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The female gaze
LYNNE WALSH applauds a show of paintings that demonstrates the forward strides made by women over four centuries 
female

Now You See Us: Women artists in Britain 1520-1920 
Tate Britain, London

 

THIS is women’s work: brilliantly creative, tenacious, incandescent with passion, empathetic and rebellious.

There’s a word that crops up, though, in titles and texts: unknown. A portrait shows an Unknown Lady; it’s unknown where some artists trained; some painters had their names misspelled over the years. It’s almost as if no-one were paying attention to their talents.

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