Kathleen D. McCarthy

First book-length treatment of women in the promotion of the visual and decorative arts. America's first museums and arts organizations were deeply embedded in male power structures, and remained so well into the twentieth century. These trends were intimately linked to differences in the ways in which men and women used their gifts of time and money to create institutions and open opportunities for their proteges, their colleagues and themselves. Explores the subtle interplay between philanthropy, gender, professionalization, and institutional development.… (mais)

The essays in this book examine theoretical issues, international comparisons and the impact of ethnicity and class in shaping women's responses to emerging opportunities and needs. The volume illuminates middle-class women's activities and opens up new fields of inquiry by focusing on voluntarism among their immigrant, African-American, Mexican, Russian, and French counterparts. These studies demonstrate the diversity of female voluntary efforts and the ways in which they enabled women to gain access to power.… (mais)