"Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" asked a prominent art historian Linda Nochlin in a provocative 1971 essay. This book features four prominent critics and curators who describe the impact of women artists on contemporary art since the advent of the feminist movement. They include: Ellen Gallagher, Jenny Holzer, Judy Pfaff, and others.

"Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" asked the prominent art historian Linda Nochlin in a provocative 1971 essay. Today her insightful critique serves as a benchmark against which the progress of women artists may be measured. In this book, four prominent critics and curators describe the impact of women artists on contemporary art since the advent of the feminist movement. Following a comprehensive essay assessing the changes in the situation of women artists, the authors examine in depth the careers of twelve outstanding artists: Marina Abramowicz, Louise Bourgeois, Ellen Gallagher, Ann Hamilton, Jenny Holzer, Elizabeth Murray, Shirin Neshat, Judy Pfaff, Dana Schutz, Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith, and Nancy Spero. Each artist's accomplishments and her influence on contemporaries including younger male and female artists is explored. A preface by Nochlin and a concluding essay with extensive statistical documentation frame this essential volume.

7 Foreword Linda Nochlin
9 Introduction Eleanor Heartney, Helaine Posner, Nancy Princenthal, Sue Scott
28 Louise Bourgeois: Intensity and Influence Helaine Posner
52 Nancy Spero: Radical History Painter Helaine Posner
80 Elizabeth Murray: Fractious Formalist Nancy Princenthal
100 Marina Abramovic: Between Life and Death Sue Scott
118 Judy Pfaff: Storming the White Cube Nancy Princenthal
144 Jenny Holzer: Language Lessons Nancy Princenthal
168 Cindy Sherman: The Polemics of Play Eleanor Heartney
188 Kiki Smith: A View from the Inside Out Eleanor Heartney
210 Ann Hamilton: The Poetics of Place Helaine Posner
230 Shirin Neshat: Living between Cultures Eleanor Heartney
252 Ellen Gallagher: Mapping the Unmentionable Eleanor Heartney
274 Dana Schutz: The Elephant in the Living Room Sue Scott
294 Bibliography
318 Index.