The Sense of Sight Annie Swynnerton (1895). Walker Art Gallery
Exhibition: The Rise of Women Artists, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool until March 14 2010
This exhibition charts the emergence of women artists from the opening of the Walker and its first purchase of work by a female artist in 1871, highlighting the rise – or alternately slow progress – of women artists alongside their emerging place in wider society.
A range of works from the Gallery's permanent collections are used to illustrate the story, thanks to the Walker's purchasing committee, who have been acknowledged as being ahead of their time when it comes to purchasing art by women artists during the past 138 years.
Yet the exhibition is framed by several questions. Some of the female artists are well known but many are not, which could be seen as a reflection of the quality of the work or could it be gender?
Emma Sandys, Viola. Walker Art Gallery
As early as the 16th century, girls were encouraged to become artists as part of a family business and were often taught to draw and paint alongside male relatives. This led to commissions through family connections, some of which are on display.
However, it wasn't until the 18th century that a woman, Angelica Kauffman, was able to challenge the male monopoly on subjects of "high art" – stories from the bible, history, literature and the classics.
Kauffman was one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768, but the next woman to be elected as an associate member was not until 1922, when 78-year-old Annie Swynnerton joined the Academy.
Wider social changes taking place at the time included Marie Stopes opening the first family planning clinic in Britain in 1921, and women getting the vote on the same terms as men in 1928. Women had to wait another 56 years for the Equal Pay Act of 1984, which apparently introduced equal pay for work of equal value.
Clarice Cliff, Tea For Two. Walker Art Gallery
Family connections are again apparent in the Art Nouveau work by Frances Macdonald McNair.
She and sister Margaret married James Herbert McNair and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. These works are a welcome relief to the rather sentimental mother and child paintings which dominate this area of the exhibition.
A large, late Victorian painting, Life and Thought Have Gone Away, by Evelyn de Morgan, husband of ceramicist William de Morgan, was exhibited at the 31st Autumn Exhibition at the Walker in 1901, and was then purchased by the Gallery.
This neatly encompasses some of the themes of the show, showing the Gallery's apparent commitment to purchasing works by female artists, as well as demonstrating the neccesity of family connections which allowed women less restricted access to the art world.
Emma Rodgers, Monkey Mother and Child. Walker Art Gallery
Although Evelyn de Morgan lived until the end of the First World War, it was Laura Knight who was the official war artist at this time. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1929 for her efforts.
At the same time, Clarice Cliff and Susie Cooper were designing pottery, becoming the first women to put their names on factory products.
Following WW2 and the corresponding period of austerity, the upbeat mood of the 1960s provided a ready market for women's work but it wasn't until the rise of feminism in the 1970s and 1980s that women's art really started to say something.
Female artists began to address issues relating to their lives, although not all wanted their gender to become an issue. Many from the previous generation felt that they had won success without highlighting their female identity and believed gender categorisation was unnecessary.
(Above) Viral Landscapes no2 by Helen Chadwick. Courtesy Walker Art Gallery
The exhibition also acknowledges that despite many gains, women are still not equal in society. Lobbying for equal pay continues.
Artists like Paula Rego have produced unsettling work inspired by issues affecting contemporary women. Her Untitled 7, Abortion Series, was inspired by a referendum on laws regarding abortion held in 1998 in Portugal. The laws weren't passed, and this inspired Rego to create a series of etching of women undergoing back street abortions.
This is a neat if disturbing end to an exhibition which shows how women moved from merely showing young girls conforming to society's expectations, to stark political commentary. It is a relief to see to see that so much progress has been made, even if the rise was painfully slow at times.
Keep up to date with Culture24's exhibition news, reviews and previews with iGoogle - a more personal way to use Google.com
