American abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman is portrayed as an older woman, her face bearing the marks of age and hardship. Her expression is serious, almost somber; her eyes seem to hold a weight of experience, and her mouth is set in a thin, slightly downturned line. Her skin is depicted with a range of muted tones, predominantly dark browns and grays that suggest depth and shadows. She wears a dark-colored garment, possibly a shawl, which appears heavy and enveloping, adding to the overall sense of somberness. Most striking is Tubman's head wrap, a reddish-pink hue that contrasts with the darker tones of her clothing and face. The wrap is tied simply, covering most of her hair. The background is a blend of purple and pinkish hues, which are not uniform but are instead applied with expressive brushstrokes suggesting depth and atmosphere. The purple dominates, lending a cool, almost twilight, feel to the scene. The overall mood of the painting is one of determination or maybe wistful sadness. The muted colors, Tubman's expression, and the loose, expressive brushwork create an atmosphere of introspection and perhaps even loneliness. American artist James DeLoache uses little detail; instead, the focus is on capturing the emotional weight of Tubman's life. Born into a sharecropping family in 1926 in Burlington, North Carolina, DeLoache received artistic training at Howard University and Cooper Union. His time in school made him especially aware of the gaps in mainstream understanding of Black history. His deep interest in correcting this led to a 1963 commission with the NAACP to create a series of large-scale murals entitled "Our New Day Begun" that would eventually be donated to the Amistad Research Center’s Fine Art Collection in New Orleans, Louisiana. These panels visually narrate the struggle of Black Americans for freedom, tracing the journey through centuries of enslavement, the Reconstruction era, and civil rights activism.

"Portrait of Harriet Tubman" by James DeLoache (American) - Oil on canvas / 1959 - Hampton University Museum (Hampton, Virginia) #WomeInArt #art #ArtText #PortraitofaWoman #artwork #HarrietTubman #JamesDeLoache #AmericanArtist #HamptonUniversity #AfricanAmericanArtist #AfricanAmericanArt #Tubman

In this oil on canvas work by Japanese artist Seiji Tōgō (東郷青児), we see a sophisticated young Japanese woman wearing a stylish dark gray hat, long elbow-length black gloves and a cream-colored, collared dress with a flat black belt. She stands in front of a background consisting of geometric shapes. It is typical of his refined style of work, reflecting the artist's childhood in the capital of Japane and his acquaintance with European avant-garde artists. Togo’s pictures of women, with their soft coloring, became popular in post-war Japan, but the work shown here dates from the early thirties, before he had established the so-called "Togo style." It was from around the end of the 1920s that women in Western garb, known as "modern girls" (モダンガール or abbreviated as モガ aka "moga"), first made an appearance in Japan. Born in Kagoshima in 1897, Togo moved to Tokyo while he was still young and after graduating from Aoyama Gakuin high school, he studied art under Arishima Ikuma. In 1916, his first entry to the Nikaten (Second Division Society) Exhibition, a work in the Futurist style, was accepted and this caused quite a sensation. In 1921, he went to study in Europe where he came into contact with Duchamp and Tristan Tzara, he also visited Filippo Tommaso Marinetti of the Futurists in Italy and was made most welcome. Upon his return to Japan, he exhibited the works he had produced in Europe at the Nikaten Exhibition and was made a member of the Nika Society (of artists in Japan). After the war, he worked to reestablish the Nika Society and became its leader. The “pleasing beauty” of the woman and the flow of the picture (a style which became commonly known as “Seiji Beauties” or “paintings of beauties in the Seiji style”) has been described by some as “commonplace.” However, regardless of whether one likes this style of art or not, this painting remains a masterpiece of the artist's style that lingers in the memory of many.

