“Where are all the women artists?”

Unbeknownst to many visitors, a large part of the Palmer’s art collection are works on paper. Most of the artworks by women are in this portion of the collection, and due to paper’s light sensitivity, they often remain in the dark. Likewise, these same women artists were cast to the shadows by society simply because of their gender.

Historically, the fine art world regarded drawing and watercolor as preparatory or sketching mediums. Compared to highly polished oil paintings, which occupied the highest position in the European artistic hierarchy, works in these mediums were often dismissed as "unfinished" and therefore less deserving of serious artistic recognition. However, this lower status made drawing and watercolor two of the few artistic mediums that were widely accessible to women.

Out of the Shadows features a selection of works on paper by American women artists from the 1820s to the 1950s from the Palmer’s permanent collection, many from the John Driscoll American Drawings Collection. Brought literally and figuratively out of the shadows, these works illuminate an often overlooked yet fundamental history of American art. The audience is invited to consider the relationships between access, medium, and gender that this exhibition brings to light.

Organized by the Palmer Museum of Art. Curated by Apollo Barron and Emma Knisely, summer 2026 curatorial interns, with guidance from Janine Yorimoto Boldt, curator of American art.