The book Pintoras colombianas contemporáneas is part of the series entitled Cuadernos de Arte Colombiano, published by the División de Extensión Cultural of the Distrito Especial de Bogotá. The series also includes a publication on Guillermo Wiedemann (1905–1969); at the time Engel’s book was published, an edition on Alejandro Obregón (1920–1992) was being prepared, as was one about twenty young Colombian painters.This publication is important for its emphasis on the role of women in Colombian art on the basis of a selection of artists who earned recognition at the Salones Anuales de Artistas, as well as international competitions. Viennese critic Walter Engel (1908–2009) discusses each individual contribution to Colombian modern art, making reference to the beginnings of their respective careers and participation in different competitions, as well as group and solo exhibitions. In his analysis, Engels dwells on the work of Colombian artists Judith Márquez (1925–1994), Lucy Tejada (b. 1920), Sofía Urrutia Holguín (1912–2002), and Cecilia Porras (1920–1971). The information about the artists Engel discussed in less detail is also quite useful to current research, since the participation on the art scene of some of them was promising, but brief. From Engel’s descriptions, it is clear that he finds purely visual value in all of their works, whether a figurative work by Tejada or Urrutia, or an abstraction by Márquez or Porras. For that reason, emphasis is placed on the formal values of their work. Engel’s approach here is akin to that of Casimiro Eiger (1909–1987), a Polish critic living in Colombia, Marta Traba (1923–1983), and other works by Engel himself. In the fifties, these critics followed the production of the generation of Colombian artists—like the women mentioned here—who furthered modern visual language.