Washington Winter Show 2026

67 But most numerous were the women whose lives have been obscured in the shadow of blue- and-white’s mythos. These are the countless daughters, sisters, mothers, wives, and widows from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries who served as everything from supporting household members to unnamed partners in business with their spouses in Delftware potteries. Some of them defy our notions of who an entrepreneur was in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—many were Delftware pottery owners themselves. Their stories are perhaps the most inspiring of all. Following the brick-paved streets along the canals of Delft, the gravel garden paths of Hampton Court Palace and the Het Loo Palace, the Dutch royal summer residence in Apeldoorn, and the yellow pine floorboards of the oldest surviving building in the upper Bronx, I retraced their footsteps, hoping to understand their inspirations and motivations. Beyond Blue and White tells the forgotten story of these women’s ambitions. There is a myth that follows women and art, whether in painting, sculpture, furniture, glass, or ceramics. The long-held tale goes that women were not able to produce works of art for any number of reasons, because they were not strong enough, weren’t a member of an artist’s guild, lacked the training, the financial resources, business acumen, or simply the wherewithal. Museum labels, auction catalogues, and art histories seem to support this vision, rarely presenting the broader picture beyond the name of what may be the artist, head of workshop, or name of a maker or firm. The mythos seeps into the historic perception of artistic patronage, collecting, and the histories of museums themselves, casting a shadow over women’s participation in the arts as the exceptions or oddities, instead of part of the fabric. But with each piece of Dutch Delftware and every document I held, more and more women emerged from history. I began to imagine their presence—along the canals of seventeenth- century Delft, in the bustling shops of eighteenth- century London, within the opulent salons of the nineteenth century, and later in the twentieth-century museum galleries of New York. Connecting the dots across four centuries revealed a richer, more complete picture of inspiring female contributions. These women appeared across the full spectrum of artistic life—acknowledged and integral participants—whether as artists, patrons, dealers, collectors, historians, pioneering preservationists, museum founders, or shopgirls selling blue-and-white pottery in the bustling salesrooms of seventeenth-century Delft. The words Dutch Delftware may evoke the image of a monumental seventeenth-century blue- and-white pyramidal vase, or tulipière , with its numerous spouts brimming with spring flowers. These magnificent sculptures, icons of Dutch culture, reflect the artistic and technical mastery of an era when the Netherlands ascended to global prominence in commerce, art, philosophy, and science. Over time, the Dutch Delftware aesthetic seeped into the international consciousness, influencing design across interiors, fashion, and beyond—a legacy that endures to this day. It has been widely imitated but rarely rivaled, and the term itself became so ubiquitous that it is often mistakenly used to describe all blue-and-white pottery, regardless of its origin. Yet, as we admire the intricate spouts and masterful painting of Delftware, perhaps we should look beyond the surface and ask: Who shaped its creation, its very existence, and its enduring appeal? Who was this woman? Excerpted from Beyond Blue and White: The Hidden History of Delftware and the Women Behind the Iconic Ceramic by Genevieve Wheeler Brown (Introduction, pp. XIII–XVII). Published by Pegasus Books. ©Reprinted with permission.