婦人像 (Picture of Woman) by 東郷青児 (Seiji Tōgō, Japanese) - Oil on canvas / 1930-1935 - Iwami Art Museum (Masuda, Japan) #womeinart #oilpainting #art #JapaneseArt #TogoSeiji #SeijiTōgō #東郷青児 #SeijiTogo #artwork #JapaneseArtist #IwamiArtMuseum #島根県立石見美術館 #womensart #洋画 #modernart #二科会 #モダンガール #モガ #style

Digital collage depicting a woman standing in the pelting rain, covering her face with her hands. A dark gaping hole is opening up behind her, a tear in the fabric of the universe. A swarm of umbrellas are being blown away in the distance, looking like huge ominous birds.

'Doubt,' digital collage. For #Februllage 2025, day 27

Soundtrack - David Bowie - Sense of Doubt

@bsky.art #art #arte #digitalart #surreale #collage #februllage2025 #februllage2025doubt
#womeinart #surrealart #surrealcollage #eerieart #collageoftheday #ArtYear #eerie #rainart #artbywomen #surreal

The artist who painted this unusual portrait remains anonymous. Historians have suggested various names including the Master of the Schottenaltar and the Habsburg court painter Niclas Reiser of Schwaz, but it currently is catalogued as Austrian, but unknown or anonymous. In contrast, the sitter’s identity is know. the young woman with pale complexion and somewhat droopy look is Kunigunde of Austria, daughter of Frederick III, sister of Maximilian I, and wife of the 4th Duke of Bavaria. Kunigunde is depicted half-length wearing a low-cut dark brown and white dress. The striking element of the portrait is her elaborate goldenrod-colored headdress with jewels and bulbs, of a type fashionable in the last quarter of the 15th century. Around her neck is a thick gold chain from which hangs a large splendid gold cross. Such details confirm the suggestion that the painting was a nuptial portrait or was intended for presentation to possible suitors. It is notably similar to a late 16th-century miniature in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Retrato de Kunigunda de Austria by Unknown Austrian artist - Oil on panel / c. 1485 - Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain) #womeinart #hat #MNAC #art #fineart #bighat #AustrianArt #crazyhat #MuseuNacionald'ArtdeCatalunya #portrait #oilpainting #womensart #portraitofawoman #museumart

California native Greg Breda’s beautiful acrylic depiction of a mature African American woman in fancy pink top with patterns clasping hands together with a contemplative expression on her face and positioned against a background of cherry blossoms has the title, “What Shall I Cry?” which refers to a biblical passage from Isaiah regarding the fleeting nature of life on Earth. Breda is a contemporary visual artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. Navigating the spaces between figuration and abstraction, light and shadow, Breda’s mark making employs distinctively pronounced and painterly brushstrokes to explore the complexities, resilience, strength, and beauty of the human spirit. Sourcing media, memory, and spiritual identity, he constructs realistic central themes of quiet contemplation that consider the eternal “internal” that impact the external world, set against backgrounds that shift between abstraction, minimalism, and lushly rendered landscapes. Often referencing ancient text, nature, and the language of flowers, he ascribes metaphor and symbolism with the intention of excavating an overstanding of our matrix of life. His work is focused on discovering equilibrium between the physical and spiritual worlds.

What Shall I Cry by Greg Breda (American) - Acrylic on vellum / 2020 - Columbus Museum of Art (Ohio) #womeinart #portrait #art #gregbreda #acrylicart #artwork #ColumbusMuseumofArt #portraitofawoman #acrylicpainting #womensart #americanart #fineart #americanartist #africanamericanart #modernart

Irene Beacham reads a magazine whilst lying back on a sofa with a throw and cushion. The label on the verso reads: 'please let Mrs Brenda Lawrence know when this painting is exhibited'. Born to a family of sheep farmers in 1870 in Ipswich, Australia, he emigrated with his parents to England during the Australian drought of the 1880s. The artist went on to study at St. John's Wood Art School, and the Herkomer School of Art in Bushey from 1891-93.

Irene Reading on a Chesterfield by Rowland Wheelwright (Australian) - Oil on hardboard - Bushey Museum & Art Gallery (England) #womeinart #painting #art #rowlandwheelwright #oilpainting #fineart #reading #wheelwright #womensart #bookreader #bskyart #artoftheday #artbsky #australianartist #womanart