Kanaga and Prophet: Trailblazing Women Artists
Celebrate Women's History Month with two compelling exhibitions spotlighting artists who defied convention. Opening today, Conseulo Kanaga: Catch the Spirit and Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch examine the legacies of a sculptor and a photographer who pursued their practice against all odds. Their work is a testament to resilience, bearing witness, and the transformative power of art. Read more below, and see both shows today—free with general admission.
Consuelo Kanaga: Catch the Spirit
Open March 14–August 3
For 60 years, Consuelo Kanaga (American, 1894–1978) used her camera to confront urgent social issues of her time, from urban poverty to labor rights to racial terror and inequality. Consuelo Kanaga: Catch the Spirit charts the artist’s groundbreaking work and life story, shedding light on this critical yet overlooked figure in modern photography.
After starting out as a pioneering photojournalist—a rare role for women at the time—Kanaga would become known for her modernist still lifes and celebrated portraits. She captured the dignity and resilience of marginalized people, such as Black workers during the Jim Crow era. Unique among her peers, including her friends Dorothea Lange and Imogen Cunningham, Kanaga employed modernism’s powerful visual language to take on inequities by provoking thought and fostering empathy. As she put it, “Most people try to be striking to catch the eye. I think the thing is not to catch the eye but the spirit.”
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch
Open March 14–July 13
As an Afro-Indigenous woman artist, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet (American, 1890–1960) pursued her practice in the face of entrenched racism and sexism. Her sculpture is unmatched in its emotional nuance and technical virtuosity, and her story is a model of unshakable determination. I Will Not Bend an Inch—the first museum examination of this underrecognized sculptor—honors Prophet’s remarkable work and legacy.
Born in Rhode Island to a Narragansett father and a Black mother, Prophet became the first known woman of color to graduate from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. She then spent time in New York before moving to Paris. Despite earning critical acclaim in this period, the pinnacle of her career, she struggled with poverty and isolation, and several times found herself on the brink of starvation. Yet she remained dedicated to her practice.
From the top: Consuelo Kanaga. Kenneth Spencer, 1933. Gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga, 82.65.368. © Brooklyn Museum. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Nancy Elizabeth Prophet. Youth (Head in Wood), ca. 1930. Wood. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Fund for African American Art in honor of Saundra Williams-Cornwell, 2014.3. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Consuelo Kanaga. Hands, 1930. Gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga, 82.65.2248. © Brooklyn Museum. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Nancy Elizabeth Prophet. Discontent, 1929. Magnolia wood with stain. Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Gift of Miss Eleanor Green and Miss Ellen D. Sharpe (30.019). (Photo: Erik Gould)
Consuelo Kanaga: Catch the Spirit is organized by the Brooklyn Museum in collaboration with Fundación MAPFRE and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is curated by Drew Sawyer, Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography at the Whitney Museum of American Art (formerly Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography, Brooklyn Museum). The Brooklyn Museum presentation is organized by Pauline Vermare, Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography, with Imani Williford, Curatorial Assistant, Photography, Fashion, and Material Culture, Brooklyn Museum.
Generous support is provided by David Dechman and Michel Mercure, Michael Field and Doug Hamilton, and Slobodan Randjelović and Jon Stryker.
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch is organized by the RISD Museum. The exhibition is curated by Dominic Molon, Interim Chief Curator & Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art; Sarah Ganz Blythe, former Deputy Director of Exhibitions, Education, and Programs; and Kajette Solomon, Social Equity and Inclusion Specialist, RISD Museum. The Brooklyn Museum presentation is organized by Catherine Morris, Sackler Senior Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, with Carla Forbes, Curatorial Assistant, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum.
Generous support is provided by the Maurer Family Foundation and Tina Estes Novogratz.
This exhibition originated at the RISD Museum thanks to generous federal, private, and endowment support.
