White Ridges 1972

Mary Beth Edelson created "White Ridges," using gouache on paper. Edelson was part of the feminist art movement which critiqued the male-dominated art world and patriarchal culture during the 1960s and 70s. Her work often combined personal experiences with broader social and political concerns. Here, she is drawing on landscape conventions, yet the ridges could also reference the female body. The imagery is simultaneously grounded in nature and ripe with subversive potential. Feminist artists challenged art institutions, from galleries to museums to art history itself, by creating alternative spaces and rewriting narratives that had traditionally excluded women. To fully appreciate the painting, we can turn to manifestos, alternative magazines, and records of women's collectives. "White Ridges" is a powerful reminder that art is shaped by the social conditions of its time and can also be a force for radical change.