Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900-1939
Exhibition
Self-Portrait by Frances Cranmer Greenman Oil on canvas, 1923 The Minneapolis Institute of Art, Gift of Mrs. Patrick Butler
From March 29 through June 22, 2025, the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY will host Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900-1939, an exhibition celebrating the pioneering American women who traveled to Paris in the early 20th century.
In the early 20th century, Paris emerged as a beacon for ambitious and independent American women seeking to escape the constraints of their home country. Driven by a yearning for freedom, these women traveled across the Atlantic to pursue their personal and professional dreams in a city renowned for its modernity. Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900-1939 celebrates these trailblazing women who found in Paris the freedom to innovate in fields as diverse as art, literature, design, publishing, music, fashion, journalism, theater, and dance.
The exhibition explores the transformative power of portraiture and how these women redefined traditional notions of female identity. By defying societal norms, they rendered conventional portrait styles obsolete, paving the way for a new visual language that reflected their evolving sense of self.
Featuring more than 85 artworks in a variety of media, Brilliant Exiles maps the intricate social and creative networks that connected these women. The exhibition highlights key figures such as Josephine Baker, Isadora Duncan, Zelda Fitzgerald, Loïs Mailou Jones, and Edna St. Vincent Millay, each of whom made significant contributions to their respective fields. Through vivid portraits and compelling biographies, the exhibition and accompanying catalogue illuminate the often-overlooked impact of American women on modernist Paris and the city’s reciprocal influence on them.
“Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900-1939” is organized by the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, with support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.