Judy Chicago describes her work, The Dinner Party, as the piece everyone wanted to see but no one wanted to show.

While more than one million  people have seen the piece on three continents since it was created in 1978, it took a long time for it to  be accepted in the mainstream museum world. But Brooklyn has always been nice to "the girls". It was displayed at the Brooklyn Museum in October, 1980 and again in 1995.

The piece took five years to create and eventually 400 people from all over the US volunteered their time.

Early on, reaction to the piece from the art world tended to be negative. The work was denigrated as a piece of "craft", because of Chicago’s use of techniques typically associated with domestic arts like ceramics, embroidery, and tapestry. Critics loved to put it down.

It was the wrong piece at the wrong time as it didn’t really fit in with the art or feminist theory of its time.

A feminist work, "The Dinner Party" honors the achievement of women over the millenia. Each setting is unique to the woman’s life it honors.

Chicago, a feisty red head, who now lives in Santa Fe, has been very persistent riding the wave of non-conformity. "I’m the big elephant in the room and The Dinner Party was considered really  embarrassing!"  Still Chicago persisted. "I wanted to challenge the prevailing  narrative."

Because The Dinner Party was considered marginal, it was usually shown in alternative art spaces. "Sometimes there were roof leaks, too much light, not optimal conditions for artwork," she said.

But now the piece has been restored to perfection. And it has finally found a permanent home, thanks to Elizabeth A. Sackler and the Brooklyn Museum. Needless to say, Chicago is thrilled with The Dinner Party’s new digs on Eastern Parkway.

"The girls are very happy, here. They can breathe. The roof doesn’t leak. The lighting is perfect. All 1038 of them are happy."