Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900 – 1939

Remarkable Women, Remarkable Art

During the first four decades of the 20th century, American women made crucial contributions to the vibrant creative milieu of Paris. Drawn by a strong desire for independence, they crossed the Atlantic to pursue personal and professional ambitions in a city viewed as the epicenter of modernity. “Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900 – 1939” features approximately 65 portraits of remarkable women (including Josephine Baker, Isadora Duncan, Zelda Fitzgerald, Loïs Mailou Jones, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Anaïs Nin, Gertrude Stein, Ethel Waters and Anna May Wong) in a variety of mediums and highlights the dynamic role of portraiture in articulating the refashioned sense of self and the new conceptions of modern female identity that resulted from the interventions of American women in Parisian life. It recaptures the experiences of these unorthodox women who found in Paris the freedom to blaze new trails in a variety of fields, including art, literature, design, publishing, music, fashion, journalism, theater and dance.

This exhibition has been organized by the National Portrait Gallery and received federal support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.