First Ladies: Heroines, Trailblazers and Other Women Pioneers

By Troy Segal

“I want a hero,” Byron wrote at the beginning of Don Juan. Well, we want a heroine—and in the upcoming weeks, we have plenty of options. Here are talks, performances, and events centered around ladies who’ve led the pack in their chosen fields, from couture to crime-fighting, music to medicine.

Born as America was bracing for war, in late 1941, Wonder Woman (“beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules”, as an early comic burbled) stands not only as the first super-heroine, but also as one of the longest-running comic book heroes of all time. Harvard University Professor of American History Jill Lepore, who’s written The Secret History of Wonder Woman, lectures on the lady, and the rather offbeat life of the man who created her. New-York Historical Society, Thursday, Jan. 14.

She wore it well…Drool over the designer gowns of a supreme French fashionista, whose haute couture collection spans the last five decades, in this guided tour of the exhibit Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Friday, Jan. 15.

They say doctors should never treat their own families. Defying the conventional wisdom, Dr. Jennifer Brokaw served as guide, advocate and decipherer of medicalese for her dad Tom Brokaw through his fight with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow. Father and daughter appear together to discuss the experience. The Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Sculptor Anne Truitt was a major figure in the American Minimalist movement, with her deceptively simple, painted wood columns. Her daughter Anne engages in conversation art history professor Miguel de Baca, whose new book Memory Work draws on unpublished materials to trace the artist’s evolution. New York Public Library—Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Wednesday, Jan. 20.

The activities of two brave little girls are highlighted at a program at The Anne Frank Center USA. First up, a performance that juxtaposes the writings of Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr. Then, a reminiscence by the daughter of Minnijean Brown Trickey, one of the nine black students who bravely enrolled in the all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Thursday, Jan. 21.

748 performances. 48 roles. 41 years. Few singers have had as long and illustrious career as lyric soprano Lucine Amara, and she talks about that career (Puccini heroines her specialty), in a presentation studded with film clips. Metropolitan Opera Guild, Tuesday, Feb. 23.

Paul Giamatti and Mary-Louise Wilson lead a pack of actors reading the short stories of Shirley Jackson, mid-century mistress of tales (like “The Lottery”, her best-known work) that uncover the horror in everyday things. Symphony Space, Wednesday, Feb. 24.

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, 1755–1842). Self-portrait, 1790. Oil on canvas; 100 x 81 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Corridoio Vasariano, Florence (1905)

Not enough people know about Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, one of France’s leading 18th-century painters—in fact, one of Europe’s leading painters, period. That’s about to change, as the Metropolitan Museum of Art is mounting a major exhibit (Feb. 15-May 15) of the artist who consorted with queens and survived the French Revolution. A docent-led gallery talk happens on Friday, Feb. 26.

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