While spending a majority of her time in New York, Miriam Schapiro is a Toronto-born painter responsible for major contributions to the Feminist Art Movement. Struggling for acceptance within the male-dominated art world of Abstract Expressionism, Schapiro became the first female artist to lead a solo show at the André Emmerich Gallery. “As a leading figure in the feminist art movement, [Shapiro] has encouraged and challenged the aspirations of countless women artists for a bright future. Her impact is seen in the feminist art history courses taught throughout colleges and universities and in the number of women artists now represented in many art history texts.” – Carol Salus. Earth (1959) was painted the year after Schapiro made her debut with Emmerich. Schapiro is also known for directing the landmark Womanhouse (1972) installation together with Judy Chicago in Los Angeles as an outgrowth of the Feminist Art Program they cofounded at the California Institute of the Arts.

“We really didn’t have any literature telling us it was a good thing to be a woman artist. When I was trained, there were no precedents, and that was something to get really angry about.” - Miriam Schapiro