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amy_alwaysreading's review against another edition
2.5
Many thanks to my friends at @berkleypub and @getredprbooks for the #gifted copy of this book.
I don’t remember much about my art history classes in college. But I vividly recall one professor’s zeal for Georgia O’Keefe and the impact she made as a groundbreaking female artist.
As a young, naïve student, that enthusiasm was a bit lost on me. It’s funny how time changes perspective because now I completely understand why impactful women from history through today deserve such accolades.
In The Friday Night Club, we are introduced to now renowned artist Hilma af Klint. This Swedish painter, who for decades went unnoticed, found inspiration within her circle of friends and the seances they held to connect with long lost artistic greats.
The present-day timeline follows Eben Elliot, a junior curator at the Guggenheim, as he brings the never before seen collection of af Klint’s painting to the museum.
This leads to an exploration, both past and present, of this group of friends and the groundbreaking compilation of work that had previously been overlooked.
I love reading about little know women from history. And it appears these women are ones worth knowing about. However, the disjointed writing and flat storytelling didn’t create a dynamic with which I could fashion a lasting connection.
This book is for people who love:
🎨 Art and art history
🎨 Brazen women ahead of their time
🎨 How museum exhibitions are put together
🎨 The Guggenheim
🎨 Seeing impactful women given the accolades they’ve long deserved.
It’s worth noting that today:
🖼️ Females make up 55% of artists
🖼️ The collections of the 18 major US art museums are 87% male artists
🖼️ The most expensive work sold by a female artist (Georgia O’Keefe’s Jumson Weed) fetched $44.4 million while the most expensive work sold by a male (Davinci’s Salvator Mundi) brought in $450.3 million.
🖼️ 99% of all art sold at auctions are by male artists.
🖼️ In the top 20 most popular art exhibitions around the world in 2018, only one was headlined by a woman: Joana Vasconcelos at the Guggenheim Bilbao
I don’t remember much about my art history classes in college. But I vividly recall one professor’s zeal for Georgia O’Keefe and the impact she made as a groundbreaking female artist.
As a young, naïve student, that enthusiasm was a bit lost on me. It’s funny how time changes perspective because now I completely understand why impactful women from history through today deserve such accolades.
In The Friday Night Club, we are introduced to now renowned artist Hilma af Klint. This Swedish painter, who for decades went unnoticed, found inspiration within her circle of friends and the seances they held to connect with long lost artistic greats.
The present-day timeline follows Eben Elliot, a junior curator at the Guggenheim, as he brings the never before seen collection of af Klint’s painting to the museum.
This leads to an exploration, both past and present, of this group of friends and the groundbreaking compilation of work that had previously been overlooked.
I love reading about little know women from history. And it appears these women are ones worth knowing about. However, the disjointed writing and flat storytelling didn’t create a dynamic with which I could fashion a lasting connection.
This book is for people who love:
🎨 Art and art history
🎨 Brazen women ahead of their time
🎨 How museum exhibitions are put together
🎨 The Guggenheim
🎨 Seeing impactful women given the accolades they’ve long deserved.
It’s worth noting that today:
🖼️ Females make up 55% of artists
🖼️ The collections of the 18 major US art museums are 87% male artists
🖼️ The most expensive work sold by a female artist (Georgia O’Keefe’s Jumson Weed) fetched $44.4 million while the most expensive work sold by a male (Davinci’s Salvator Mundi) brought in $450.3 million.
🖼️ 99% of all art sold at auctions are by male artists.
🖼️ In the top 20 most popular art exhibitions around the world in 2018, only one was headlined by a woman: Joana Vasconcelos at the Guggenheim Bilbao
vlaniganfoffimreading's review against another edition
4.75
This is a story where I really learned something. I admittedly don’t know a lot about art, but this story tells the tale of the first abstract paintings. In the 1900’s the art world was predominantly men but this story tells a different version. A group of women come together on Friday nights. This group isn’t just about art. This story included the occult, seances, art and tradition. This was a unique story!
.
Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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paulaspersonallibrary's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.0
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