L to R: “Untitled,” c. 1976, 4 11/16 x 4 5/8 in. Gelatin silver print | "Self-Portrait at Thirteen,” c. 1972, 6 3/4 x 6 11/16 in. Gelatin silver print | “Untitled,” c. 1977-78, 5 15/16 x 5 7/8 in. Gelatin silver print | “The Woman Question 1550–2025,” edited by Alison M. Gingeras. The University of Chicago Press, 2026. All works by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / ZAIKS, Warsaw.
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1976, 4 11/16 x 4 5/8 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / ZAIKS, Warsaw
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in “The Woman Question 1550-2025,” Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland, 2025
Curated by Alison M. Gingeras, this exhibition brings together nearly 200 works that defy the myth of women’s absence from art history. Spanning 500 years—from the Renaissance and Baroque to the 20th century—it offers a powerful visual history of women’s centuries-long "emancipation."
WFF Housing Stability Grant Awarded
The first round of funds have officially been sent to recipients of the inaugural WFF Housing Stability Grant for Artists (WFF HSG)!
L to R: 1: "Lightning" or "Lightning Legs," 1976, 5 x 5 1/8 in. | 2: "Space²," 1976, from the "Space²" series, 5 1/8 x 5 1/16 in. | 3: "Untitled," 1977, 3 1/16 x 3 1/8 in. | 4: Installation view, “Women Photographers 1853-2018," National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia, 2025. Photo courtesy and copyright National Gallery of Australia. All lifetime gelatin silver prints. Collection of the National Gallery of Australia. Works by Francesca Woodman © Copyright Agency, Sydney
Francesca Woodman. "Lightning" or "Lightning Legs," 1976, 5 x 5 1/8 in © Woodman Family Foundation / Copyright Agency, Sydney
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in “Women Photographers 1853-2018,” National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia, 2025
Curated by Anne O’Hehir, Magdalene Keaney, and Shaune Lakin, this exhibition explores how women have reshaped the photographic landscape through works spanning more than 160 years.
L to R: 1, 5: Installation views from “Places to Dream,” Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Aalborg, Denmark, 2025 © Niels Fabæk, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg | 2: “Untitled,” 1980. Archival pigment print | 3: “Untitled,” 1979, 3 3/8 x 3 1/2 in. Digital chromogenic print | 4: “Untitled,” 1979, 3 3/8 x 3/12 in. Digital chromogenic print | 6: “Space2, 1976, from the Space2 series. 5 7/8 x 5 5/8 in. Gelatin silver print. All artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / VISDA, Copenhagen
Installation view from “Places to Dream,” Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Aalborg, Denmark, 2025 © Niels Fabæk, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "Places to Dream," Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Aalborg, Denmark, 2025
This September marks the final opportunity to view Places to Dream, an exhibition featuring photographs by Francesca Woodman alongside works by Cindy Sherman, Ana Mendieta, Birgit Jürgenssen, and Nan Goldin, among others.
L to R: 1: Francesca Woodman, “Untitled,” 1980, Gelatin silver print, 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. | 2: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, “Apollo and Daphne,” 1622–1625, Galleria Borghese, Rome | 3: Francesca Woodman, “Untitled,” 1980, Gelatin silver print, 3 15/16 x 4 in. | 4: Francesca Woodman, “Untitled,” 1980, Gelatin silver print, 10 5/8 x 13 1/2 in. | - 5: Alexander Pope’s sketch of the shield of Achilles. MS 4808 © The British Library | 6: Cy Twombly, “Fifty Days at Iliam: Shield of Achilles,” 1978 © Cy Twombly Foundation | 7: Cover of Parentheses of Reception. All Francesca Woodman artworks © Woodman Family Foundation / BILDKUNST, Bonn
Francesca Woodman, “Untitled,” 1980, Gelatin silver print, 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (11.43 x 11.43 cm) © Woodman Family Foundation / BILDKUNST, Bonn & Cover of Parentheses of Reception
Brooke Holmes on Francesca Woodman in "Parentheses of Reception," 2025
Published in May 2025, the anthology "Parentheses of Reception" explores how the parenthesis, a rhetorical figure of speech and thought, can offer fresh insights into classical reception studies by conceptualizing Greco-Roman antiquity as being both “inserted into” and “remaining apart” from the present.
