Betty Woodman in The Met's Greek and Roman Art galleries in 2015
«Betty Woodman, the ceramicist and sculptor who died Tuesday at age 87, waited a long time for her first U.S. retrospective. The moment finally came in 2006 when The Met opened The Art of Betty Woodman with around 70 works of art. The Museum was an ideal venue, one critic wrote in the New York Times, and "a first for the Met, a collector of pots from all ages that has until now never given a solo retrospective to a living maker of them." Woodman even made five works on the occasion of the exhibition: a set of urns made to present flowers in the Museum's Great Hall.»
Woodman and The Met's extensive collection made a nice pair. She was interested in Chinese art from the Tang dynasty, Greek and Etruscan sculpture, Italian Baroque architecture, and the work of Picasso and Matisse—and as such, her work spoke to the collection.
Woodman was also set apart by her verve and tenacity. In 2016, on the occasion of an exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, she explained to a journalist from the Guardian that early in her career, "people were quick to dismiss me or not take me seriously." She added: "Back then, the world of ceramics was totally male dominated, it was a very macho world. If you weren't willing to be one of the boys, it was very difficult to be a part of it. But I'm a little combative, so I guess I also enjoyed it."
In honor of her life, enjoy a selection of Woodman's work in The Met collection below, and listen to her thoughts on a Minoan terracotta larnax in the collection in a season-five episode of The Artist Project.
Betty Woodman (American, 1930–2018). Deco Lake Shore, 2002. Terra sigillata, wax, acrylic, graphite, and colored pencil on paper, 23 7/8 x 50 1/4 in. (60.6 x 127.6 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Gift of The A.L. Levine Family Foundation, by exchange, 2003 (2003.285). © Betty Woodman
Left: Betty Woodman (American, 1930–2018). Basket, 1978. Montelup clay with transparent glaze, H. 11 1/2, W. 11 1/2, D. 9 in. (29.2 x 29.2 x 22.9 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Gift, 1985 (1985.3.2). Right: Betty Woodman (American, 1930–2018). Napkin Holder, 1978. White earthenware with transparent glaze, H. 14 3/4, W. 25 5/8, D. 10 3/4 in. (37.5 x 65.1 x 27.3 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Gift, 1985 (1985.3.3)
