George Quasha · CC BY 3.0

Began as an Abstract Expressionist painter before turning to performance art in the 1960s, using her own body as material to confront the masculine painting establishment she felt shut her out. Her work, including the landmark performance piece Meat Joy, became foundational to Fluxus, happenings and body art, and was later shown at MoMA and LACMA among many other venues. Schneemann taught at institutions including Hunter College and CalArts and, to the end, insisted on the identity she started with: "I'm a painter. I'm still a painter and I will die a painter."