Includes bibliographical references and index.

A celebration of the innovative, brilliant artists reclaiming the idea of 'women's work'. In the history of western art, decorative and applied arts - quilting, embroidery, ceramics - were devalued, separated from the 'high arts' of painting and sculpture and deemed more suitable for women. But artists began to reclaim and redefine these so-called 'lesser' arts, energizing them with vision, imagination and the expression of the female experience. 'Women's Work' tells the story of this radical change, highlighting the artists who dared to defy the long-standing hierarchy and who, through, experimentation, invention and assertion of identity, transformed their medium. The work of these women has rewritten the history of art, turning women's work from a demeaning assessment into a cause for celebration.