Betty Parsons
A Pioneer of the American Avant-Garde Betty Parsons, born Betty Bierne Pierson in 1900, was more than just an artist; she was a catalyst, a champion of innovation who indelibly shaped the landscape of American art. Emerging from a privileged New York upbringing that afforded her exposure to European culture and artistic movements – most notably through the transformative experience of the 1913 Armory Show – Parsons dedicated her life to both creating and nurturing groundbreaking art. This early encounter ignited within her a passion that would define her trajectory, despite initial parental…
The Subject Atlas
A chart of Betty Parsons's corpus mapped not by date but by subject. Spokes are what they painted; rings are when; and the threads between stars reveal the patrons and places that secretly connect them.
Spokes — Subject
Each arm of the atlas gathers works by what they depict: portraits, sacred scenes, mythologies, and the scientific studies. Click a spoke to swing that cluster to the top.
Rings — Career Period
Distance from the center marks time. The innermost ring is the earliest period; the outermost, the final years. Style matures as you move outward.
Threads — Shared Context
Coloured lines link works bound by the same patron, commission, or theme. Trace a context to watch related clusters light up across subjects.
