The Dinner Party is a permanent exhibit at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum. An important milestone in 1970s feminist art, the piece was created by artist Judy Chicago who wanted to “end the ongoing cycle of omission in which women were written out of the historical record.” It comprises of a massive ceremonial banquet, arranged on a triangular table with a total of thirty-nine place settings, each commemorating an important woman from history. From the “Prehistory to the Roman Empire” period, Sappho and Hypatia are included, while Eleanor of Aquitaine, Theodora, and Anna Maria van Schurman represent the “Beginnings of Christianity to the Reformation.” As the table moves through the 19th and 20th centuries tribute is paid to feminist icons like Sojourner Truth and Virginia Woolf. The settings consist of embroidered runners, gold chalices and utensils, and china-painted porcelain plates with raised central motifs that are based on vulvar and butterfly forms. The names of another 999 women are inscribed in gold on the white tile floor below the triangular table.
The Dinner Party at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum
