Old Mistresses

Fascinating study day at the National Gallery chaired by Griselda Pollock, Professor of Social and Critical Histories of Art, University of Leeds , looking at how art history and the viewing of art had changed since the publication of her ground breaking book “Old Mistresses” in 1981.

The day began with Griselda outlining the reasons for writing the book and how she and her co-author had gone about it. This was followed by Margareta Gynning,  Senior Curator of the Natoionalmuseum Sweden, talking about how she works with other genres when curating exhibitions to tease out the meaning of the art and invite people to view an interpret it in their own ways.

Next were two talks looking at how female painters and female subject are represented in art. First was Jo Rhymer, Public Programmes Manager at Sotheby's Institute of Art, talking about Rosa Bonheur's "The Horse Fair” and how it it has been viewed differently over the years, from being acclaimed when it was first seen to now in storage at the National Gallery. Then we had Minna Moore-Ede from the National Gallery talking about an exhibition she has planned for 2015 on Renaissance Leda and the Swans.This was fascinating about how the three main versions were either destroyed or damaged in the French Royal Collection but copies survive which she hopes to bring together. I can’t wait!

The afternoon brought together black female artists  Labaina Himid and Ingrid Pollard to talk about whether treatment of female artists and changed since the book was published and how women have turned to collaborative working. This was followed by a look at  how the showing and purchasing of art by women had changed with Ruth Noack of the Royal College of Art and Frances Morris  from the Tate.

All in all a fascinating day which got quite philosophical at times. I came out of thinking more about how great artists emerge from an era and a movement and use the ideas to innovate and change things and about how there artists become the poster boys of art history rather than why these poster boys weren’t poster girls but still very stimulating.

 

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