4 Must See Exhibitions to See in Women’s History Month

March, Women’s History Month, is a great time to seek out women artists and art brought to us by women, and we’ve got some great picks.

“Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern”

Lillie P. Bliss was one of three women who founded the Museum of Modern Art, and her story, as well as some of the paintings she donated, are highlighted in “Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern” through March 29. Not only did Bliss, a native New Yorker, along with Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and Mary Quinn Sullivan, found the museum, but she also contributed masterworks by Picasso, Cézanne, Seurat and Van Gogh that are on view in the exhibition.

Ann Temkin, MoMA’s Marie Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture who co-curated the exhibition with Romy Silver Kohn and Rachel Remick noted that while these women were omitted from history, their contributions cannot be overstated. While researching the book, “Inventing the Modern: Untold Stories of the Women Who Shaped the Museum of Modern Art,” they found more stories than they could count. “It was so much a situation of one surprise after another. Constantly,” she told us. “And in most cases the surprise, generally speaking, was the degree of power and responsibility that these women held and the degree of audacity.” She added, “None of these women waited for society to give them permission to do these things that they were doing.” Find out more about Lillie Bliss and the founding of the museum while viewing paintings she gifted the museum like Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Paul Cézanne’s “The Bather.”

Through March 29, Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 Street, moma.org

“Reflections on Progress: 100 Years of the New York Society of Women Artists”

The New York Society of Women Artists (NYSWA) is celebrating their 100th year with “Reflections on Progress: 100 Years of the New York Society of Women Artists” an exhibition at the Interchurch Center Gallery. The organization was founded in 1925 by prominent New York artists like Marguerite Zorach, who served as its first president. The original members comprised 23 professional painters and sculptors. They sought–as the 60 current members still do–parity in representation and opportunities, and found that as an organization they had better chances. The exhibition presents the work of current members alongside pieces by past members. They’ve been here for 100 years. It’s free. Isn’t it time to get to know them?

March 14–May 2, with a reception Wednesday, April 9th, Interchurch Center Gallery Interchurch Center, 61 Claremont Ave., Morningside Heights, newyorksocietyofwomenartists.com

“Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie”

Look for challenging thoughts embedded in luxurious objects in “Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie” at The Met Fifth Avenue. Curated by Iris Moon, Associate Curator of the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, the exhibition examines how, when porcelain first started to arrive in Europe, it brought more than just elegant tableware. It also brought a whole class of objects and ideas known as chinoiserie. These exotic things from faraway places often included depictions of women. They were typically given expressionless faces and poised in languorous elegance – women at leisure, content in a role in which nothing more than docile prettiness and compliance was expected. Moon and her team offer different interpretations. With a mixture of over 200 objects ranging from the 16th century to works created by contemporary Asian and Asian American women, Moon and her team give a historic sensibility broader relevance. She stated, “‘Monstrous Beauty’ is both a story of enchantment and a necessary unraveling of harmful myths from the past—myths about the exotic—that have a hold over the present. It is time to retell the history of chinoiserie.”

March 24–August 17, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave., metmuseum.org

“Carmen Winant: My Mother and Eye” and “Edra Soto: Graft”

Since the weather is finally permitting, head outside for some free exhibitions. Check out “Carmen Winant: My Mother and Eye” at JCDecaux Bus Shelters. Winant’s panels of film stills were gathered over journeys both she and her mother made across the country. Parts are recognizable. Parts dissolve into nameless landscapes. Together they portray movement, a fitting subject for their locations. Then, head over to Doris C. Freedman Plaza, at 60th Street and 5th Avenue to see Edra Soto’s monumental sculpture “Graft.” The panels and wrought iron refer to “rejas” a kind of fence or grate that’s often found outside buildings and houses in Puerto Rico, her home. The title, “Graft,” is a reminder that these structures’ designs are often based on West African Yoruba motifs, bringing thoughts about globalism, cross-culturalism, colonialism and migration. While you’re there, take a moment to note that these and much of the city’s ever-changing art installations are part of the programming of the Public Art Fund, another organization founded by a New York woman, Doris C. Freedman.

”Carmen Winant: My Mother and Eye” Through Apr 6 at JCDecaux Bus Shelters citywide

”Edra Soto: Graft” Through Aug 24, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park at 60th Street and 5th Avenue

publicartfund.org