Original Sisters: Portraits of Tenacity and Courage

Kunz (Another History of Art) delivers a soulful survey of notable women that spans the prehistoric to Vice President Kamala Harris in this visually arresting collection. The portraits and thumbnail profiles are arranged alphabetically by name, and while design elements such as lettering and ornamentation reflect the shifting time periods, the lack of thematic organization can leave the achievements of these women unmoored of context. It also results in some jarring juxtapositions. Alice Ball, the African American woman who developed a treatment for leprosy precedes Melitta Bentz, the German woman who invented the coffee filter, and the Osage dancer Maria Tallchief, the first Native American prima ballerina, directly follows Peggy Jo Tallas, a white bank robber; the sequencing can leave the accomplishments by women of color feeling diminished when placed next to a curiosity factor. Some laurels, meanwhile, are rumored or unproven, such as Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, who was possibly the real creator of Duchamp’s urinal. Kunz describes wanting to paint women who were “not known” but curiously includes Queen Elizabeth. As the artist herself writes, even this expansive list offers “only a beginning.” Indeed, it’s a solid primer and works as a jumping-off point for further reading. Agent: Allison Devereux, the Cheney Agency. (Nov.)