New Haven’s vibrant art scene has a long and storied history, and the New Haven Museum’s newest exhibition, “Profiles: Ruth McIntosh Cogswell and Dorothy Cogswell,” highlights two remarkable women at the heart of it a century ago. Using works by the Cogswells and the students they inspired, “Profiles” illustrates a small portion of a pivotal time in the Elm City. The exhibition will remain on view through December 30, 2023.

Ruth McIntosh Cogswell (1885-1944) grew up in New Haven and attended the Yale School of Fine Arts in 1905-06. She was an art educator and artist renowned for her intricate silhouette work. Her daughter, Dorothy Cogswell (1909-2008), was the first woman to earn an MFA from the Yale School of Fine Arts and later served as chair of the Department of Art at Mount Holyoke College. The exhibition’s photographs, watercolors, pencil drawings and silhouettes give a glimpse of the New Haven arts scene in the early 20th century and allows present-day audiences to consider the role women played in establishing the New Haven arts community that exists today.