By Her Hand, an exhibition of work by 24 women artists, will be presented by Jane Eckert Fine Art, with an artists’ reception on Saturday, October 8, from 2:00-5:00. The gallery is on the campus of MASS MoCA and is open Wednesday through Monday from 11:00-5:00

As a female gallerist since the 1980’s I’ve experienced first-hand the struggle of women in the

art world. From the early days of my career when I sold 19th and early 20th Century American

art, I witnessed many talented women painters who were relegated to still life and portraiture.

They were encouraged by the male dominated schools and teachers to stay in their lane and not

compete with the men. From my perspective, many were much more talented and interesting

than their male counterparts.

So here I am today, honoring the women in By Her Hand, featuring those who left their

mark in years past all the way to young emerging artists. Names known to many, like Helen

Frankenthaler, Louise Nevelson, Kara Walker, Faith Ringgold, and Nancy Graves will be shown

along with talented female artists of today like Chizuru Morii Kaplan, Alice Dalton Brown, and

Marina Day, to name a few. In the exhibit, these amazing women will show their skills in oil

painting, watercolor, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, photography and print making.

Jane Coats Eckert