How far have we come?

Four centuries of women barely permitted to make art

image: Gwen John Self Portrait, 1902. Acquired by the Tate, 1942.

Permission is a tricky beast.

I’m in London this week and spent Sunday in the Tate Britain in “Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain, 1520-1920.” It’s a large show, with many artists represented, and I spent a solid hour poring over it.

However, as is often the case in shows about women’s options throughout history, I was absolutely boiling by the end.

“With her husband’s support…”

Since I have a degree in Art History, I am guilty of going through shows without reading the commentary or labels, but this time I dug in and read them all. The stories of the artists felt as important as the art, and nearly every story hinged on the artist receiving permission from a man in order to make art.

Given that the end of the show featured work from just over a century ago, we have barely moved out of the period when a woman could be barred from expressing herself creatively simply because her husband didn’t like it. The array of stupid objections was staggering.

image: Emily Mary Osborn, Nameless and Friendless. “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, etc.” - Proverbs, x, 15 1857. aka a bunch of men deciding if this “unknown” woman is worthy of selling her art.

Reasons men didn’t like women creating art:

• Subject matter “not suitable for ladies.” Anything controversial like war, unsentimental emotions and political topics were off limits until about 1800

• Women were “copyists” rather than real artists. (This came up over and over, even though the only way women were allowed to train was by copying other art)

• Men didn’t like it if women were too successful commercially

• Once married, women were supposed to say they were “amateur” despite having been successful commercial artists before.

• Women painting nude figures disgraced art, although men painted nude women all the time. Hmmmm

• The piece de resistance: one man, after having his portrait painted by a woman, when she asked the fee of half a male portrait painter, had the gall to refuse. He then wrote numerous letters calling her a “slut” for this reason alone. Sadly, I’m not able to include an image, as the painting was a knockout, despite the subject being such an asshole

How far have we come?

All of this nonsense was leveled at women throughout the centuries, but there is another layer. The women featured in the show were nearly exclusively white women with enough money and leisure time to pursue painting at all.

Creative work has been restricted by those in power throughout history. Making art matters. Why else would those in control be so afraid of freedom of expression?

Books get banned because people are afraid of the stories they tell. Women, people of color, and the queer community have been excluded because those in power want control of the narrative.

This show was an opportunity to see work by artists who were shut out of the major art organizations during their lives, but I couldn’t help but think of all the people who weren’t on the walls at all. The people who didn’t have space, time, or the discretionary funds to fund canvas, art or art supplies. How different would our impression of that time be if all the paintings of rural life, for example, weren’t painted by wealthy people with romantic fantasies about living outside cities?

What stories are we missing now because people don’t think they have permission to tell them?

Please share your voice and read other writers’ voices

So many people think that taking time to write is “self-indulgent” or doesn’t make a difference to the world. But it does. The more stories are shared, the more we understand the world. You have a point of view that’s unique.

There are still gatekeepers, still people who can reject work or try to get it taken off shelves. But we can fight back. Book bans are getting challenged. Wider narratives are appearing in bookshops and everywhere books are sold.

Vote for everyone getting a voice by reading wider: pick books about characters and written by people with different life experience than your own. Show publishing we want all those voices included.

Let’s keep this conversation going:
What have you seen recently that inspired you to read more widely?