For many hundreds of years, men paid artists to make art, decided which art to buy, and decided which art could be shown in and bought by museums.

Most of the artists were men, because women were expected to be at home having children and looking after the house. There were women artists, but for a long time it was harder for them to find chances to show their art.

Later, male art historians wrote about male artists but most of them ignored women artists. People assumed the term “artist” referred to a man. By selecting a group of women artists in our collection, we are highlighting the hard work of women making art. We are still interested in the history of male artists as well. We just want to hear more voices and different stories.