Many female artists would argue that their gender is an irrelevant aspect of their work - but when they continue to be underrepresented in art galleries, it becomes necessary to champion it.
For International Women’s Day, we’ve collected eight of the most brilliant female artists whose work is on show in London galleries.
A report in 2013 found that only 5% out of more than 100 commercial galleries in London had an equal split of male and female artists.
Those heading up major London art galleries like Tate have made a commitment to address the gender imbalance in permanent collections and temporary exhibitions, but a world in which gallery walls reflect the people within them is still something of a waiting game.
Here are eight brilliant women artists whose work is on show in London right now.
Virginia Woolf by Vanessa Bell (née Stephen) (1912)
She got a portrait of her own - quite a few, in fact. Vanessa Bell painted her sister Virginia Woolf many times, often with a haunting, faceless quality that seems to have more than captured her essence as a brilliant, complicated woman. It’s part of the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection, where it is currently on show.
Angelica Kauffman RA, Self-portrait (1770)
Angelica Kauffman was one of the founding members of the RA, but she has half the reputation that she deserves. She created a number of self-portraits in attempt to securely make her image a well-remembered part of art history.
Mary Moser RA, Spring (ca. 1780)
Fellow female RA founder Mary Moser is all too readily dismissed as a girly flower painter, like other female artists (Georgia O’Keeffe, anyone?). As someone who helped bring the RA into being, her impact is, inevitably, continually underestimated.
Gwen John, Dorelia in a Black Dress (c.1903-4)
Welsh artist Gwen John championed the sisterhood when she painted her friend and fellow artists Dorelia McNeill on a trip where they slept rough in France and sketched their way around the country. They took new opportunities for women artists in the early 20th century, training at the Slade School of Art and joining a group of bohemian artists. See this work at Tate Britain.
Agnes Martin, Faraway Love (1999)
Restrained but yet full of emotional power, this painting by Agnes Martin can be seen at Tate Modern. Women are often asked to justify themselves, to entertain or accommodate: Martin’s unashamedly abstract work resists those demands.
Rachel Ruysch, Flowers in a Vase (about 1685)
Dutch artist Rachel Ruysch is one of the few female artists in the National Gallery’s permanent collection, representing women in the field of still lifes and flowers in the 17th and 18th century.
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self Portrait in a Straw Hat, after 1782
Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun‘s work is on show in the National Gallery, with this self-portrait marking her claim as a celebrated portrait painter of her time. Famous patronage-givers included Queen Marie Antoinette.
Artemisia Gentlieschi, Self-portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1615-17
The National Gallery recently acquired this self-portrait of 17th century painter Artemisia Gentileschi, who is notable for overcoming restrictions placed on women in the 17th century by becoming a celebrated artist. In April 2020, the gallery will hold a major exhibition of her work, which will double the amount of work by women that can be seen there.
