French tapestry weaving was traditionally an elite luxury craft practiced by men, who passed prestigious weaving positions down from father to son for generations. But as modernists began to revive French tapestry weaving in the twentieth century, women took on increasingly prominent roles in the field as artists, dealers, and weavers. This talk by Kay Wells explores how women worked in these and other roles to produce modern French tapestries, how they carved out new careers in this dramatically changing field, and how they transformed the look and feel of modern art.

Kay Wells serves as Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor of American Art and Architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is the author of Weaving Modernism: Postwar Tapestry between Paris and New York (Yale University Press, 2019).

Free. For accessibility questions, call 413 458 0524.