The Young Moon

Margaret Kidder

Before the dramatic turn of events that liberation movements brought for women in the mid-20th century, grappling with the human condition was seen as a predominantly male pursuit in the art world. However, Margaret Kidder’s work strongly evokes and honors this struggle in a subtle, delicate, and decidedly feminine approach.

She frequently addressed motherhood – in particular, variations of the Madonna and Child – but avoided saccharine tropes by infusing a dark, surreal style. Scenes of familial intimacy are draped in suggestions of loneliness and longing, and an eerie dreaminess permeates the shadowed landscapes that surround her figures. Kidder wielded the feminine as a tool to coax her mysterious vision onto the matrix.

Kidder’s friend and mentor, the art critic Arthur Millier, wrote of her work in the Los Angeles Times, April 12, 1936: "Hers is a …case of the individual who experiences life as a series of sacramental acts. The celebration of this sacrament forms her art."