Gallery 14 - Art of Empowerment
The Art of Empowerment
The turn of the 20th century saw dramatic changes in women's social and political history. During this time there were also considerable changes in the way women were represented in and expressed themselves through art.
In the 1800s women were expected to restrict their interests to the home and the family. Very few were encouraged to obtain a university education or to pursue a professional career. Only after decades of intense political activity did women eventually win the right to vote.
Social and political change empowered women to exert their influence outside the home and to publicly express themselves through art. The evidence of this change can be seen throughout this display.
Political Reform
The women’s suffrage movement was the struggle for the right of women to vote and run for political office. Organised campaigns began in 1866 and reached their peak at the turn of the century.
Allegiance to the cause could be expressed creatively through art, literature, music and even in clothing and accessories. Women campaigning for suffrage were experts in their use of jewellery as a tool for political expression. They made their views known without saying a word.
‘Purple as everyone knows is the royal colour. It stands for the royal blood that flows in the veins of every Suffragette, the instinct of freedom and dignity […] white stands for the purity in private and public life […] green is the colour of hope and the emblem of spring.’ Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence
Many prominent female artists supported the women’s rights movement. These artists often incorporated strong female figures in their work.
Green, purple and white were associated with the suffrage movement. Supporters of the cause often used these colours in their artworks.
Artist and Maker
In the early 1900s, women’s creativity became much more visible. Traditionally art and craft produced by women makers had been less visible to the public eye, and largely for the home.
The Arts and Crafts movements of the late 1800s was a reaction against industrial mass production and promoted traditional crafts. Women were encouraged to join the movement, but their work was often under-valued compared to that of their male peers. Regardless of this inequality, women were paid for their work and were able to expand their influence outside their domestic life. This was a step towards the idea of emancipation.
The progression of women’s movements and the advent of the First World War meant that the relationship between gender and art production changed dramatically. Due to the war, fewer men were creating and exhibiting work. As a result more work by female artists was exhibited.
Subject and Sitter
In the years leading up to the First World War there was a torrent of radical social, cultural and artistic change. This is reflected in the way that women were depicted in art.
Portraits of middle- and upper-class women traditionally reflected the wealth and positions of their husbands and families. These women were painted in the expensive high fashions of the day, which were often physically restrictive. The widely held view of women as ornamental and refined was reinforced by the way in which artists represented them.
Women’s rights movements developed rapidly during this time. The way women were portrayed in art changed as society changed. They were no longer shown as status symbols. Later artworks in this period contrast with the traditional perspective and show women in a daring, modern way.
![Untitled [Unstrung Forms Series] by Wilhelmina Barns-Graham](/internal/media/dispatcher/54999/thumbnail)
