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
Brooke Holmes on Francesca Woodman in "Parentheses of Reception," 2025: READING ROOM
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.
Installation view, "George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978," DC Moore Gallery, New York, 2025
Exhibition Video for "George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978," DC Moore Gallery, New York, 2025
Watch the exhibition video to listen to Rebecca Lowery, Curator of Exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University, discusses George Woodman's evolving use of tessellations and color.
L to R: 1: “Untitled,” c. 1979-80, 3 1/8 x 5 in. Gelatin silver print | 2: “Untitled,” 1980, 15 x 33 3/4 in. Diazotype | 3: Spread from “Some Disordered Interior Geometries,” c. 1980-81, 9 x 13 in. Found notebook with artist’s 16 lifetime gelatin silver prints | 4: Spread from “Quaderno,” c. 1978, 8 3/16 x 11 3/4 in. Found notebook with artist’s 7 lifetime photographic transparencies. All artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1979-80, 3 1/8 x 5 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Francesca Woodman, "Untitled," c. 1979-80 and "Untitled," 1980: STAFF PICKS
Hi! I'm Ambar Vasquez-Mitra, a recent graduate from Middlebury College with a BA in History and Museum Studies and part of the Studio Institute Arts Intern Program. As this year's summer research intern at the Woodman Family Foundation, I've been tasked with organizing and compiling enhanced information on the numerous exhibitions of Francesca Woodman’s work over the past forty years.
L to R: Pair: Dodd, Wayne (Ed.) The Ohio Review, No. 60. Athens, OH: The Ohio University, 1999. / “A Classical Mystery,” 1996 | Quote from “Some Photographs of Photographs” by George Woodman in The Ohio Review, No. 60, 1999. | “A Classical Mystery,” 1996, 20 x 16 in. | “Apollo and Psyche” or “Pysche et Amour,” 1997, 20 x 16 in. | “Still Life with Rachel” or “Childhood Memories,” c. 1997-98, 20 x 16 in. | “French Fashion in Madison Square” or “M. Vionnet in Madison Square,” 1999, 24 x 20 in. | Woodman, George. “Some Photographs of Photographs,” in The Ohio Review, No. 60, 1999. All gelatin silver prints. All works by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Pair: Dodd, Wayne (Ed.) The Ohio Review, No. 60. Athens, OH: The Ohio University, 1999. / George Woodman. “A Classical Mystery,” 1996, gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 in. © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
George Woodman's essay and photographs in The Ohio Review, No. 60, 1999: READING ROOM
In 1999, The Ohio Review—a long-running literary journal published by the English Department at Ohio University—included a portfolio of thirteen photographs and an accompanying essay by George Woodman, appearing among pages of poetry, prose and fiction.
George Woodman. "Betty and George: 60 years of Matrimony," 2013, 24 x 19 1/2 in. Gelatin silver print | Betty and George on their honeymoon in Mexico, c. 1953. © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Woodman Family Foundation Archives
George Woodman. "Betty and George: 60 years of Matrimony," 2013, 24 x 19 1/2 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Happy anniversary to Betty and George Woodman
Happy anniversary to Betty and George Woodman, who married on this day in 1953.
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
NOW 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: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8: Installation views, Christopher S. Bond Courthouse, Jefferson City, MO. Commissioned by the US General Services Administration. Photo © Aaron Dougherty | 2: “River View: Sunshine,” 2012, approx. 11 x 8.5 ft. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint, canvas, wood | 4: “River View: Day Dreaming,” 2012, approx. 11 x 8.5 ft. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint, canvas | 6: “River View: Vases at Dusk,” 2012, approx. 11 x 8.5 ft. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint, canvas, wood | 9: Thomas Hart Benton painting “A Social History of the State of Missouri,” 1936. Commerce and Industrial Development Collection, Missouri State Archives. | 10: Betty Woodman’s site visit to the Christopher S. Bond Courthouse, Jefferson City, MO, 2012. Artworks by Betty Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Installation view, Christopher S. Bond Courthouse, Jefferson City, MO. Commissioned by the US General Services Administration. Photo © Aaron Dougherty. Artworks by Betty Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Betty Woodman's installation at the Christopher S. Bond Courthouse, Jefferson City, Missouri, 2012
In 2012, Betty Woodman was commissioned to create an artwork for the Christopher S. Bond courthouse in Jefferson City, Missouri, through the General Services Administration’s Art in Architecture program.
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
NOW ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "The Subterranean Sky: Surrealism in the Moderna Museet Collection" and “Blur / Obscure / Distort: Photography and Perception”
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: 1-4: “Dreamers and Voyagers Come to Detroit,” 1987. Installation views, Renaissance Center Station, Detroit, MI, 1987 | 5: Students laying tiles on the floor, Renaissance Center station, Detroit, MI, 1987 | 6-7: Production and silkscreening of tiles, Franco Pecchioli SRL, Borgo San Lorenzo, Tuscany, Italy | 8-9: Notes and sketches on modules’ designs and colors, 1986 | 10: Bullock, Lorinda. “A creator starts over. Renaissance indeed: tile art reborn.” Detroit Free Press, 17 November 2004 | 11-13: “Path Games,” 2004. Installation views, Renaissance Center Station, Detroit, MI, 2004 | 14: Drawing of modules for “Path Games." All artworks, sketches, and notes by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Woodman Family Foundation Archive.
George Woodman. “Dreamers and Voyagers Come to Detroit,” 1987. Installation view, Renaissance Center Station, Detroit, MI, 1987 © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Woodman Family Foundation Archive.
George Woodman's tile installations at Detroit People Mover's Renaissance Center station, Detroit, Michigan, 1987/2004. FROM THE ARCHIVES
In 1987, three years after his first ceramic tile public commission for Buffalo Metro Rail, New York, George Woodman realized an installation for the Detroit People Mover’s Renaissance Center station. A firm believer in public art, he sought to create a work that does more than simply impress at first glance but rather brings life to being in the station for commuters using the system daily.
Betty Woodman. “Pillow Pitcher,” c. 1983, 17 1/4 x 20 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. Glazed earthenware. Promised Gift of David and Julianne Armstrong. Installation views from “Hot! & Ready to Serve: Celebrating Functional Ceramics,” American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California, 2025.
NOW ON VIEW: Betty Woodman in "Hot! & Ready to Serve: Celebrating Functional Ceramics," American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California, 2025
In honor of International Museum Day this past week, our Collections Coordinator Celia Lê visited AMOCA, where Betty Woodman’s "Pillow Pitcher" is on view alongside works by Ron Nagle, Paul Soldner, Peter Voulkos, among others in "Hot! & Ready to Serve."
L to R: Betty Woodman with “Roman Windows” and totebag made at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA, 2006. Woodman Family Foundation Archives. | Betty Woodman. "Roman Windows," 2006, 35 1/4 x 87 x 8 1/2 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer and paint. Betty Woodman's studio, New York, New York, c. 2006. Artworks by Betty Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Betty Woodman with “Roman Windows” and totebag made at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA, 2006. Woodman Family Foundation Archives. Artworks by Betty Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Happy birthday to Betty Woodman
Happy birthday to Betty Woodman, born on this day in 1930. Known for her bold and exuberant colors in both art and self presentation, she is pictured here playfully dressed like her own sculpture “Roman Windows,” draped in a vivid yellow that echoes her sunlit New York City studio.
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.