Female Bomb

Nancy Spero

1966

Gouache and ink on paper

Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

Throughout her more than sixty years as an artist, Nancy Spero (Born 1926 in Cleveland; died 2009 in New York) maintained a commitment to socially and politically engaged art. In her paintings, collages, prints, drawings, and murals, she expressed stances that were antiwar, antiviolence, and most notably, feminist. Spero was a member of a number of artist-activist groups, including the Art Workers Coalition, Women Artists in Revolution, and the A.I.R. Gallery, dedicated to art by women. She consistently sought to meet what she considered to be the societal obligations of the artist. Female Bomb belongs to Spero’s War series (1966–69