Macena Barton’s large 1936 painting Salome would stand out in virtually any exhibit anywhere. In Barton’s stripped-down treatment of the story, a nude Salome, standing alone against a strident yellow background, contemplates the filigreed platter at her feet from which the blue-skinned head of John the Baptist, eyes open, seems to return her gaze. She’s an ordinary, contemporary looking young woman–a far cry from the idealized girl in a flowing gown we’ve come to expect from Renaissance-era depictions. Barton’s Salome is no hapless pawn of the desires of others: she herself holds the murder weapon, a bloody curved dagger.
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Put together by Robert Henry Adams, a local dealer, and Weininger, associate professor of art history and assistant director of the School of Liberal Studies at Roosevelt University, the exhibit presents paintings by women influenced by cubism, social realism, expressionism, and surrealism.
One of these was the Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists, with whom a number of the artists in the “New Woman” show exhibited. “They had exhibitions in department stores, including Marshall Field’s,” Weininger says. “Most of the department stores at that time had picture galleries. Field’s would donate the space, and it was all organized by the artists. All that was required of someone to show was a very small yearly membership fee. There was no jury, so nothing was excluded.”
“The ‘New Woman’ in Chicago, 1910-45: Paintings From Illinois Collections” continues through March 18 at the Illinois Art Gallery, James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph, suite 2-100. Gallery hours are 9 to 6 Monday through Friday. At 6 PM Thursday, February 24, Weininger will present a free talk at the gallery; for information call 814-5322.
