Ann Leda Shapiro is a Vashon-based visual artist who is now receiving long-overdue international recognition after a decades-long career. Her work is being celebrated in major galleries and has been acquired by institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Frye Art Museum.

Raised in New York City, Shapiro studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and the University of California, Davis. In 1973, her work was featured in a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The show explored themes of gender nonconformity and questioned the binary division between male and female, suggesting a deeper unity—a theme that continues to run through her body of work. However, several of her paintings were censored by the museum.

Following this experience, Shapiro stepped away from the mainstream art world. With courage and conviction, she continued painting without self-censorship, exhibiting primarily in alternative spaces, cafés, and university galleries. Decades later, the Seattle Art Museum acquired two of the works that had once been censored—a powerful full-circle moment.

Shapiro also taught art at San Francisco State, the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado, and the University of Texas, where she volunteered in a Chinese medical clinic serving people with AIDS. This work sparked her interest in illustrating East Asian medical history and visual case studies. She eventually enrolled in acupuncture school, moved to Seattle to study, and became a board-certified acupuncturist.

In the 1980s, Shapiro joined the original Guerrilla Girls—a collective of anonymous artist-activists who have, since 1985, acted as the “conscience of the art world.” Using humor, hard-hitting statistics, and public interventions, they challenged sexism and racism in the arts. The identities of the Guerrilla Girls were kept secret for decades, and only recently was Shapiro granted permission to speak publicly about her involvement.

For a lively introduction to the Guerrilla Girls, check out their interview with Stephen Colbert: Watch here.

Shapiro’s most recent solo exhibition, Interconnected Worlds, is on view through August 2025 at the Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Antwerp. The gallery describes her work as:

“A vibrant exploration of feminism, nature, and the subconscious. Over many decades, she has examined elements of personal history, activism, and healing, weaving these stories together through paintings that are simultaneously mystical, magical, and perplexing. Her work focuses on a universal exploration of the nature of being and identities of self… Shapiro’s art has always reflected her thoughtful study of human existence and a deep engagement with the world around her.”

For more about her life and work, visit AnnLedaShapiro.com.