By Rose Blanchard
“There’s a painting, that I haven’t seen before, at the gallery. It’s by French woman artist, an impressionist artist. At the time in Paris, women weren’t allowed to wear men’s clothes.
“So, this woman painter, got a special dispensation from the authorities to wear trousers, because when she went to these horse fairs, she wanted to paint horses.
“If she’d turned up [dressed] as a woman, that could have been very difficult for her, so she tried to be anonymous by dressing as a man,” said author and artist Daniel Lehan.
The female in question was Rosa Bonheur, and the painting Lehan describes was The Horse Fair 1855.
The National Gallery is a staple of London’s landscape and history. It houses the works of greats such a Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Turner – the list is long. The art is detailed and moving, revolutionary and at times harrowing.
However, in a gallery which boasts work from as early 1200s, Bonheur’s painting makes up one of only twenty-one pieces of work done by female artists in London’s National Art Gallery. The other 2,279 are all done by men.
In an almost always the bridesmaid, never the bride sort of fashion, the gallery displays seemingly countless depictions of women – some dressed, some nude – but only features the work of four female artists.
Speaking to the general public
“You never hear about female artists, it’s not something you see, I don’t think I’ve ever even thought about it,” said Beverly Collier, 61, a primary school teacher from Yorkshire.
“[Historical art] is very male-dominated, I do think that’s changing now, and if there is an opportunity for change the time is now.”
Collier added that despite teaching art, there are no female artists mentioned in her curriculum.
“I know that a lot of female writers would have male pseudonyms in order to get their [work] published. I don’t know whether it’s a case of them not getting recognition because they were women or because there wasn’t the output,” added Tilly Scragg, 22, art enthusiast.
Students Kharis Waite, 20, and Lauren Tucker, also 20, thought that the gallery had an obligation to recognise and acknowledge the lack of female work.
The Gallery’s Response
On the gallery’s website, they begin to explore why there is such a huge gender gap in the art world.
Women faced many obstacles: “No formal art training for women, exclusion from male life drawing classes, harassment, and prejudice to name but a few, they succeeded because of their determination and talent. Many were among the most famous and sought-after artists of their day,” the website said.
The gallery highlighted how “telling the stories of artists and the representation of women in art history more widely reveals the significance of their contribution”.
The wider story
There is a good argument to be made for the fact that the National Art Gallery is largely a victim of history.
It is easy to forget that women only attained the right to vote in the 1928, and are still fighting a range of social injustices. There is still a long way to go.
Women have come so far and with advancements in technology, we are able to glean more about our history and the role women have played in creating spectacular literature, art and everything really.
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