New Books in History Lottie Whalen, "Radicals & Rogues: The Women Who Made New York Modern" (Reaktion, 2023)
Jan 16, 2026
Lottie Whalen, a researcher and curator with a PhD from Queen Mary University, dives into the lives of groundbreaking women who shaped early 20th-century New York's avant-garde scene. They discuss how these women, like Beatrice Wood and the Baroness Elsa, used art and fashion as political statements for bodily freedom. Whalen reveals tensions in bohemian circles, generational clashes over modern lifestyles, and the crucial yet overlooked roles women played in defining modernity. Her insights shed light on a vibrant, radical history that changed the cultural landscape.
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Mina Loy Reframes Women's Modernism
- Mina Loy's art and design mattered as much as her poetry but were historically undervalued.
- Lottie Whalen used Loy's shifting fortunes to ask why women faded from prominence in later modernism.
Art, Politics, And Social Life Intertwined
- Whalen argues art, politics, and social life were inseparable in early 20th-century New York.
- Women shaped modern culture across salons, galleries, activism, and publishing.
Fashion As Political Philosophy
- Fashion became a visible political statement and a claim to bodily freedom for women.
- Writers like Louise Norton treated fashion as philosophical critique tied to suffrage and autonomy.
