Women Can't Paint: Gender, the Glass Ceiling and Values in Contemporary Art

by Helen Gorrill

Overview

In 2013 Georg Baselitz declared that 'women don't paint very well'. Whilst shocking, his comments reveal what Helen Gørrill argues is prolific discrimination in the artworld. In a groundbreaking study of gender and value, Gørrill proves that there are few aesthetic differences in men and women's painting, but that men's art is valued at up to 80 per cent more than women's. Indeed, the power of masculinity is such that when men sign their work it goes up in value, yet when women sign their work it goes down. Museums, the author attests, are also complicit in this vicious cycle as they collect tokenist female artwork which impinges upon its artists' market value. An essential text for students and teachers, Gørrill's book is provocative and challenges existing methodologies whilst introducing shocking evidence. She proves how the price of being a woman impacts upon all forms of artistic currency, be it social, cultural or economic and in the vanguard of the 'Me Too' movement calls for the artworld to take action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781788310802
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/06/2020
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Helen Gørrill is an artist, futurist, writer, editor, and educator lecturing in visual culture. She holds a PhD in contemporary painting, gender and inequality, and her artwork is digitally archived by the Brooklyn Museum's EASCFA collection. As an academic she applies disruptive techniques to challenge stagnancy in gender equality, feminist methodologies and the visual arts.

Table of Contents

List of figures ix

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction: Women can't paint 1

1 Masculinities and femininities in painting: The new androgynous aesthetics in contemporary art 21

2 The price of being a woman artist: Dollars, dirhams, pounds and euros 51

3 The museum exposed: Gendered visibilities and essentialist aesthetics through equality 73

4 Gender parity and arts prizes: 'Only men are capable of aesthetic greatness' 99

5 The importance of wearing the Right Old (Art) School Tie: Networking, gender and painting values 117

6 Sexism and ageism in visual art values: 'But men are allowed to be old or ugly!' 133

7 Smashing the glass ceiling of women's art: Manifestos for equality that could actually work 155

Conclusion: Baselitz's folly: Women can paint 171

Glossary 183

Appendices 189

Appendix 1 Contemporary British painters with 'Top 100' visibility at the 1992-4 London auctions 190

Appendix 2 Contemporary British painters with 'Top 100' visibility at the 2012-14 London auctions 193

Appendix 3 Contemporary British painters with 'Top 100' visibility at the 1992-4 London auctions per cm² 196

Appendix 4 Contemporary British painters with 'Top 100' visibility at the 2012-14 London auctions per cm² 199

Appendix 5 Top 10 performing female artists in the sample: The United States 202

Appendix 6 Top 10 performing male artists in the sample: The United States 203

Appendix 7 Top 10 performing female artists in the sample: The Middle East 204

Appendix 8 Top 10 performing male artists in the sample: The Middle East 205

Appendix 9 Top 10 performing female artists in the sample: The UK 206

Appendix 10 Top 10 performing male artists in the sample: The UK 207

Appendix 11 Top 10 performing female artists in the sample: Europe (other than the UK) 208

Appendix 12 Top 10 performing male artists in the sample: Europe (other than the UK) 209

Appendix 13 How gender/the brand of femininity impacts upon aesthetic variables and sales 210

Appendix 14 How gender/the brand of masculinity impacts upon aesthetic variables and sales 211

Appendix 15 Gender equality (age at creation of artwork) in the Finnish National Gallery: A global comparison 212

Appendix 16 An assessment of the levels of abstraction or figuration in contemporary paintings at the Finnish National Gallery 213

Appendix 17 An assessment of the subject matter in contemporary paintings at the Finnish National Gallery 214

Appendix 18 An assessment and global comparison of the average scale of paintings 215

Appendix 19 A global assessment of the use of media in contemporary paintings 216

Appendix 20 A global assessment of supports in contemporary paintings 217

Notes 218

References 253

Index 278

Editorial Reviews

A detailed analysis of how women are sidelined in the art world – and how they can fight back… a sound exposé of the systematic vilification of art by women.” —Times Higher Education

From the Publisher