Observations: Women in Art and Design History is a small but mighty book, published by the National Gallery of Victoria on International Women’s Day in 2023, following the gallery’s 2022 landmark seminar series of the same name. Both the seminars and the book examine the historical, often forgotten contributions of women to the fields of art and design from 1500-1970. The book’s title is an ode to English artist Mary Beale’s 1633 text Observations by MB, which is widely recognised as the first manuscript on painting written by a woman artist. Discussion and publishing are vital propagators of culture, and in the case of women artists and designers, who had to find a way out of the shadows prior to the 20th century, these mediums have proved invaluable. Many ground-breaking seminars occurred since Beale published her first text, such as those held by Lavinia Fontana and Suzanna Paladin, and others during the Bauhaus era. This book represents another conversation with the much needed, ongoing dialogue.
Collated over its 240 pages, Observations presents insights from international historians, writers and curators – including Jennifer Higgie, Dr Adelina Modesti, Professor Elizabeth Otto and Dr Penelope Hunting – into the struggles female artists and designers faced, essentially chronicling their quest to practice, exhibit and stand on equal footing to their male contemporaries. Editorial formats include transcripts from the National Gallery of Victoria’s 2022 seminars, interviews and panel discussions, and excerpts from historical essays and articles that together paint a picture of some of the most influential names and the social and cultural forces they had to overcome to no longer be “hidden artists” but entirely visible; welcomed into the professional art and design domain that was, and still is, ruled by men.
There are examples from Paris, Vienna and London and coverage of such movements as Baroque, English Arts and Crafts, Bauhaus and Modernism. Notable artists and designers are celebrated, such as Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614), Suzanna Paladin (1865-1938), Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011), Ellen Woodward (1859-1943), Ray Eames (1912-1988), Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (1864-1933), Lilly Reich (1885-1947), Grete Schütt Lihotzky (1897-2000), Eileen Gray (1878-1976), Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999), and Aino Maria Marsio-Aalto (1984-1949). From these inspiring women’s stories, readers can grasp the importance of available creative studio space and access to formal or self-directed study, the role of empowerment and collaboration, and the impact of the press and photography on cultivating a female art and design movement with staying power.
The retelling of these significant creative legacies reveals how this group of women, and many others, paved the way for themselves and future female artists and designers to be taken seriously. It’s a never-ending quest, but nonetheless, Observations offers penty of inspiration and hope.
The book’s introduction concludes with this mission statement from the National Gallery of Victoria: “We acknowledge that there is always much more to be done to better represent women artists and to redress the gaps that have emerged over hundreds of years of collecting. By telling their stories and making more visible the contributions of the artists whose works we do represent, and that of their peers, we hope to champion the artists and designers and the scholars who make their lives and stories known to us.”
Observations: Women in Art and Design History won the 2023 International Book Awards in the General History category. It is available for purchase through the National Gallery of Victoria.
