The Women Artists Who Found Freedom in Old Age

In 1982, the Museum of Modern Art hosted the inaugural significant retrospective celebrating the artistry of Louise Bourgeois, who was then 70. This long-overdue exposition aimed to cement Bourgeois’s legacy, acknowledging over fifty years of her creative journey. Remarkably, Bourgeois continued to produce art until her passing 28 years later, with her later works often regarded as her most groundbreaking.

“No one could have predicted,” notes Susan Gubar in her insightful new book Grand Finales: The Creative Longevity of Women Artists, “that another retrospective would be essential in 2017—to reflect upon the artistic breakthroughs of advanced age.”

Bourgeois was not an isolated case; many artists evolve until the very end of their lives. Gubar, an esteemed feminist scholar and literary critic, posits that women artists historically find profound liberation in their later years, finally free from household duties, objectification, and male authority. Grand Finales features profiles of nine such women—including Bourgeois and Georgia O’Keeffe—establishing a lineage of creatives who reinvented themselves in their twilight years.

This book is driven not just by academic interest but also by Gubar’s desire for role models who can inspire a vibrant aging process that embraces vitality and zest. The featured artists offer substantial lessons without falling into glorification. O’Keeffe, for instance, comes across as a complex figure; her flaws are evident, yet they do not overshadow her remarkable late career shift as she left New York for New Mexico, escaping the overshadowing legacy of her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, and producing some of her most significant work.

Although Gubar groups her subjects according to thematic similarities—such as the “lovers” (O’Keeffe alongside writers George Eliot and Colette), the “mavericks” (Bourgeois, writer Isak Dinesen, and poet Marianne Moore), and the “sages” (jazz musician Mary Lou Williams, poet Gwendolyn Brooks, and dancer-choreographer Katherine Dunham)—she highlights that each woman’s journey is distinct. Along with these profiles, Gubar references numerous other women artists who reshaped the experience of growing older.

At 80 years old, Gubar does not romanticize aging; she intimately understands the losses that accompany it, from physical capabilities to loved ones. Yet, she finds inspiration in the resilience and versatility of her subjects, many of whom created their most ambitious and original works towards the end of their lives. While some analyses within the book may appear dense for readers seeking straightforward motivation, they are enlightening for those appreciative of literary critique.

Gubar compellingly presents how the limitations of aging can catalyze exploration into new artistic techniques. For example, Bourgeois’s sculptures in her later years “expanded in size until they eventually shrank to manageable dimensions for use at a table in her wheelchair.” Meanwhile, O’Keeffe, after losing her central vision at 84, often turned to watercolor, pastel, and graphite, finding them easier to use than oil paints.

Grand Finales serves as a rigorous, intellectually stimulating examination of artists embracing their senior years, although some individual profiles resonate more powerfully than others. Ultimately, Gubar observes that creativity is akin to a muscle: it either strengthens through use or atrophies. Engaging in creative pursuits provides purpose and solace as individuals face the challenges of diminishing health and personal loss. The artists profiled reject the stereotype of “Little-Old-Lady-Land,” instead choosing to remain curious, motivated, and open to new experiences. Gubar concludes that they share “an audacious spirit that signifies a relentless pursuit of self-actualization.”

Grand Finales: The Creative Longevity of Women Artists by Susan Gubar (2025) is published by W. W. Norton & Company and is available for purchase online and in bookstores.