This important interdisciplinary book is a unique and timely contribution to the field of women in the arts. Each chapter is devoted to a single artist and a single ground-breaking work that altered the course of its art form in a full array of genres, including dance, music, installation, photography, architecture, poetry, literature, theater, film, performance art, and popular culture. These discussions are preceded by a comprehensive introduction to art by women over the past century that sets the artists who follow in a context that insightfully illuminates their struggles, their achievements, and their places in history at a critical moment in the contemporary world.

In this second edition, the authors have made a significant update with six new chapters, new photos, and a revised introduction. The new chapters take as their subjects the contributions of Yoko Ono, Crystal Pite, Caroline Shaw, Beyoncé, Kara Walker, and Diane Paulus. Each of the new chapters represents an artist or a category of art that has grown in prominence or engaged a significant redefinition in the contemporary world that was not addressed in the original edition of the book. Updating this material re-establishes the book’s priority and relevance, especially in its expansion of representation of artists of color and artists in popular culture, and reinforces its appeal not only as a popular read, but as a classroom textbook or resource at the university level.

Deborah J. Johnson is Professor of Modern and Contemporary Culture at Providence College in the Art History and Women’s Studies departments. She is the author of several books, scholarly articles, and museum catalogs, two of which won national awards. She received her PhD from Brown University.

Wendy Oliver, Professor of Dance and Women & Gender Studies at Providence College, chairs the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Film. She is the author/editor of articles and books on dance and gender, dance history, and criticism. She holds an EdD from Columbia University.