Duchamp and the Women (Friendship, Collaboration, Network)

In 1942, legendary collector and gallery owner Peggy Guggenheim opened her Art of this Century gallery in New York. As early as 1943, curated by Marcel Duchamp and advising artists of the time, she presented an exhibition that focused exclusively on female avant-garde artists: "Exhibition by 31 Women" (January 5 – 31, 1943). With regard to the number of participants and artistic diversity, this exhibition was a novelty in the history of art. The show brought female representatives of surrealism together with abstract painters, Dadaist influenced artists and unknown, younger artists of the time. This publication offers an unusual perspective on the "Artist of the Century" Marcel Duchamp. Consisting of essays and biographical portraits of more than a hundred female leading figures reaching from early 20th century Modernism to the 1960s who shaped the life and work of Marcel Duchamp, the publication traces the initiatives and collaborations which accompanied and inspired Duchamp’s artistic practice. Furthermore, important texts by women are made accessible and are translated into English or German, which previously could be found available in rare sources or published in French only. The book unfoulds the social and cultural work of female collectors, gallery owners, artist colleagues and authors, revealing the featured women’s formative influence for their time in Europe and the United States.