Solitaire : Lee Lozano, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Joan Semmel

This compelling book looks at the work of three influential women artists and at the import of feminism in their practices. Painters Lee Lozano (19301999), Sylvia Plimack Mangold (b. 1938), and Joan Semmel (b. 1932) are each intensely private andto varying degreeschose or have chosen to disappear into their studios to work. Seemingly unconcerned about the prevailing styles or movements, these three women nevertheless each contributed to transformations in the art world. Solitaireexamines in depth the three artists' work, sets the historical and social context, and analyzes the private endeavor of the artist alongside the critical reception of their art. The authors call attention to other artists who, like these three, have chosen private or idiosyncratic paths that too often exclude them from art historical narratives.

Helen Molesworth is Maisie K. and James R. Houghton Curator of Contemporary Art at the Harvard University Art Museums. Johanna Burton is on faculty at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, and the School of the Arts, Columbia University. Richard Meyer is associate professor of modern and contemporary art at the University of Southern California.