Juanita McNeely

Juanita McNeely (March 13, 1936 – October 18, 2023) was an American feminist artist known for her bold works that illustrate the female experience in her nude figurative paintings, prints, paper cut-outs, and ceramic pieces. Feminist emotional elements in her work include the portrayal of female experiences such as abortion, rape, and menstruation. Her recurring health problems and expressive figurative compositions have prompted comparisons to Frida Kahlo. According to McNeely, "we as women must continue the struggle to hold on to our rights, or let the children lead the way."

Early life McNeely was born in Ferguson, Missouri on March 13, 1936 to Robert and Alta McNeely.

Professional life

While at Southern Illinois University, McNeely decided that she was ready to go to New York City, where she moved in 1967 with her husband and opened a studio in the East Village.

In New York, McNeely's health deteriorated when another tumor was found. Because she was pregnant and abortion was then illegal, the doctors could do little to treat her. This adversity and lack of control over her own body fueled McNeely's feminism. McNeely extensively exhibited at Prince Street Gallery in the 1970s, which gave her the artistic freedom to express what she needed to say as a woman artist. In 1970, she also moved into Westbeth, the affordable artist's residence in the West Village, where she would live for the rest of her life. Her exhibition, Indomitable Spirit, embodied the spirit and courage it took to challenge misogyny and patriarchy. She was the judge of an art exhibit held in honor of the 200th anniversary of the laying of the first corner stone of the White House at a ceremony for that exhibit at the White House. Also under the auspices of the VSA, McNeely was judge and teacher for the International Yamagata Art Program.

Involvement in the Feminist Art Movement McNeely showed Woman's Psyche (1968) in First Open Show of Feminist Art, an all-women exhibition that was organized by Marjorie Kramer. She also joined several feminist artist groups, including Women Artists in Revolution and the Redstockings. McNeely was also a member of the all-women cooperative gallery, SOHO 20 Gallery, where she had a solo show in 1980. Fight Censorship sought to change the conservative society that barred feminist artists from jobs and exhibitions. To accomplish this, they lectured and educated the public about erotic art and the negative effects of censorship.

Themes Eroticism Many of McNeely's works center around erotic imagery. Her art takes a dark look at the violent and sometimes bloody sexual experiences of women. Her art has been described as illustrating the fear in most women of "physical vulnerability, embodying all of [her] sexual functions and their possibly devastating consequences."