L to R: 1: "Space²," 1976, from the "Space²" series, 5 1/16 x 4 13/16 in. | 2, 3, 7: Installation views, “Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture,” Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland, 2025. Photo: Max Ehrengruber. Image courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel | 4: “Legs,” 1976, 5 1/4 x 5 3/16 in. | 5: “Untitled,” c. 1975-78, 6 1/4 x 6 9/16 in. | 6: “#1” or “House #1” or “Abandoned House,” 1976, from the “Abandoned House” series, 5 11/16 x 5 3/4 in. | 8-9: Installation views, “Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture,” Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland, 2025. Photo: Julian Salinas. Image courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel | All gelatin silver prints. Artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / ProLitteris, Zurich
Francesca Woodman. "Space²," 1976, from the "Space²" series, 5 1/16 x 4 13/16 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / ProLitteris, Zurich
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture,” Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland, 2025
This Art Basel, visit the Kunstmuseum Basel to see Francesca Woodman’s photographs featured in "Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture."
L to R: “Untitled,” c. 1977-78, 8 x 8 1/16 in. | “Untitled,” 1977, 5 5/16 x 5 3/8 in. | Installation view from ““Blur / Obscure / Distort: Photography and Perception,” Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, 2025. Photo courtesy Norton Museum of Art. All gelatin silver prints. All artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1977-78, 8 x 8 1/16 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Bildupphovsrätt i Sverige, Stockholm
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "The Subterranean Sky: Surrealism in the Moderna Museet Collection" and “Blur / Obscure / Distort: Photography and Perception,” 2025
Works by Francesca Woodman are currently on view in two museum exhibitions about Surrealism and photography's relationship with truth at the Moderna Museet and Norton Museum of Art, respectively.
L to R: 2: “Self Portrait,” 1976, 4 13/16 x 4 14/16 in. | 3: “From Polka Dots” or “Polka Dots,” 1976, from the “Polka Dots” series, 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 in. | 4: “Untitled,” 1979, 5 13/16 x 5 13/16 in. | 5: “Untitled,” c. 1975-76, 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 in. | 6: “Untitled,” 1978, 37 3/8 x 35 3/4 in. | 7: “Untitled,” 1980, 79 1/2 x 36 1/4 in. Lifetime diazotype | 8: “Some Disordered Interior Geometries,” c. 1980-81, 9 x 6 1/2 in. Found notebook with artist’s 16 lifetime gelatin silver print. 24 pages plus cover. All lifetime gelatin silver prints. All artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Group, artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Major acquisition by the Art Institute of Chicago
Thrilled to announce that the Art Institute of Chicago has acquired 30 important lifetime works by Francesca Woodman from the Foundation’s holdings. With the breadth and depth of this acquisition, the Art Institute now owns the largest institutional collection of the artist’s lifetime works and has become a major center for its preservation and public display.
L to R: 1: “Untitled,” 1980, 5 5/8 x 5 9/16 in. Gelatin silver print | 2: “Untitled,” 1980, 4 15/16 x 4 15/16 in. Gelatin silver print | 3: “Untitled,” 1980, 36 1/2 x 92 in. Diazotype | 4: “Untitled,” 1979, 5 x 5 1/8 in. Gelatin silver print | 5: “Untitled,” 1979, 3 13/16 x 3 13/16 in. Gelatin silver print | 6: “Untitled,” 1980, 4 15/16 x 4 15/16 in. Gelatin silver print | 7: “I'm Trying My Hand at Fashion Photography,” 1977, 4 11/16 x 4 15/16 in. Gelatin silver print | 8: “Untitled,” c. 1979-80, 6 3/16 x 9 in. Gelatin silver print | 9: “Untitled,” c. 1979-80, 5 3/8 x 5 7/16 in. Gelatin silver print | 10: “Untitled,” c. 1979-80, 6 5/8 x 6 3/4 in. Gelatin silver print. All artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” 1980, 5 5/8 x 5 9/16 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York & Cover of "Gestures: A Body of Work"
Alice Butler on Francesca Woodman in "Gestures: A Body of Work," 2025
In "Gestures: A Body of Work," first published this year, editors Alice Butler, Nell Osborne, and Hilary White compile a series of essays which explore embodied, affective, and political gesture in feminist art and writing. In her own contribution to the collection, Butler delves into the ways Woodman uses textiles in her photographs and their relationship to bodies and touch.
