The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C., will present "Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600–1750" from September 26, 2025, to January 11, 2026. This landmark exhibition features nearly 150 artworks by 40 Dutch and Flemish women artists, including Judith Leyster, Rachel Ruysch, and Clara Peeters, alongside works by unnamed textile makers. Co-curated by Virginia Treanor and Frederica van Dam, the show includes loans from over 50 institutions such as the Rijksmuseum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Prado Museum. It will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium, from March to May 2026.
This exhibition matters because it is the first to comprehensively rewrite the art history of the 17th- and 18th-century Low Countries from the perspective of women artists, challenging the outdated term "Dutch Golden Age" and addressing how colonial exploitation and social hierarchies shaped the era's luxury economy. By recovering neglected legacies and highlighting women's economic and cultural contributions, the show advances feminist scholarship and corrects long-standing institutional biases in art history.