Lucy Bartholomee, Ph.D.

Contemporary artworld efforts to showcase the work of women and other marginalized artists are slightly increasing, yet recent research presented on Artnet[1] shows growth for only a few women artists and little change for thousands of others. I am dedicated to elevating the work of female-identifying artists. Many art educators yearn to expand the diversity of their curriculum but lack time and resources for this work. Therefore I offer this web resource to seamlessly expand the diversity of artists included in art lessons with relevant analytical tools and insights.

[1] Links to these articles provided here. See references for more details: Visualizing the Numbers: See Infographics Tracing the Representation of Women Artists in Museums and the Market and Museums Claim They’re Paying More Attention to Female Artists. That’s an Illusion.

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Image: Tambourine (or the embedded archive) by Firelei Báez, 2024

Art rooms are rich with visual images, artworks in progress, past treasures, creative materials, instructions, and vibrant messaging. Step back and reconsider these walls and objects as curriculum.

•What are students learning from what they see and use here?

•Describe to yourself the messages that you are sending, or not sending, through the classroom. Null curricula is the term for topics that we leave out of our curriculum, often without realizing we have done so.

•What would you like to add or change to enhance this learning?

Here are some ideas:

1.Designate wall space in your classroom (bulletin board or open space) to elevate the learning potential with intentional outcomes.

2.Invite student leaders to research women and other overlooked artists and add content to your wall space and bulletin boards.

3.Set out books and printed articles in reading nooks, on resources shelves, and chalk trays within easy reach.

4.Reach out to area and national museums for posters and other materials. They often have free teaching supplies they are eager to share with schools.

5.Develop an ‘artist of the week’ feature where students can learn about artists outside of the organized lesson.

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Image: Artist Marigold Santos, photo by Photo by Jared Sych

Source: Meet Calgary-Based Artist Marigold Santos - Avenue Calgary

French writer and painter working primarily in the Neo-Impressionist style. In Paris, she studied with Paul Signac and was a friend and colleague of Georges Seurat. Much of Cousturier’s artwork is in a pointillist and painterly style, vibrant and energetic.

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Exhibition record: Solo exhibition in Paris in 1906-7, Salon des Indépendants every year 1901 – 1920; Solo exhibition in Brussels in 1923, and more.

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Art Collector of contemporary art styles including Seurat’s famed A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (1884/86), acquired in 1900. 

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Writing credits: articles on the Neo-Impressionist art movement, biographies of Georges-Pierre Seurat and Paul Signac and others, and significant anti-racist books and articles.

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Cousturier stayed in southern France during war time, and in 1916 taught reading and writing lessons to Senegalese soldiers in a nearby camp. She was deeply impacted by this experience and began to publish work critical of the French government’s mistreatment of people from Senegal and other African colonies. In particular, her book, Des Inconnus chez moi (Unknown Persons at Home) in 1920 took on colonial prejudices and challenged racism. Cousturier was then commissioned to travel western Africa to interview and document family life and the role of women in these communities. This led to further anti-colonialism articles in addition to landscape paintings and compelling portraits of the people she met.

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Learn more:

Gonnard, C. (2017). Lucie Cousturier.  AWARE Women Artists.  

Umland, A. (2024, July 31). Hidden in Plain Sight: Lucie Cousturier’s Woman Reading. Moma.org.

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Hilma af Klint (1862-1944, Sweden) created unique abstract paintings inspired by her Spiritualist beliefs. Her work predates other artists traditionally credited with developing the first abstract work (Kandinsky, Mondrian, Malevich). Investigate her work and find out more about this independent, queer artist ahead of her time.

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Hilma af Klint Foundation

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The Elegant Rebellion of Hilma af Klint by Lucy Bartholomee (2025).

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