Plains Art Museum exhibit celebrates women artists

In 1650, the young, ambitious Italian painter-printmaker Elisabetta Sirani became one of the earliest — and only — renowned female Renaissance artists.

When she died at the young age of 27, Siriani left a legacy of 200 artworks behind, one of which will be on display at Plains Art Museum’s “Women Artists: Four Centuries of Creativity,” a sprawling exhibition celebrating women’s artistic legacy — and issuing a call for continued dialogue.

Running through March 1, 2026, in the Jane L. Stern Gallery, “Women Artists” features 40 works from the museum’s permanent collection alongside 37 works on loan from the Reading Public Museum, including etchings, engravings, lithographs, drawings, watercolors, woodblock prints and photographs by canonical women artists.

“This show creates a dialogue aro