Why is everything that compromises greatness in art coded as 'feminine'? Has the feminist critique of Art History history yet effected real change? With a new preface by Griselda Pollock, this edition of a truly groundbreaking book offers a radical challenge to a women-free Art History. Parker and Pollock's critique of Art History's sexism leads to expanded, inclusive readings of the art of the past. They demonstrate how the changing historical social realities of gender relations and women artists' translation of gendered conditions into their works provide keys to novel understandings of why we might study the art of the past. They go further to show how such knowledge enables us to understand art by contemporary artists who are women and can contribute to the changing self-perception and creative work of artists today. In March 2020 Griselda Pollock was awarded the Holberg Prize in recognition of her outstanding contribution to research and her influence on thinking on gender, ideology, art and visual culture worldwide for over 40 years. Old Mistresses was her first major scholarly publication which has become a classic work of feminist art history.

In this survey of the achievement of women artists, the author evaluates and presents examples of the painting and sculpture of nearly 100 artists and provides information on many others, delineating the social and cultural context in which their work has been produced. Each chapter opens with an introduction to a period, with particular reference to women's education, status and accepted roles at the time, as well as to the possibilities open - and closed - to the incipient woman artist. A section devoted to each important artist includes a biography and a discussion of the artist's work and its significance to the period.

This book includes some 200 complete entries from the award-winning Dictionary of Women Artists, as well as a selection of introductory essays from the main volume.

First Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A survey of feminist art from suffrage posters to The Dinner Party and beyond: “Lavishly produced images . . . indispensable to scholars, critics and artists.” —Art Monthly Once again, women are on the march. And since its inception in the nineteenth century, the women’s movement has harnessed the power of images to transmit messages of social change and equality to the world. From highlighting the posters of the Suffrage Atelier, through the radical art of Judy Chicago and Carrie Mae Weems, to the cutting-edge work of Sethembile Msezane and Andrea Bowers, this comprehensive international survey traces the way feminists have shaped visual arts and media throughout history. Featuring more than 350 works of art, illustration, photography, performance, and graphic design—along with essays examining the legacy of the radical canon—this rich volume showcases the vibrancy of the feminist aesthetic over the past century and a half.