Yup, New York's Major Art Galleries Are Still Sadly Sexist

Yup, New York's Major Art Galleries Are Still Sadly Sexist

Depressing news in the art world today. Curator Maura Reilly posted a "report card" on Facebook, a tally of art world statistics compiled by the anonymous feminist art collective Pussy Galore, counting up the women artists represented at New York's top art galleries. She juxtaposed the image alongside Guerrilla Girls' 1986 report card, and, though there have been improvements over the past 29 years, the numbers are still pretty grim.

Reilly's caption reads: "The WORST grades go to Marlborough (7%), Tony Shafrazi (5%) and Sperone Westwater (9%) who all have LESS THAN 10% women in their gallery rosters. The BEST grades go to Galerie Lelong (64%), Tracey Williams (59%), Zach Feuer (59%), Salon 94 (52%), and Sikkema Jenkins (52%). Right on!!!!"

As Hyperallergic points out, only five of the listed galleries out of the 34 listed have rosters that rise above 50 percent women, although many have shown improvement since 1986 -- namely Mary Boone Gallery, Marian Goodman Gallery and Jack Shainman Gallery, whose percentage of women artists more than doubled from 20 percent to 47 percent.

Pussy Galore, the anonymous international artist collective made up of artists, curators, critics, collectors, educators, and writers, explained their foremost goal to Hyperallergic. "We have a one-point mission! Though there is great racial/geographic/sexual diversity within the group, we consider tackling gender inequality our primary issue." If this report card is any indication, we still have a long way to go.

Before You Go

Guerrilla Girls, Guerrilla Girls Review The Whitney, 1987, 22 x 17 in. Pomona College Collection. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of Walter and Elise Mosher.
Guerrilla Girls, We Sell White Bread, 1987, 11 x 22 in. Pomona College Collection. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of Walter and Elise Mosher.
Guerrilla Girls, The Advantages of Being AWoman Artist, 1988, 17 x 22 in. Pomona College Collection. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of Walter and Elise Mosher.
Guerrilla Girls, Token Times, 1995, 22 x 17 in. Pomona College Collection. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of Walter and Elise Mosher.
Guerrilla Girls, Museums Cave To RadicalFeminists, 2008, 24 x 18 in. Pomona College Collection. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of Walter and Elise Mosher.
Guerrilla Girls, Bitches, Bimbos And Ballbreakers, The Guerrilla Girls’ Illustrated Guide To Female Stereotypes, 2003. Pomona College Collection. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of Walter and Elise Mosher.
Guerrilla Girls, Battle Of The Sexes,project for the New Yorker, 1996, 12 x 18 in. Pomona College Collection. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of Walter and Elise Mosher.
Guerrilla Girls, Estrogen Bomb, 2003, 18x 12 in. Pomona College Collection. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of Walter and Elise Mosher.
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