Did you know there was a time when women were not allowed to attend the same art schools that men attended? A time when a woman studying how to paint the human figure by painting a nude model was simply unthinkable?

In fact, I do not know if Michelangelo had sisters, but I use that for my presentation title because many, many very accomplished women artists of the past were able to become artists only because they were the sisters and daughters of men artists. And some of them did learn to paint nudes!

Did you know that one of the hot button issues of the women’s art movement of the 1970s was whether women’s art was like men’s or whether it was intrinsically different? Why did it matter? Because the excuse of many mainstream art institutions for not showing women’s work was that it reflected a woman’s sensibility thus was “less universal” than men’s.

Come to Ruston Artisans this Thursday, 5/19, at 6:30 p.m. We’ll do a visual analysis of a pair of paintings to see what we can see. I’ll introduce you to some highly accomplished women artists of the past you probably did not meet in art history class. And we’ll consider what has transpired in the more recent past.

You’ll even have an opportunity to win a prize. Yes, there will be a quiz! But it’s a fun quiz that you don’t have to study for. A little thought and an educated guess can win!

This presentation is based on my doctoral thesis research, but it is far from a bunch of boring statistics. It’s a highly visual, interactive, whirlwind tour of some art history and an introduction to a handful of women artists you’ll be glad you met. Not to mention some food for thought!

Ruston Artisans is at 203 W. Alabama Ave., Ruston, La. See you Thursday.