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Original poster

We'd like to see more art by women in our galleries

107 replies

ArtforallbyallwithArtActivistBarbie · 27/07/2023 10:34

Hello all
If you went into a number of our public galleries you could be forgiven for thinking that only white men ever painted in the past, and like all of us who have thought that, you'd be wrong! Even in the middle ages, women painted, and as the centuries went by, more and more women fought against the odds to paint.

In the National Gallery, of 1056 paintings on display, do you know how many are by women?

Eight. Yes Eight. Less than 1%

At the moment, government places no requirement on the galleries they fund to address inequalities in their collections. ArtActivistBarbie and ArtforAllbyAll are trying to change this.

Please please help us persuade them by signing our petition!

https://www.change.org/ArtByEveryone

Sign the Petition

Tell government we want more art by women on our gallery walls!

https://www.change.org/ArtByEveryone

OP posts:
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Sausagenbacon · 27/07/2023 11:06

no - the OP categorically stated that there were female artists in the Middle Ages.

RebelliousCow · 27/07/2023 11:05

The Tate certainly exhibits many works by women - - but the problem with the Tate ( certainly the branch in my city), for me, is that It increasingly feel like I'm being indoctrinated and lectured to - and so go less and less frequently now.

Sausagenbacon · 27/07/2023 11:05

and show me some of these works from female painters (if they exist).

Clymene · 27/07/2023 11:05

Sausagenbacon · 27/07/2023 11:04

to repeat - you could only be a painter in the Middle Ages by being in a guild. So there would have been no female painters.

Is all art in galleries from the Middle Ages? Confused

Sausagenbacon · 27/07/2023 11:04

to repeat - you could only be a painter in the Middle Ages by being in a guild. So there would have been no female painters.

WarriorN · 27/07/2023 11:02

Actually, the OP does know quite a bit about art history. It's not a political agenda.

Traditional art galleries reflect who was involved in the history of art - who was controlling the historical record of you like, of the 19th and 20th centuries.

"The greats" were curated by white middle class middle aged men during this time, as much as the constraints of gender roles did at the time of Caravaggio, Botticelli, Durer etc.

Yes there were fewer female artists but they did exist. There was a second "filter" thanks to the art historians.

This isn't about ditching all of those people, not at all. It's redressing some balance.

On the flip side, there's a huge issue with boys not taking art at gcse and alevel (see 'The Art Criminal' who has been working tirelessly on raising awareness of this for ages, as do has the NSEAD. Which I'm sure AAB knows about)

Sausagenbacon · 27/07/2023 10:50

no. Do I want to see less Caravaggio, Botticelli, Durer etc, to fit your political agenda? No.
In the Middle Ages, painters were members of guilds, who strictly controlled entry, and who definitely wouldn't have allowed women to join. So I would like to know where you get that misconception from.