The Arkansas Museum of Art in Little Rock is presenting "Architects of Being," an exhibition pairing the work of Esphyr Slobodkina and Louise Nevelson through January 11, 2026. Slobodkina, a Russian-born Jewish immigrant and founding member of the American Abstract Artists, was a painter, sculptor, writer, and fashion designer who also authored the classic children's book *Caps for Sale*. Nevelson, also an Eastern European Jewish immigrant, is renowned for her monochromatic wood assemblages. The show juxtaposes their geometric abstractions, collages, sculptures, and personal fashion, curated as a hypothetical dialogue between two kindred spirits who never met. The exhibition will travel to the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, and the New Britain Museum of American Art.
This exhibition matters because it reclaims Slobodkina's legacy beyond her famous children's book, positioning her as a significant abstract artist alongside the more widely recognized Nevelson. By highlighting their shared immigrant backgrounds, unconventional lives, and architectural approach to art-making, the show challenges historical gender biases in art history and offers visitors a fuller, interdisciplinary view of both women's contributions to 20th-century American art. Its positive visitor response and planned tour signal growing institutional interest in recovering overlooked female artists.