Abstract Expressionism—born in the 1940s and 1950s and the first global American art style—features huge, colorful canvases filled with abstract shapes and forms. Although the story of Abstract Expressionism has mostly foregrounded a few larger-than-life, paint-splattered men like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, women artists played a huge role in the origins and development of the movement. They were not merely acolytes or interpreters of the style but ambitious innovators all their own.

Featuring more than 40 canvases made by 30 women, Abstract Expressionists: The Women brings some of the most important women artists of any century—such as Grace Hartigan and Helen Frankenthaler—to Wichita.

Abstract Expressionists: The Women is organized by the American Federation of Arts from the Christian Levett Collection and FAMM (Female Artists of the Mougins Museum), France. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Ellen G. Landau. It is generously supported by Berry Campbell Gallery, Betsy Shack Barbanell, Monique Schoen Warshaw, and Clare McKeon and the Clare McKeon Charitable Trust. Additional support has been provided by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the Every Page Foundation.  

Presenting Sponsor:
Koch Family Foundation

Principal Sponsor:
Dwane and Velma Wallace Foundation

Distinguished Sponsors:
Connie Bonfy
Dr. Harold and Evelyn Gregg
Kansas Department of Commerce Creative Arts Industries Commission
The Shaw Family Foundation

2025 exhibitions and public programs are generously supported by the Downing Foundation.
All museum exhibitions receive generous sponsorship from the Friends of the Wichita Art Museum and the City of Wichita.

Photos courtesy of American Federation of Arts