Enfilade

Maria Christina of Habsburg-Lorraine after Jean Siméon Chardin, Lady with Book, 1760s/1770s, 20.9 × 25.5 cm, watercolour, body colours on vellum (Vienna: Albertina).

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From the press release for the exhibition:

HER STORY: Women Artists of the Albertina / Künstlerinnen der Albertina

Albertina Museum, Vienna, 30 October 2026 — 14 February 2027

Curated by Elisabeth Dutz, Katharina Hövelmann, Elsy Lahner, and Eva Michel

To mark its 250th anniversary, the Albertina is—for the first time—devoting an exhibition to the history of the women artists represented in its collection, thereby retelling the history of art. Spanning the period from the 16th century to the 1970s, the exhibition demonstrates the decisive role women have played in shaping the development of art, even though their contributions long remained invisible or were forgotten.

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, A Young Woman Drawing the Portrait of a Girl, ca. 1790–95, 36.9 × 26.6 cm, black and white chalk (Vienna: Albertina).

Women artists have always been a part of art history—but their work has seldom received the recognition it deserves. This epoch-spanning exhibition takes stock for the first time of the women artists in the Albertina’s collection, presenting works from five centuries: from drawings and prints by early engravers and publishers, which were collected by Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen and Archduchess Maria Christina of Habsburg-Lorraine themselves, to modern artists and pioneering feminist artists of the 1970s. Through their biographies, Her Story presents women artists as commited, enterprising, and self-directed protagonists. At the same time, through a series of thematic chapters, the exhibition explores the social conditions that shaped women’s artistic production, offering a fresh perspective on art history through the lens of the collection.

The exhibition is based on a research project initiated by the Albertina’s new General Director, Ralph Gleis, focusing on women artists across all areas of the museum’s collections. The result is a remarkable diversity and considerable number of outstanding works, many of which have rarely, if ever, been shown.

In keeping with the Albertina Museum’s collection history, and with only a few exceptions, Her Story focuses on drawings and prints, featuring works by Maria Sibylla Merian, Rachel Ruysch, Rosalba Carriera, Angelika Kauffmann, Berthe Morisot, Käthe Kollwitz, Sonia Delaunay, Louise Bourgeois, and Maria Lassnig.

The exhibition’s timeline extends to the late 1970s, as most of the collection’s blind spots date from earlier eras. Analyzing the holdings and biographies raises recurring questions: Under what circumstances was it possible for women to receive an artistic education and work professionally? How did women manage to make their art visible, and how did they build networks? What possibilities opened up for them, and what restrictions remained? How did departure, persecution, and exile inform their careers—and how lasting was their recognition? From these questions developed the ten chapters of our exhibition. Rather than following a chronology of epochs and styles, it offers perspectives on artistic practice and historical conditions.

Elisabeth Dutz, Ralph Gleis, Katharina Hövelmann, Elsy Lahner, and Eva Michel, HER STORY: Women Artists of the Albertina (Munich: Hirmer Verlag, 2026), 352 pages, ISBN: 978-3777448473, €40 / $60.