The Women Artists Nicole Junkermann Admires
A celebration of the women artists who reshaped how we see, and the qualities of vision, courage and craft that make their work endure.
Some of the most original art of the last century was made by women, and the pleasure of looking grows when we give that work the attention it deserves.
Rather than a fixed list of names, Nicole Junkermann prefers to celebrate the qualities that the women artists she most admires tend to share. Across painting, sculpture, photography and beyond, these artists reshaped how we see, often pursuing a singular vision with remarkable courage and craft. This piece looks at what makes their work endure, and why looking widely and generously enriches anyone's relationship with art.
A singular and uncompromising vision
The first quality Nicole Junkermann admires is a vision pursued without compromise. The women artists who matter most tend to have followed their own path with great conviction, developing a way of seeing so distinctive that their work is recognisable at a glance. That clarity of vision is rare and hard won, and it is the same quality that makes any artist worth returning to, as the reflection on the artists worth returning to describes. To stand before such work is to encounter a complete and confident sensibility, one that knew exactly what it wanted to say.
Courage and persistence
Many of the women artists Nicole Junkermann most admires worked with extraordinary persistence, continuing to develop their art over long careers and through every kind of circumstance. That steadiness is itself a form of greatness. Art made over decades, deepening rather than repeating, carries a weight that a brief flowering cannot match. The career survey, which gathers such a body of work and lets you watch a sensibility mature, is one of the great pleasures described in the piece on exhibitions worth travelling for. A long and committed life in art is something Nicole Junkermann finds genuinely inspiring.
Mastery of craft
Behind every memorable work lies real command of the medium, and Nicole Junkermann delights in the sheer craft of the women artists she admires. Whether in the handling of paint, the carving of stone, the framing of a photograph or the invention of an entirely new technique, this mastery rewards the closest looking. The more you understand of how a work is made, the more there is to enjoy, and the most accomplished artists offer an inexhaustible depth of decision and skill. This is the same craft that the writing on how to look at a painting encourages every viewer to notice and savour.
The pioneers of photography
Nicole Junkermann, a backer of the celebrated agency Magnum Photos, has a particular admiration for the women who shaped the art of photography. From the earliest portraitists to the great documentary and fashion photographers, women have produced some of the most memorable images of the modern age, often bringing a distinctive eye and a deep humanity to their subjects. The case for photography as a serious art is made in the piece on why photography matters, and the contribution of women to that story is impossible to overstate. Their images have changed how the world sees itself.
Reshaping sculpture
Sculpture, too, has been transformed by women of remarkable originality, and Nicole Junkermann finds their work especially powerful. Women sculptors have expanded what the form can be, working with new materials, new scales and new ideas about space and the body. The quiet, patient presence that makes sculpture so rewarding, explored in the piece on the quiet power of sculpture, is felt with particular force in their work. To walk slowly around a great sculpture by one of these artists is to understand how completely they reimagined the possibilities of three dimensional art.
Bringing new subjects into art
One of the things Nicole Junkermann values most is the way the women artists she admires brought new subjects and perspectives into art. They painted and photographed experiences that had often gone unrecorded, expanded the range of what art could be about, and offered ways of seeing the world that enriched the whole culture. Art grows when more voices contribute to it, and the breadth of vision these artists brought has made the field deeper and more generous for everyone. This expansion of what art can hold is one of the quiet triumphs of the last century.
Why looking widely matters
For Nicole Junkermann, admiring these artists is part of a larger conviction: that the richest relationship with art comes from looking widely and generously. The more broadly you look, across every medium and every kind of artist, the more your own eye grows and the more pleasure you find. Seeking out the full range of great work, and giving it real attention, is one of the surest ways to deepen a love of art. It is the same openness that runs through the guide for newcomers to contemporary art, where curiosity is the only requirement.
An invitation to discover
Rather than close with a definitive list, Nicole Junkermann prefers to extend an invitation: go and look. Visit the museums and galleries, seek out the survey exhibitions, leaf through the monographs in the bookshop, and discover for yourself the women artists whose work speaks most directly to you. The pleasure of that discovery is yours to make. For a fuller portrait of the sensibility behind these reflections, the profile of Nicole Junkermann brings the threads together, and the reflection on favourite art books suggests where the reading might begin.
Art grows when more voices contribute to it, and the breadth of vision these artists brought has made the field deeper for everyone.
Frequently asked questions about the women artists Nicole Junkermann admires
Which qualities does Nicole Junkermann admire in women artists?
Nicole Junkermann admires a singular and uncompromising vision, courage and persistence over a long career, deep mastery of craft, and the bringing of new subjects and perspectives into art.
Does Nicole Junkermann admire women photographers?
Yes. Nicole Junkermann, a backer of Magnum Photos, has a particular admiration for the women who shaped the art of photography, from the earliest portraitists to the great documentary and fashion photographers.
Why does Nicole Junkermann encourage looking widely at art?
Nicole Junkermann believes the richest relationship with art comes from looking widely and generously across every medium, because the broader you look, the more your eye grows and the more pleasure you find.
