Womanhouse at 50

This is an important book in the historic library of modern art. Gathering a variety of materials, it succeeds in showing “Womanhouse”’s wide influence on artists, art critics, and feminists. The authoritative background and discussions by artists and art historians weighing the project’s originality are valuable from an aesthetic perspective. Schwartz demonstrates that the legacy of “Womanhouse” still inspires unique, spontaneous creativity.

Dr. Daryl M. Hafter
Professor of History, Emerita
Eastern Michigan University


In this fascinating and richly illustrated volume edited by Ellen C. Schwartz, artists, art historians and gallerists offer personal and precious insights into "Womanhouse" and assess the impact of this pioneering project on generations of artists. Decades after its initial staging, "Womanhouse", a place of collaboration and introspection, continues to inspire artists to question critical issues of identity, sexuality, racism, inequality, and gender, inviting audiences to view domestic settings as culturally and politically charged spaces.

Prof. Dr. Sharon E. J. Gerstel
Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture
University of California


I first learned about the thought-provoking project "Womanhouse in the early 1990s" as a graduate student in Ellen Schwartz’s Women in Art class. In "Womanhouse at 50", Schwartz does a superb job both of contextualizing the original work and presenting its rich and diverse offspring.

Prof. Dr. Leslie Atzmon
School of Art & Design
Eastern Michigan University


An invaluable resource, with incisive historical perspective, on one of the key moments in the early feminist artist movement in the U.S.
Editor Ellen C. Schwartz provides essential context to introduce an impressive array of voices from across the 5 decades since Womanhouse, voices demonstrating its impact on artwork, art workers, and art thought over those years.
Thoughtful, at times vivid, and well-documented, will stimulate warm memories by those who can recall the pioneering CalArts project and enthusiastic discovery by those who encounter its protagonists, goals, and images for the first time.

Dr. Christine Havice
School of Art, Kent State University (ret.);
College of Fine Arts, University of Kentucky (ret.)


A timely and illuminating reassessment of "Womanhouse", the landmark 1972 feminist art installation that transformed a Los Angeles mansion into a collaborative exploration of women’s lived experience, this volume traces its legacy toward increasingly intersectional considerations of race, class, gender, sexuality, aging, labor, collaboration, and community. It underscores the enduring significance of "Womanhouse" and its remarkable capacity to inspire new generations of artists, scholars, and cultural producers.

Dr. Jacquelyn Tuerk-Stonberg
Art History Program, History Department
Kean University, Union, NJ