Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe, 1890-1940

by Elle Freak, Tracey Lock, Wayne Tunnicliffe

This richly illustrated museum catalog tells the compelling story of Australian women artists who helped shape international modernism. From the early 1900s through the mid-century, these bold, ambitious women left Australia to study and work in Europe — defying expectations, breaking barriers, and making their mark on a global stage. Through a mix of in-depth essays and concise thematic explorations, Dangerously Modern sheds light on both the art and the lives behind it. It reveals how these artists — often excluded from prestigious academies and exhibitions — created powerful networks of support, aligned themselves with the women’s suffrage movement, and carved out professional identities in a male-dominated art world. It’s the first publication to fully recognize the international significance of Australian women in modernist art — not as assistants or footnotes, but as vital creative forces during a time of rapid cultural change.

360 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 2025

Reviews

[Orphia Nay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia in August 2025, and this is the accompanying volume, filled with quality reproductions of the artworks and engrossing commentary on the works and the artists.

It presents 50 trailblazing women who studied, worked, and exhibited in Europe's art scene, and how many were ignored by the Australian art scene.

I loved Dorrit Black's cubist forms and lively linocuts, Grace Crowley's futurist shapes, and Hilda Rix Nicholas' and Ethel Carrick's light-filled streetscapes.

I will be revisiting this book's writings and pictures again and again as a valuable reference to new-to-me art from often unsung skilled professionals.