Redressing the Balance: Women Artists from The Ingram Collection

Some of the best-known British artists of the 20th century were women. Artists such as Dame Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975) and Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-1993) worked against pre-conceptions to forge successful careers and contribute in ground-breaking ways to the histories of art. But these women remained the exception, and since the 1970s debate has taken place around why gender parity in the arts - in terms of exhibition representation, presence in museum collections and commercial success – is so hard to achieve.

Inequality in almost all areas of the art world still exist. Male artists dominate historical collections and museum exhibitions: statistics from 2012 reveal that work by women artists made up 3-5% of major museum collections in the US and Europe. The Ingram Collection is unusual in that 29% of its artists are women, rising to 64% in its collection of contemporary artists alone.

To support and inspire young women artists it is important for them to be able to see historical women artists in museums, and getting the critical and contextual placement they deserve. This tour explores the ideas and narratives behind paintings, sculptures, film and performance-based artworks by a variety of women artists in The Ingram Collection, placing works by well-known artists alongside those by women who have graduated from art school over the last twenty years.