At a time when Grace Hartigan was fighting to secure recognition for her contributions to Abstract Expressionism after a move from New York City to Baltimore, she took inspiration from the courage and intellect of the Greek goddess Pallas Athena. In 1961, the newly arrived Hartigan was given special permission by BMA director Adelyn Breeskin to make a lithograph, titled Pallas Athena, at the Museum. The artist gave the lithographs, as well as other proofs, to the BMA as a record of the project. The forceful 1961 painting Pallas Athena-Fire helps illuminate the convergence of abstraction and references to the figure in works by Hartigan that bear Athena’s name. Even though these pieces are devoid of any clear image of Hartigan or the goddess, they are often interpreted as allegorical self-portraits in which the artist’s strong, energetic marks communicate a positive sense of female authority and power.