Photos, L to R: Betty Woodman in her New York studio, c. 1983 | Francesca Woodman, c. 1979-80. Photo: George Woodman | George Woodman in front of his paper tile installation, 1979 Woodman Family Foundation Archives. Artwork and photo by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Graphic with text: "WFF Housing Stability Grant for Artists / 3-year rent subsidies for 5 visual artists in NYC"
Announcing the WFF Housing Stability Grant for NYC-based visual artists
In recognition of the increasing unaffordability of rental housing in New York City and the housing insecurity it creates for artists, WFF will award grants of $30,000—distributed over three years—to five visual artists with the goal of improving their housing stability.
L to R: Group, T to B: Betty Woodman, “Athens,” 1991, 35 1/2 x 68 5/8 x 10 1/4 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, and paint / George Woodman, “Untitled,” c. 1966-68, 39 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. Acrylic on canvas / Francesca Woodman, “After My Grandmother's Funeral,” 1977, from the “After My Grandmother's Funeral” series, 5 1/8 x 5 1/4 in. Gelatin silver print | Betty Woodman, “Athens,” 1991, 35 1/2 x 68 5/8 x 10 1/4 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, and paint | George Woodman, “Untitled,” c. 1966-68, 39 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. Acrylic on canvas | Francesca Woodman, “After My Grandmother's Funeral” series, 1977. Gelatin silver prints | Francesca Woodman, “After My Grandmother's Funeral,” 1977, from the “After My Grandmother's Funeral” series, 5 1/8 x 5 1/4 in. Gelatin silver print | Francesca Woodman, “After My Grandmother's Funeral,” 1977, from the “After My Grandmother's Funeral” series, 5 1/8 x 5 1/8 in. Gelatin silver print | Francesca Woodman, “Untitled,” 1977, from the “After My Grandmother's Funeral” series, 5 5/16 x 5 1/4 in. Gelatin silver print | Francesca Woodman, “After My Grandmother's Funeral,” 1977, from the “After My Grandmother's Funeral” series, 5 x 5 1/8 in. Gelatin silver print | Francesca Woodman, “After My Grandmother's Funeral,” 1977, from the “After My Grandmother's Funeral” series, 5 1/8 x 5 1/8 in. Gelatin silver print | Francesca Woodman, “2,” 1977, from the “After My Grandmother's Funeral” series, 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 in. Gelatin silver print All artworks © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Group, T to B: Betty Woodman, “Athens,” 1991 / George Woodman, “Untitled,” c. 1966-68 / Francesca Woodman, “After My Grandmother's Funeral,” 1977, from the “After My Grandmother's Funeral” series © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Acquisition by the Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire, 2024
We are very pleased to announce the acquisition of a group of important works by Betty Woodman, Francesca Woodman, and George Woodman from the Foundation’s holdings by the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire.
L to R: Francesca Woodman, “Untitled," c. 1976, 4 7/8 x 5 1/8 in. Courtesy Elton John and David Furnish Collection. | Exhibition poster, “Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection” with Harley Weir, “Boys Don’t Cry, Senegal, 2015,” 2015 © Harley Weir | Francesca Woodman, “Untitled,” 1979, 5 7/8 x 5 13/16 in. | Detail from installation view of “Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection," Victoria and Albert Museum, 2024. Image courtesy and copyright Victoria and Albert Museum & James Retief | Exhibition graphic, “The ‘70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography” with Anthony Barboza, “New York City,” 1970s © Anthony Barboza Photography | Francesca Woodman, “Untitled,” c. 1977-78, 5 9/16 x 5 3/8 in. | Francesca Woodman, “House #3,” c. 1975-76, from the “Abandoned House” series, 6 3/8 x 6 7/16 in. All Francesca Woodman works gelatin silver prints © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London
Francesca Woodman, “Untitled," c. 1976, 4 7/8 x 5 1/8 in. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy Elton John and David Furnish Collection. © Woodman Family Foundation / DACS, London
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in “Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection” and “The ‘70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography,” 2024
This fall, check out two group exhibitions showcasing works by Francesca Woodman. Known for her performative approach to photography, Woodman stages the female body and intervenes in the environment to create narratives rich in metaphor.