SAA’s Rebecca visited the Tate Britain for the “Now You See Us – Women Artists In Britain” exhibition.
I recently had the privilege of visiting the Tate Britain for their “Now You See Us – Women Artists in Britain 1520 – 1920” exhibition. The point of this exhibition is to bring a spotlight to female artists in Britain, throughout eras in which women in art were looked down upon, and the act of a woman painting was considered to be “unbecoming”.
The Tate Britain itself is a beautiful building, filled with multiple rooms of incredible art, most of which is free to view. Simply looking around the Tate is a great day out in itself, regardless of whether you’re coming for a specific exhibition, or you just wish to see the art they have on display that is free to view.
Inside the Tate Britain
The exhibition begins with mainly portraiture, and a display of “The First Professionals” which detailed some of the first known professional female artists. A document written in 1658 by historian William Sanderson, had only four women listed as professional artists working with Oil Paint. Two of those Artists were Mary Beale, and Joan Carlile, both of whom feature heavily in the exhibition. The lack of female artists in this list highlights how rare it was for women to be recognised as professionals in the art space, this is mostly because of women having little to no agency over their own careers during this period.
Anne Sotheby by Mary Beale (Oil on Canvas)
Further along in the exhibition I saw some of the most breath-taking art I have ever had the opportunity to see, and the one that stood out the most to me was this gigantic piece by Henrietta Rae with its striking golden frame. The sheer size of the painting, the detail and the pastel shades of paint used are really something to see. In fact I came back to this painting a second time after I had viewed the other artwork, just to bask in its beauty and take in all the smaller details that you might miss on first glance. The painting depicts the Greek myth of Psyche and Venus, with Psyche laying on the floor before Venus, surrounded by women draped in flowing gowns. Something that struck me about paintings from this time period, is how delicate the faces of women are painted, with round, full cheeks and soft expressions.
Psyche before the throne of Venus by Henrietta Rae
The first art exhibition in Britain took place in London in 1760, and women played an active part in this, with around 900 women taking part in exhibitions from 1760 to 1830. The exhibitions were often held at the Royal Academy, in which two founding members were female – Mary Moser and Angelica Kauffman. Despite being founding members, they were not permitted to attend council meetings were not awarded full membership to the academy. Women were not permitted to become members of the Royal Academy until 1860, but they would not have full memberships like their male counterparts.
‘Colouring’ by Angelica Kaufman
It is also noted that in exhibitions, women were often critiqued as being “weak” when it came to drawing the human figure, despite being denied entry to life-drawing classes at the Royal Academy. Two petitions are on display in the exhibition, showing that in 1860 (100 years after the first ever exhibition in London), female Royal Academy students wanted access to life drawing classes, with a letter explaining that without access to the classes “we cannot hope to rise above mediocrity”. Their request was rejected, and women would be excluded from life drawing classes until 1893, 33 years later.
Petitions to The Royal Academy
The Royal Academy considered watercolour painting and pastels as “lower” art forms, these were also the art forms that women practiced the most. In 1770 the Royal Academy banned needle-work, artificial flowers, paper work and shell work from their exhibitions. They described pastels as “just what ladies do when they paint for their own amusement”. Despite this description, many women would do pastel artwork and needle work to earn a living, most of their patrons were also women, which I personally think is a real testament to women supporting other women throughout the ages.
An Essay on a New Theory of Colours – Mary Gartside – 1808
In the 1800’s watercolour was considered a “polite art” that was best suited to women, although there were few opportunities for women to practise this professionally. Despite the odds being stacked against them, many female watercolourists gained significant commercial success, allowing them to take more control over their own careers. In 1857, a group of women founded the Society of Female Artists (later known as The Society of Women Artists) to help promote the work of women artists in Britain.
Lady Artists at The Royal Academy
Looking forward in time to 1918, (some) women finally gained the right to vote, marking a significant change in how women were treated within society. Along with societal views, the art world was also changing; some art groups began to favour modernism and reject traditional styles. However, the Royal Academy, a venue that remained true to traditionalism, was still not permitting women to have full memberships. Laura Knight became the first female to receive full membership since the eighteenth century. This is where the exhibition concludes, with a peak into the very symbolic shift towards modern art styles, and post-World War one artworks.
If you have the time to spare, I highly recommend a visit to this enlightening and beautiful exhibition. From the awe-inspiring artwork to the educational information, it really is a worthwhile trip. I will leave you with another of my favourites from the exhibition, detailing a female artist hanging up her dress for the day after a painting session, something that was deemed “unpolite” and was unable to be hung in the artist’s home.
‘A Modern Cinderella’ by Louise Jopling
“Now You See Us – Women Artists in Britain 1520 – 1920” exhibition is at Tate Britain until 13th October 2024.
For more information about this exhibition, and to purchase tickets to visit, go to tate.org.uk.