DANGEROUSLY MODERN: Australian Women artists in Europe 1890-1940
“Coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of International Women’s Year, Dangerously Modern explores the art and lives of fifty women we defied societal expectations in their pursuit of international careers. With verve, they broke free from the hangover of Victorian constraints, joining a wave of thousands worldwide drawn to ‘the call of Europe’.”
Walking into the exhibition, we are at first guided into a smallish style, Victorian, parlour. It is quiet, subdued, pale blue where glass cabinets display small watercolour portrait paintings on ivory. It sets the scene for domesticity, restriction, creating small and even where dreams of a different life take place.
The exhibition of 220 works is arranged in a series of themes and chronological order. From the very early works of the 1890’s, the viewer is introduced to female artists who found the means to travel beyond Australian shores, some through privileged disposition and others through working, for example as teachers or governesses.
Throughout the exhibition we begin to learn of the many connections between the artists who branched out, settled in ‘exotic’ places, and encouraged their peers to follow.
A graph lists the fifty artists where we can follow the countries to which they travelled, including England, Ireland, Europe, Africa, and America.
It was difficult for the early women who wanted to study under masters, as their study fees and accommodation was set at double that for male students. They often joined together to share lodgings, and to support each other on their individual journeys.
Some gradually began to show their artworks, were invited to exhibit, and had works acquired. When Thea Proctor returned to Sydney from London in 1926, she was “surprised to find her art labelled as ‘dangerously modern’. She sensed the perceived danger was in her departure from realism.”
Many of the featured artists in the exhibition were, in their time, acknowledged, but virtually forced into invisibility as wars and waves of fickle art interests fluctuated for the next fifty plus years. Artists such as Violet Teague and Hilda Rix Nicholas were war artists. A most poignant portrait (1917), dead in a field, in the form of a crucifix, was the tribute Hilda Rix Nicholas painted for her husband, who was killed shortly after their marriage.
When I looked at the graph of travel that these women had undertaken, it is amazing to consider the sheer resilience, determination, and dedication to their practice they possessed.
Ola Cohn, was one of those women who felt the desire for international study, eventually working with the English sculptor, Henry Moore.
Women artists who travelled and returned to join MSWPS are included in the exhibition. Ethel Carrick Fox, Hilda Rix Nicholas, Violet Teague, and Jessie Traill.
A most in-depth publication accompanies the exhibition, which closed on 7 September, however, is available online and can be purchased with a discount to NGV Members.
Podcasts are available Listen to on Spotify, Soundcloud and apple Podcasts. Link into AGSA Podcasts for the series.
Denise Keele-bedford
Image: Three works by Agnes Goodsir
