Then and now

As this is the first post, perhaps I should briefly introduce myself and this project.  I have been researching the lives and works of female artists, initially focussed on the late Renaissence to the mid 1800s. I have been making a series of works in response to this (www.vickicooke.com) and this blog hopes to capture some of my thoughts during the process.

I have spent a lot of time looking at the lives and struggles of women artists from the past, and wondering how much of this is relevent to women working today.  Women now are very much a feature of the art world and there are many famous names one could use to back up the hypothesis that there are now equal opportunities for men and women in the arts.  However, this data piece from the Guardian website on women's representation in the art world shows up many of the disparities that still exist.

No. of women artists in the top 100 sellers at Sotheby's - 0

Percentage of public art commissions by women - 14%

Percentage of women artists represented in the Tate Modern - 17%

Perhaps hidden behind the headline-grabbing famous names, the same gender barriers persist.  The women artists of the past were often famous in their lifetimes, feted by critics and commissioned by royalty.  Sofonisba Anguissola was headhunted by the King of Spain to be his official court painter, Judith Leyster ran a successful and well respected studio and Angelika Kauffman was one of the original Royal Academicians.  However, they have slipped into obscurity as time passed and their names are barely known by audiences today.  

How do we know that this will not be the fate of today's women artists?  In 200 years time, will researchers be painstakingly trying to piece together the life and work of Rachel Whiteread and Cornelia Parker, based on a few surviving fragments?

Fragment: Chiara Varotari, Vicki Cooke, 2013