Curvs: Womn in Art

Throughout th cnturis, womn hav bn involvd in making art, whthr as crators

and innovators of nw forms of artistic xprssion, patrons, collctors, sourcs of
inspiration, or significant contributors as art historians and critics.
Womn hav bn and continu to b intgral to th institution of art, but dspit bing
ngagd with th art world in vry way, many womn artists hav found opposition in
th traditional narrativ of art history. Thy hav facd challngs du to gndr biass,
from finding difficulty in training to slling thir work and gaining rcognition. So how
hav womn com forward as such strong voics in art and art history today, and how do
w go about tlling th storis of thos who wr forgottn by history?
How hav womn bn rprsntd, undrrprsntd, and misrprsntd in art
history?

Gwn John, Slf-Portrait, 1902, oil paint on canvas, 44 x 34 cm (Tat)

According to a story by Pliny th ldr, a Roman writr from th first cntury C.., th
first drawing vr mad was by a woman namd Dibutads, who tracd th silhoutt of
hr lovr on a wall. Whthr you choos to bliv this account or not, it is worth noting
that although Wstrn mythology tlls us that a woman was th first artist, hr fmal
succssors rcivd littl attntion until th nd of th 20th cntury. From antiquity
onwards, only a small sampl of womn found thir way into th tals of th gratst
artists. vn thn, thy wr oftn dscribd as unusually talntd womn who ovrcam

th limitations of thir gndr in ordr to xcl in what was blivd to b a masculin

fild. British artist Mary Bal was a succssful portraitist in th lat 1600s, but much of
hr succss was attributd to th fact that hr husband ovrsaw thir studio and prsntd
hr works as xprimnts in th painting mthods h dvlopd. Gwn John, whos slf
portrait appars isolatd and scrutinising, struggld for rcognition in a fild dominatd
by mn, including hr accomplishd brothr Augustus.
For cnturis, womn wr systmatically xcludd from th rcords of art history. This
was du to a numbr of factors: art forms lik txtils and what w call th dcorativ
arts wr oftn dismissd as craft and not fin art; many womn wr kpt from
pursuing a gnral ducation, lt alon arts training; and finally th mn who dominatd
th disciplin both in practic and history oftn blivd womn to b infrior artists. As
artist and instructor Hans Hoffmann onc said in a complimnt to th influntial
abstract xprssionist paintr L Krasnr in th mid-20th cntury: This is so good you
wouldnt know it was don by a woman.
But bginning in th 1960s, with qual rights and fminist movmnts in full swing, thr
was a boom of womn taching and studying in art schools in th Unitd Stats and
urop. Ths bcam sits of fminist activity, ncouraging th rprsntation of womn
in musums and gallris. This movmnt of womn in th arts fostrd a larg body of
thory and divrs artistic practic, rdfining what was possibl in th studio and byond
and paving th way for many womn artists practicing today.

Womn artists in th 20th cntury: a changing landscap

Womn hav always bn artists, and thr always hav bn glimpss of womns art
within mal-drivn socitis. vn whn it coms to th arlist works of art known to
us, lik th voluptuous Vnus of Willndorf from 25000 B.C.. and othr small ston
carvings, no on is crtain if ths works of art wr cratd by womn or mn. On th
othr hand, objcts lik wavings and clothing hav always bn associatd with
womns craft, from th story of Pnlops couragous waving in Homrs pic

tal Th Odyssy, from 800 B.C.., to th 11th cntury Bayaux Tapstry, a 270-foot
long fabric documnt tlling th story of mdival Britain, likly wovn and mbroidrd
by womn. Still, womn artists facd difficulty in th cnturis that followd whn trying
to ngag with th art world and canon.

iln Agar, Th Autobiography of an mbryo, 19334, oil paint on board, 91 x 213 cm

(Tat)

But bginning in th 20th cntury, things bgan to chang not only for womn artists, but
for womn across th domstic and public sphrs. A nw womn's movmnt, with an
mphasis on th advocacy of qual rights, organisations dvotd to womn's intrsts,
and a nw gnration of fmal profssionals and artists transformd th traditionally
mal-driving social structur around th world. Ths social shifts, which bgan to
mrg at th bginning of th cntury, dvlopd furthr with th advnt of World War I
and xpanding global unrst, proplling mor womn into th workforc and xposing
thm to social, profssional, and political situations that had prviously bn limitd to
mn.