Earlier this month, Women & Their Work, an Austin-based arts organization, announced that The Metropolitan Museum of Art has acquired a complete collection of its publications.
Founded in 1978, Women & Their Work is a nationally recognized gallery that showcases women artists living and working in Texas and beyond. In 1997, the organization received a major grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation to support its production of catalogs documenting its solo exhibitions. Over the last 27 years, Women & Their Work has produced 160 catalogs, including publications documenting 146 solo exhibitions and 14 group shows. Each catalog also includes a commissioned essay.
Wall of catalogs at Women & Their Work.
The Met’s acquisition includes the catalogs, as well as other published materials produced over the 46 year history of Women & Their Work. Physical and digital catalogs will be held at the Met’s Thomas J. Watson Library, whose holdings span the globe and date from the early 15th century.
Holly Phillips, Senior Collections Manager, Acquisitions, at the Thomas J. Watson Library, wrote to the organization noting, “We are thrilled to add your publications to our holdings which will provide our researchers with accessibility to a broad range of your gallery’s wonderful catalogs.”
In 2020, the Smithsonian Archives of American Art in Washington, D.C. acquired Women & Their Work’s archive, including catalogs, artist files, letters, contracts, media, and more.
Learn more about the Thomas J. Watson Library and search its collection online via The Met’s website.
