Who were the pioneering female painters and who are the best contemporary women painters around today?
Highlighting artists from Gentileschi to Kahlo, art historian
PL Henderson’s new book, Unlocking Women’s Art focuses on
the female pioneers, visionaries and radicals of the painting medium. On a
journey through Western art history and with references to diverse global
artists, the fascinating lives of female painters and their artworks are
discussed within their often challenging cultural contexts.
In chapters which consider
identity, muses and models, the domestic space, the Avant-garde, in addition to
war, peace and protest, the world of women who paint is intriguingly unlocked. Why
did early female artists ingeniously encode their self-portraits? How did nature
as a theme open the doors to a forbidden professional realm? Which female
painters shocked the art establishment with their daring portrayals of the nude?
While these and many more interesting subjects are explored, in a similar
format to her successful book Unravelling Women’s Art, the author ends each
chapter with interviews of contemporary, global female painters, allowing absorbing
insights into their individual practices. Some of the contemporary artists interviewed include Shani Rhys James, Sungi Mlengeya and Sarah Maple.
