Peggy Guggenheim's 1943 '31 Women' Exhibition: A Landmark for Female Artists

In 1943, Peggy Guggenheim staged '31 Women' at her Art of This Century gallery in New York, one of the first exhibitions to exclusively feature female artists. The show included 31 women of 16 nationalities, such as Frida Kahlo, Meret Oppenheim, Leonor Fini, Leonora Carrington, Louise Nevelson, and Xenia Cage. It was juried by Marcel Duchamp, André Breton, Max Ernst, and Guggenheim herself. Georgia O'Keeffe declined to participate, refusing to be labeled a 'woman artist.' The exhibition lasted from January to February and was not a commercial success but received positive reviews. A follow-up, 'The Women,' occurred in June 1945 with 33 artists, including Louise Bourgeois. Art of This Century closed in May 1947. Guggenheim, born into the wealthy Guggenheim family in 1898, had previously opened Guggenheim Jeune in London and fled Nazi-occupied France in 1941. Her gallery, designed by Frederick Kiesler, featured innovative displays like suspended artworks and interactive files, considered the first interactive gallery. She helped advance careers of artists like Jackson Pollock and Max Ernst, whom she married in 1941.