The Club is largely forgotten today, but Dasal intends to rescue its story and reputation. She deftly sketches the social milieu that shaped the organization. Her portraits dazzle ... Dasal’s narrative sustains a warm, conversational tone, and her research is revelatory, but she never quite makes the case that the Club was more than a Parisian sorority for affluent white women.
Disconnect between context and individual experience ... A shame that despite the wealth of historical detail Dasal amasses and her fine analysis of a number of artworks, she resists making bolder claims for the importance of artists who passed through the club. Readers will no doubt come away curious to know more about the lives and work of artists like Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, Alice Morgan Wright, Anne Goldthwaite and others, in Paris and beyond.
A welcome addition to the growing body of literature about American women artists that will also appeal to readers interested in women’s history and the history of Western European culture.
Dasal paints an engaging picture deeply rooted in primary sources and with seamless integration of archival materials, personal letters, and contemporary accounts ... A captivating look at a glamorous and singular part of the history of women in the arts, and a testament to the power of community and support.
Dasal brings to light a cast of talented, courageous women whose lives, and art, defied expectations; her engaging history pays homage to the singular space that nurtured them. A fresh look at female artists.
