Months before this statement appeared in USA Today, Tucson Museum of Art docent Chuck Tampio had planned his Focus on Art talk on “Overlooked and Forgotten: Italian Women Artists of the Renaissance.” When he asked about 75 attendees at the Feb. 20 lecture how many could name a famous Italian woman artist, only one hand went up.

At the end of the presentation of 10 Italian women artists, the audience learned about Onorata Rodiani (1403-1452), Properzia de' Rossi (1490-1530), Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588), Sofonisba Anguissola (1535-1625), Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614), Barbara Longi (1552-1638), Fede Galizia (1578-1630), Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654), Giovanna Garzoni (1600-1670) and Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665).