Arlene Raven dies
at 62

Arlene Raven, a pioneering historian and advocate of women's art, died Tuesday at her home in Brooklyn, N.Y., at age 62. The New York Times reported that she died of cancer, confirmed by the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, which represents the artist Nancy Grossman, her life partner since 1983.

Raven was a founder of the Feminist Studio Workshop, an educational component of the Woman's Building, devoted to women's art and culture in Los Angeles. The workshop focused on feminist consciousness-raising in its approach to artistic technique. Raven was also a creator and editor of Chrysalis, an influential magazine of women's culture, and in 1977 she initiated the Lesbian Art Project, in which she took part as a performer. She was also a founder of the Women's Caucus for Art.

Raven wrote or edited nine books, including the important anthology Feminist Art Criticism (1988). She also wrote monographs on the artists June Wayne, Betye Saar, Michele Oka Doner, and Grossman.

Raven was published widely as a critic and essayist and served as chief art critic for The Village Voice as well as a contributing editor for On the Issues: The Progressive Woman's Quarterly.

She is survived by Grossman; her parents, Joe and Annette Rubin of Marco Island, Fla.; a sister, Phyllis Gelman, of Albuquerque, N.M.; and a stepdaughter, Laura Corkery, of Larkspur, Ga. (The Advocate)