Cathy's Art Diary

Passionate interview at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival of the author and art historian, Katy Hessel. Interviewed by Jon King, Hessel, author of the now famous "The History of Art Without Men" was discussing her new book "How to Live an Artful Life" which brings together daily quotes from artists and writers on creativity to inspire. I was astonished at how well she remembered quotes. The discussion broadened out into the barriers people face going into art galleries and the role of art. I loved Hessel saying that art is the truest representation of a time. The event had been due to have another speaker, Kate Bryan, who has written "How to Art" who had to pull out at the last minute. Hessel ably filled the evening but a second voice might have broadened the discussion.

Interesting discussion at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival examining the work of Vanessa Bell. The talk brought together Wendy Hitchmaugh, who had recently released a new biography of Bell focusing on her art as well as her life, and Kate Hessel, author of the successful "The Story of Art Without Men". The event was well chaired by Jon King, research fellow who also has a book on Bell due out in a couple of months. The all highlighted how radical Bell's art was and how she created spaces for people to gather and work together from the house whose garden we were sitting in to important art groups. They also looked at the barriers she faced to working and selling her paintings. Needless to say, if you know me, I bought the biography and got it signed.  

Interesting online lecture from the National Gallery to mark International Women’s Day looking at how women artists have supported other women artists. The discussion between Amy Mechowski and Jon King started by looking at Rosa Bonheur and how she mentored her female partners who were also artists. They also used her to look at how difficult it was for women to train as artists until the late 19th century. They also looked at Adelaide Labille-Guiard and Louise Vigree le Brun and how society set them up as rivals in the 18th century. They also looked in detail at Labille-Guiard’s self-portrait with two of her pupils. They came up to date by looking at some of the artists in residence in the gallery and what they have done to rebalance the collection.