image of a woman with dark hair pulled back, wearing a green dress; holding a standing child in her arms; child is wearing a pale green smock; blue background — Mary Cassatt (American, active France, 1844–1926), Mother and Child (detail), 1894, drypoint and aquatint printed in color, with monotype inking and touches of brushed on color. The Putnam D. McMillan Fund, 2018.76

Can You Name Five Women Artists?

In 2016, the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) began asking this question during Women’s History Month to call attention to the fact that the work and artistic achievements of women—especially women of color—have historically been underrepresented and undervalued in museums, galleries, auction houses, and other arts spaces. We’re joining the thousands of cultural organizations and arts institutions answering this question—a small-scale action within an ongoing conversation about gender equity in the arts.

Here are five women artists whose work you can see in Mia’s galleries.

Mary Cassatt

sketch of a woman sitting on a chair holding a small child

Mary Cassatt (American, active France, 1844–1926), The Mirror, 1891, drypoint. The William M. Ladd Collection Gift of Herschel V. Jones, P.4, 959

One of the leading painter-printmakers of late 19th-century Paris, Mary Cassatt (1844–1926) was the only American officially associated with the French artists known as the Impressionists, and participated in four of their eight exhibitions between 1879 and 1886. Cassatt’s work was quietly subversive, making visible the labor behind raising and caring for children. In addition to intimate scenes of domestic life, she captured women at leisure and exploring their creative and scholarly interests.

See highlights from Mia’s collection of prints by Cassatt in “Cassatt on Paper,” on view through April 8, 2025, in Gallery 353.

Painting of a stylish Black woman in front of a wall with a fireplace and green surround

Toyin Ojih Odutola. Paris Apartment, 2016–17. Charcoal, pastel, pencil on paper. The Dean Collection, courtesy of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys. © Toyin Ojih Odutola. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. (Photo: Joshua White / JWPictures.com).

Toyin Ojih Odutola

Toyin Ojih Odutola is best known for her multimedia drawings and works on paper. Ojih Odutola has a distinctive style of markmaking, particularly when it comes to capturing skin. She uses only basic drawing materials, such as ballpoint pens, pencils, pastels, and charcoal. Building up layers on the page with detailed blending and shading, she creates compositions that reinvent and reinterpret the traditions of portraiture. Ojih Odutola is a visual storyteller and often spends months crafting narratives that unfold through a series of artworks, like the chapters of a book.

See works by Toyin Ojih Odutola in “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,” on view through July 13, 2025, in the Target Galleries.

Collage artwork depicting a young Black child pointing a finger at their temple

Deborah Roberts. The Visionary, 2018. Acrylic paint, ink, found photographs, gouache on paper. The Dean Collection, courtesy of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys. © Deborah Roberts. (Photo: Glenn Steigelman).

Deborah Roberts

Deborah Roberts is a mixed-media artist who is celebrated for her works exploring topics of Black childhood. She uses striking compositions to invite viewers to look closely and consider the layers within each piece. Roberts is concerned with societal norms of beauty and masculinity and the violence of American racism, particularly how these influences impact the experiences of Black children growing up in this country. Simultaneously playful and profound, the figures Roberts depicts are complex, occasionally based on actual living or historical persons. Manipulating their images this way, she also seeks to provide young Black people an escape from a universal, Eurocentric beauty standard.

See works by Deborah Roberts in “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,” on view through July 13, 2025, in the Target Galleries.

Mary Sully (American [Dakota], 1896–1963), Spring (detail), c. 1935, colored pencil and pigments on paper. The Driscoll Art Accessions Endowment Fund and bequest of Virginia Doneghy, by exchange, 2023.56.2

Mary Sully

Mary Sully was a reclusive Yankton Dakota artist. She was largely self-taught, and produced intricate, vividly colored drawings that combined aspects of her Dakota heritage with visual elements from other Native nations and the aesthetics of urban life. Sully’s work was unique, challenging traditional ideas around Native American and modern art. Yet her position on the margins of the art world meant that her work was only exhibited a handful of times during her life.

See some of Mary Sully’s striking images in “Mary Sully: Native Modern,” opening March 15, 2025, in Gallery 276.

Photograph of a Black woman wearing a black dress sitting on a couch

Mickalene Thomas (American, born 1971), Portrait of Qusuquzah, 2008, chromogenic print. The Linda and Lawrence Perlman Photography endowment, 2016.98

Mickalene Thomas

Mickalene Thomas’ work centers themes of race, sexuality, and power while critiquing traditional portraiture and the relationship between artist and model. When speaking about the encounters with the strong feminine characters she photographs, Thomas has remarked, “The fact that the gaze in question is from one woman to another is more powerful, to me, than the male gaze.” Thomas is also known for her dazzling, rhinestone-encrusted paintings of Black women.

See works by Mickalene Thomas in “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,” on view through July 13, 2025, in the Target Galleries.