The Modern Women Artists series
The Modern Women Artists series of collectable books reveals an alternative history of art, telling the story of important female artists whose art might otherwise be overlooked, overshadowed or forgotten. Working across a range of disciplines and artistic styles in the first half of the twentieth century, all of the women included in this series were modern. Read together, these books begin to redress the untold history of modern art, connecting stories of female creativity which the history books have all too often left out.
Pin buttons and Protests: Katy Norris on the Art of Sylvia Pankhurst
The daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst (who would become one of the most recognised names in the British women’s suffrage movement), Sylvia Pankhurst was raised in a socialist household and sought to lead a creative life. Through her striking portraits of women at work in the factories, as well as her designs for badges, banners, murals and even tea -sets, her artistic endeavours furthered the argument for universal equal rights.
Altogether, Pankhurst’s work created a visual culture for the modern women’s movement and her artistic output is only now being re-evaluated as a critical part of understanding British social history.
Author:
Katy Norris is an independent scholar and researcher and is an expert in Edwardian women artists. She is currently working as a postgraduate researcher in partnership with Tate and Bristol University on a collaborative Doctoral Award. Previously, she held the position of Curator at Pallant House Gallery, a leading museum of modern art in the UK. Katy read History of Art at the University of Warwick and the Courtauld Institute of Art and has curated exhibitions on various themes in Modern British art. Her publications include Sickert in Dieppe (2015) and Christopher Wood (2016).
Hosted by:
Harriet Olsen is the founder of Eiderdown Books. She established the independent publishing house specialising in books about women artists after more than a decade in museum publishing (and having lost count of the number of books she’d produced about male artists). Harriet is also Head of Publishing at Pallant House Gallery in Sussex.
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