP, Sophie (1889-1943) Switzerland
TRYGGVADOTTIR, Nina (1913-1968) Iceland
VAITO, Agathe (1928) Hungary
VEZELAY, Paule (189-1984) UK
VIEIRA DA SILVA, Maria Elena (190-1992) Portugal
WALDBERG, Isabelle (1911-1990) Switzerland
WEBB, Marie (1917-1958) Australia
ZEID, Fahr-el-Nissa (190-1951) Turkey
MARIE RAYMOND (1908-1988)
“MONTAGNE”
oil on canvas, 89 x 145cm, (35 x 57in),
signed lower right, painted 1961
EXHIBITED:
Galerie Cavalero, Cannes, 1963.
"Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-1970",
Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2023.
[SOLD]
VALENTINE PRAX (1889-1981)
“LE PAYSAN AU BORD DE LA MER”
oil on canvas, 50 x 60 cm (19 3/4 x 23 1/2in)
signed lower right
painted circa 1958
CHRISTINE BOUMEESTER (1904-1971)
“PAYSAGE AUX CHEVAUX”
oil on canvas, 50 x 150cm (19¾ x 59in),
signed lower right “Christine”, and dated, 1953
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Camille Renault.
MARCELLE CAHN (1895-1981)
“COMPOSITION, 1949”
oil on wood, 24 x 33cm (9 1/2 x 13in)
signed lower left, painted in 1949
EXHIBITED:
“Salon des Réalités Nouvelles”, Paris, 1949, (illus. in cat.)
[SOLD]
PATRICIA DISKA (1924-2003)
“FORME TECHTONIQUE”
black marble on wooden base,
height 28cm (22 3/4in),
signed underneath
[SOLD]
HUGUETTE ARTHUR BERTRAND (1920-2005)
“COMPOSITION, 1954”
oil on canvas, 100 x 73 cm (39 1/2 x 28 3/4in)
signed lower right, also signed and dated on reverse, 1954
EXHIBITED:
Galerie Arnoux, Paris
PROVENANCE:
Private Collection, New York
[SOLD]
NINA NEGRI (1909-1981)
“COMPOSITION D’ORO”
oil on canvas, 50 x 65 cm (19 3/4 x 25 1/2in)
signed lower right,
and counter-signed on stretcher
painted c.1950
[SOLD]
DORA MAAR (1907 - 1997)
“COMPOSITION GÉOMÉTRIQUE”
oil on canvas, 116 x 89cm (45½ x 35in)
bears stamp of the Artist’s Estate lower left,
and signed on reverse
painted c.1967
PROVENANCE: The Estate of the Artist
[SOLD]
JACQUELINE PAVLOWSKY (1921-1971)
“ENTRE-DEUX, IMPOSSIBLE ÉCHAPÉE”
oil on canvas, 50 x 100cm, (19 ½ x 39 ½ in)
signed and dated, 1967
also signed, dated, and titled on reverse
bears atelier stamp, “Atelier J Pavlowsky No.139”
[SOLD]
BOYADJIEVA, LIUBA (1923-2005)
“OISEAU”
bronze, height 51cm (20in)
signed and dated, 1977,
and numbered 1 of an edition of 6
EXHIBITED:
“Liuba”, Galerie Hervé Odermatt, Paris, 1979, (no.23)
[SOLD]
HELENE GUINEPIED (1883-1937)
"LA LÉGENDE DE LA RIVIÈRE"
Oil on canvas, 78 x 96cm (30¾ x 37¾in)
Signed lower right,
Painted 1921-1922
[SOLD]