Asian Women Artists

This book is a guide to identifying female creators and artistic movements from all parts of Asia, offering a broad spectrum of media and presentation representing a wide variety of milieus, regions, peoples and genres. Arranged chronologically by artist birth date, entries date as far back as Leizu’s Chinese sericulture in 2700 BCE and continue all the way to the March 2021 mural exhibition by Malaysian painter Caryn Koh. Entries feature biographical information, cultural context and a survey of notable works. Covering creators known for prophecy, dance, epic and oratory, the compendium includes obscure artists and more familiar names, like biblical war poet Deborah, Judaean dancer Salome, Byzantine Empress Theodora and Myanmar freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi. In an effort to relieve unfamiliarity with parts of the world poorly represented in art history, this book focuses on Asian women often passed over in global art surveys.

Mary Ellen Snodgrass is an award-winning author of English and Latin textbooks and reference works for 35 years. She taught at Hickory High School and Lenoir Rhyne University in North Carolina for 23 years. Her writing focuses on women’s and world literature and history and general research topics, including epidemics, the history of money, clothing, food, and dance. She lives in Hickory, North Carolina.

Mary Ellen Snodgrass
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 257
Bibliographic Info: chronology, appendices, glossary, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8925-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4698-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Introduction 5
1. Ancient Era 9
2. Late Classical Era 21
3. Late ­Byzantine-Islamic Era 29
4. Middle Ages 39
5. Renaissance 50
6. 1650s–1880s 69
7. 1890s–1920s 89
8. 1930s 113
9. 1940–1944 130
10. 1945–1950s 145
11. 1960s 164
12. 1970s–1980s 179
13. 1990s–2000s 208
Chronology of Asian Women’s Art 215
Appendix A. Artists by Genres 221
Appendix B. Artists by Place 228
Glossary 231
Bibliography 237
Index 245

• Winner, Best Reference—Library Journal

• A Library Journal Starred Review

“Snodgrass offers an engaging, thoroughly researched guide to women artists and creators from across Asia….Each entry includes extensively cited biographical information and describes the cultural context in which the artist lived and worked….Snodgrass goes beyond biographical details to provide insight into why these women became creators…. Provid[es] a window into the many accomplishments of Asian artists over the centuries…illuminating”—Library Journal

•“This inspiring biographical dictionary highlights the pivotal achievements of Asian women in the arts…recommended”—Choice

• “A seminal work of simply outstanding scholarship…A simply fascinating compendium that is impressive in informational content, organization and presentation.”—Midwest Book Review