Lois Dodd: Framing the Ephemeral

Spanning a 70-year career, the first appreciation of this pioneering female modernist artist (b. 1927) working in the post-war American art scene.

Long-awaited European debut of American painter Lois Dodd

Framing the Ephemeral is the first monograph on Lois Dodd (b. 1927). At the age of 98, Dodd is still considered a pioneering yet often overlooked figure in postwar American art. This book offers a compelling exploration of her observation-based paintings, with a particular focus on light, atmosphere, and everyday scenes.

For seventy years, Dodd has been quietly yet consistently defying entrenched gender norms, while remaining steadfast in her clear, attentive way of seeing - hallmarks of observational painting. Framing the Ephemeral highlights her significant contributions and reaffirms Dodd's enduring place in art history.

With contributions by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries; Janice McNab, fellow at the Women's International Study Center (Santa Fe); Karen Wilkin, New York-based curator and critic specializing in twentieth-century modernism; Katy Hessel, art historian and founder of The Great Women Artists podcast; Louise Bjeldbak Henriksen, curator at Kunstmuseum Den Haag; and many others.

This book is published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition at Kunstmuseum Den Haag, on view from 30 August 2025 to 6 April 2026.