AllMovie

The many reasons that women artists have been all but ignored by history are examined in this evocative documentary. Exploring why their talents were overlooked, The Artist Was a Woman explains how women were denied access to art schools, were not permitted to study the human figure, and most tellingly, were ignored by male art historians. Narrator Jane Alexander takes us through the personal letters of Mary Cassatt, Georgia O'Keeffe, and others whose work is so deserving of recognition. Germaine Greer provides insightful social commentary.