The Image of the New Woman in American Culture

Abstract

This dissertation deals with the representation of the New Woman in American painting, especially that of singers, dancers, and performers. The study presents the ideas of six male artists, including Charles Dana Gibson, Alonzo Myron Kimball, Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, Walt Kuhn, and Reginald Marsh. Each chapter is dedicated to examining works of these distinct but interrelated artists of the New Woman in American art from Late 19th – Early 20th-century. The new women tended to work as singers, dancers, and performers, because these occupations brought a lot of money quickly if it is recognized by society. When women are famous, the media has increasingly portrayed the New Woman image of women as a result of which male artists are becoming more interested and supporting performer, singers, and actresses by drawings them according to their perspective through painting. Therefore, this study aims to present the path of the New Woman's birth and the different perspectives male artists have of them and expressed in the form of paintings that differ in each context to see what men think about the New Woman.