Unlocking Women's Art: Pioneers, Visionaries & Radicals of Paint

by P.L. Henderson, Cheryl Robson (Editor)

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.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History

237 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2023

Reviews

[dreamgirlreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlocking Women’s Art by P.L. Henderson is a super informative and interesting read about the history of women in the arts. I especially loved the interviews with living female artists interspersed throughout! This one took me a while to get through only because there is so much educational subject matter gathered all in one place. You could teach a college level art history course with this book and revisit it for years to come. I recommend this to any art lovers interested to see how women’s place in art has evolved through time.

[Megan Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazing analysis and collection exploring women's art. I'll admit, that my knowledge of art history is surface level (I understand different genres and movements) but reading Unlocking Women's Art has me wanting to dive further and learn more about art history (more precisely women's art history). Each interview is informative and interesting as they discuss many different aspects of women's art and art history. The writing wasn't too academic, but I can see some finding it a bit hard to get into.

Overall, Unlocking Women's Art was a fascinating read that left me wanting to learn more. I highly recommend it if you love art history and want to learn more about artists who are hidden gems that shine bright in their work.

Thank you, NetGalley and Aurora Metro for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[haven ⋄ f (hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mix of art history and analyzing pieces. I found it very interesting and fun to read.

This book mainly focuses on Western art but touches on Eastern artists occasionally. Popular male artists taught in most art history classes are brought up and compared to women artists who worked in the same periods.

I found it analyzes art professionally and in a detailed way. It introduces symbols found in a variety of women’s art and analyzes them in the context of the artist’s intentions and the context within history. Notably, this book compares artistic symbols in works made by men to art done by women and says why something works or doesn’t work. This feels like a college course textbook rather than an in-depth analysis, due to the author covering so much time and so many artists.

The author mentions various power dynamics between artists and their models, especially male artists. It also touches on the difference in how men paint women (objectifying) while women artists understand the model’s perspective and can represent a natural and intimate scene. Another thing that was mentioned was the erasure of women artists, especially if their husbands/siblings/etc are well known (ex. Lee Krasner and her husband Jackson Pollock).

My biggest complaint is the cover. It works with the title but is fairly boring, and I wish they picked something else. If they picked a painting that better represented the title in a better way or if they commissioned an art piece for the cover, it might look better. Personally the artist interviews were not interesting to me at this time, so I skipped them. On a later reading I might look into them more.

* Thanks to the publisher Aurora Metro via Netgalley for an ebook!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re new to art or art history and want a way in to understanding women’s place in the canon, this is an excellent place to start. I have thought sometimes about how difficult it must be for women to make a living from art when they have other responsibilities. But the beauty of this book is that it also got me thinking about the artists who didn’t even pick up a brush commercially. What art have we lost forever because women didn’t have the opportunity to express their dreams?

"In the field of painting, women were not offered similar opportunities to train as male artists until the 20th century and even then faced specific obstacles. In fact, the very idea of 'the artist' over many centuries had a particularly exclusive male image. Even today, in major galleries or in the art section of a high street bookstore, the names of male painters continue to monopolise each space."

Ms Henderson interviews many female artists and it’s fascinating. How they got into the galleries and art shows. The sacrifices they made and why they’ve chosen particular themes or ideas.

There’s a lot going on in this book and it gave me loads of names to research and learn about.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley

[Mariama Thorlu-Bangura · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Unlocking Women's Art" explores how women carefully constructed their identities as artists. It also explores how certain themes were utilized by female artists as a way to break into the male-dominated art world.

P. L. Henderson presents 7 specific categories, providing a historic overview regarding each said category, followed by interviews with three female artists. As you read, it becomes evident that the book is worthy of being used in an art history class focused solely on female artists.

It's an interesting read and the art works included are wonderful to look at. For me, though, the 3 interviews seem a little much. One per chapter, I think, would have sufficed.

Thank you NetGalley and Aurora Metro/Supernova Books for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an art graduate, it was nice to see Henderson's promotion of Women artist's in a book format, having followed her twitter accounts for some years and learning quite a few gems that were of aid in my research when studying. This book honestly doesn't disappoint in given a concise history of women artists that have well been forgotten to the larger masses.

Much like her social media accounts, the book is very accessible to those interested in learning and are at the start of their journey for knowledge on art history, particularly those largely left out from the mainstream books.

Whilst I received an e-ARC thank to NetGalley and Supernova Books I would recommend that a physical copy would be a better option if you wish to admire the utterly beautiful artworks.

[the aesthete nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an art enthusiast and a woman, it's a shame that other than a few names like Freida Kalho, there are hardly any women from the world of art that I was previously familiar with.

This is a great entry point into tracing the history of art through women artists, riveting interviews with contemporary artists and absolutely brilliant full page illustrations.

I admit I have just skimmed through the book so far and going cover to cover involves taking copious notes and reading and savouring the book over time.

It's an absolutely must have in your collection if you are interested in art.

[Ana]

I think it is quite impossible for a book of this nature to be unsatisfactory, but even though the introduction rejects its encyclopedic nature, it does have a bit of that. It's not a list of artists, but the chapters end up feeling like enumerations of artists and works, very descriptive and contextual, but without really providing feminist criticism beyond the theoretical framework from which it starts: introducing women in the artistic canon. Nevertheless an interesting read about women artists who have always been in art history, but have been neglected.