Arlene Raven

Arlene Raven loved art. She studied how people make art. Arlene helped women artists. She helped them show their work.

She started a special art school. It was a place for women to work together. She also started a group for art history. They studied art made by women.

Arlene wrote nine books about art. She also worked as an art critic. She helped pick art for museums. Arlene was a great leader for art.

Arlene Raven was a leader in the world of art. She was an art historian. This means she studied how art is made and why it matters. She was also a critic and a teacher.

Arlene wanted to help women artists. In the 1970s, she helped start the Feminist Studio Workshop. This was an art school in Los Angeles. It helped women work together as a group. She also helped start the Center for Feminist Art Historical Studies. This group did research on art made by women. They even made a large collection of slides to show their work.

Arlene was a member of many groups. She helped start The Lesbian Art Project. This group looked at art through the lives of lesbian women. She also helped start the Women’s Caucus for Art.

Arlene taught at many colleges. She wrote nine books about art. She also worked as a chief art critic. This means she wrote about art for a newspaper. She picked art for museums to show. In 2002, she won a big award for her writing. Arlene died in 2006.

Arlene Raven was a very important person in the world of art. She was an art historian, a writer, and a teacher. She spent her life looking closely at art and its meaning. Arlene wanted to help women artists show their work to the world. She believed art should reflect the real lives of women. This was part of a large movement called Feminist Art.

Arlene worked hard to build new groups for artists. In 1973, she helped start the Feminist Studio Workshop in Los Angeles. She worked with Judy Chicago and Sheila Levrant de Bretteville to build it. This school was a place for women to work together. They focused on cooperation and sisterhood. She also helped start the Center for Feminist Art Historical Studies. This center used research to study women artists. They even made a large collection of slides to keep track of their work.

Arlene's journey in art began in Maryland. She was born in Baltimore on July 12, 1944. Her parents were Joseph and Annette Rubin. She went to Hood College and earned a degree there in 1965. Later, she studied at George Washington University to learn painting. She finished her PhD at Johns Hopkins University in 1975. These studies helped her become a great expert on art history.

Arlene was a leader in many different art circles. In 1976, she was a founding member of The Lesbian Art Project. This group explored art through the lives of lesbian women. She also helped start the Women's Caucus for Art. Arlene taught at many famous schools like UCLA and Parsons. She was the chief art critic for the Village Voice in the 1980s. She even organized ten big art shows at famous museums. In 2002, she won the Frank Jewett Mather Award for her writing.

Arlene left behind a great many things for others to study. She wrote nine books about art and identity. One book was titled Feminist Art Criticism: An Anthology. She also wrote about artists like Nancy Grossman and June Wayne. Arlene lived in Brooklyn, New York, for a long time. She passed away from cancer on August 1, 2006. She was 62 years old when she died. Her work still helps people understand women in art today.

Arlene Raven was a highly influential figure in the world of art. She was an art historian, a critic, a curator, and an educator. Raven played a central role in the Feminist Art Movement. This movement sought to support women artists. It also aimed to provide them with chances to show their work. These artists wanted to create art about their specific experiences as women. Raven believed that art should reflect shared social contexts and lived experiences.

Raven used many different methods to support these goals. In 1973, she co-founded the Feminist Studio Workshop. She worked alongside Judy Chicago and Sheila Levrant de Bretteville to create this school. The workshop was an independent art school. It was eventually located in the Los Angeles Woman's Building. The school focused on cooperation, collaboration, and sisterhood. It allowed working individuals to grow through a shared community. Raven also co-founded the Center for Feminist Art Historical Studies. This center focused on serious research regarding women artists. They developed a specific feminist art historical methodology. They also created a slide archive to preserve the work of women.

Raven's work included several distinct types of leadership. She was a founding member of the Women's Caucus for Art. In 1976, she also helped found The Lesbian Art Project. As a lesbian herself, Raven used this group to explore lesbianism through art. Members researched past artists, such as the painter Romaine Brooks. They also questioned the cultural meaning of the term "lesbian." Additionally, Raven served as an editor for the magazine Chrysalis. This publication focused on women's culture. Her work spanned teaching, writing, organizing shows, and researching history.

Raven's academic journey provided a strong foundation for her career. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 12, 1944. Her parents were Joseph and Annette Rubin. She earned an Artium Baccalaureatus from Hood College in 1965. She then moved on to advanced graduate studies. She earned an MFA in painting from George Washington University. In 1975, she completed a PhD in art history from Johns Hopkins University. These academic achievements allowed her to become a leading expert in her field.

Throughout her career, Raven achieved significant professional milestones. In the 1980s, she became the chief art critic for the Village Voice. She also curated ten different exhibitions. These shows were held at institutions like the Baltimore Museum of Art. One notable exhibition was titled "At Home." This show gathered artists and ideas she had championed for a decade. In 2000, she became the critic-in-residence at the Rinehart School of Sculpture. This was at the Maryland Institute College of Art. In 2002, she received the Frank Jewett Mather Award. This award recognizes excellence in art criticism from the College Art Association.

Raven was a prolific author who wrote nine books. These books explored themes of art, identity, and social concern. Some of her notable titles include "Feminist Art Criticism: An Anthology" from 1988. She also wrote "Crossing Over: Feminism and Art of Social Concern" in 1988. Another book was "Art in the Public Interest," published in 1989. She wrote monographs about specific artists as well. These included works on Nancy Grossman and June Wayne. Her writing helped define how people study feminist art history.

Raven's influence extended to many major educational institutions. She taught at the California Institute of the Arts and UCLA. She also taught at the University of Southern California. Other schools included Parsons The New School for Design and the Maryland Institute College of Art. She even taught at The New School for Social Research. Her career connected the worlds of academia, journalism, and museum curation. She lived in Brooklyn, New York, for much of her life. Raven died of cancer on August 1, 2006. She was 62 years old. She was survived by her father, her sister, and her life partner of 23 years, Nancy Grossman.