Customer Reviews

Anonymous Was a Woman: A Celebration in Words and Images of Traditional American Art and the Women Who Made It

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One day in an education class, my professor asked how many female artists can you name? Granted none of the people in the class were art majors but at most we came up with two, Virgina Woolfe and Mary Casset. Many people could not name any female artists. I found it astounding that in the history of western art, I could only think of two women painters. Taking the suggestion this professor, I decide to read the book "Anonymous was a woman" by Mirra Blank. I found the book intriguing and was impressed at its unveiling of how important domestic crafts like samplers and quilts were to women in the late eighteenth century and nineteenth century. The book has great photographs and anecdotal information that gives insight to the female mind of this time period. The images include quilts, velvet, and watercolor paintings. Excerpts are taken from the diaries of famous women like Louisa May Alcott and anonymous women who have been forgotten. The author also includes certain male points of view with repect to proper female conduct and love. I thought this book was great at revealing how many female artists there have been and their contribution to the American landscape.

I love this book! As a needle woman myself, the accounts of other such women were dear to my heart. I gave it to my mother who taught me to sew and embroider and was sorry my grandmother who taught my mother was no longer living to share it with her. I particularly liked how the book divided the stages of the early women's lives and connected the stitcheries with journal entries. Some of the quotations are expressions of my own feelings. Anyone who uses a needle would find this a gem.

Learned of this at a local museum. The role of women in history is illustrated in an different way. ECM

Quilted together with common thread, the lives of the women glimpsed at in Anonymous Was A Woman scream of creation; however, not creation of life but creation of freedom using the few avenues of expression available. The women themselves were the art which they sought so earnestly to produce, and this is evidenced in their pastel speech and charcoal lives. When told to choose what piece within the book most interested me, I thought, "an easy task to undertake." I planned to find a colorful character that would most attract a reader's attention and paint a portrait of her. Now I find that task not so simple. To take away from this book a single characterization, whether glossy or matte, would be to deconstruct the perfect quilt. I do not choose to unravel what these women created; therefore, all I can say is that what I enjoy most about Anonymous Was A Woman is the ability that the chosen women have to blanket us with their lives and keep us warm even today.