1900 - 1940s
The first half of the 20th century saw the tumultuous beginnings of modernity across culture, society and art. The rapidly emerging urban landscape became a recurrent subject for many Australian artists—fast moving automobiles, aeroplanes, boats and the construction of skyscrapers opened up new vistas and possibilities.
More broadly, efforts for women’s equality in Australia occurred alongside the movements toward Federation, and in 1902 non-Indigenous women were granted the right to vote in federal elections across all states and territories. International Women’s Day was established in 1910, at the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, and the 113th International Women’s Day was celebrated this year on March 8th.
The trauma and widespread human suffering of the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Great Depression, drove many artists to undermine tradition. In particular, women artists took up this opportunity and fearlessly challenged subject matter previously held in the domain of men. Many of these artists were well travelled, financially independent and gained access to an education that was previously unattainable. Artists like Bessie Gibson, Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith travelled and lived overseas in cultural hubs like Paris or London, where they were exposed to art, ideas, opportunities and networks they would not have been afforded in Australia. As such, they gained a level of recognition, albeit lesser than their male contemporaries. Nevertheless, patriarchal bias within art continued to determine how women artists worked and how they gained access to training, education and professional opportunities.
While many sought better prospects outside Australia, there was also a great influx of immigration after the First World War. Artists such as Winifred Towers migrated with her husband from England in 1926. Towers had undertaken studies at Portsmouth and Gosport Schools of Art, and her talent was recognised with the award of a three-year scholarship to the Royal College of Art, London; however, she could not pursue these studies at this prestigious institution. Here in Australia, she carved out a career with the Half Dozen Group, which she joined after her first solo exhibition in 1937 at the Royal Queensland Art Society. Established in 1943, the Half Dozen Group began as a breakaway from the Art Society. It was led by fellow English expat Lilian Pedersen, whose work Evening Shadows 1945 is also included in this exhibition.