Activism

Laura Sylvia Gosse, The Printer, c. 1915, oil on canvas. Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, United Kingdom, Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund, 1978, AG 1978/318

In addition to creating room in which to make art, network, and exhibit their work, the women artists featured in this exhibition were social and political activists in their private, everyday lives and in public as well as in more formal, organized ways. In challenging traditional domestic roles, advocating for a woman’s right to vote, breaking glass ceilings in their profession, and serving their country’s needs through employment or volunteerism during the First and Second World Wars, these women prompted change and established new opportunities for themselves and fellow artists as well as people outside of their profession.