Art Appreciation: British Women Artists: 1970-2020

The work of female artists in the 1970s is frequently marked by its engagement with the politics of feminism. The launch of the women’s liberation movement in Britian in 1970 and the demand for equality in the workplace coupled with a desire for the recognition of work in the domestic sphere frequently led artists to focus on the political in art, whilst experimenting with new ways of working. Works such as Maureen Scott’s 'Mother and Child at Breaking Point' (1970) captures the experience of many women at this time. In the 1980s female artists such as Lubaina Himid and Sonia Boyce helped to make the work of Black artists more visible through their involvement with the Black Arts Movement. Despite these changes the work of women artists, and in particular that of Black and South Asian artists, continued to be marginalised. Much of the work of female artist of the 70s and 80s has received little attention.

In the late 1980s a group of young British artists, the YBAs, rose to prominence, with their work dominating the landscape of British art in the following decades. Sarah Lucas, Rachel Whiteread, Tracey Emin and others frequently used non-traditional materials, such as concrete, plastic, organic material and detritus to create their works. Many of the YBAs were graduates of the BA course in Fine Art at Goldsmiths college, a course that foregrounded conceptual art. In the 21st century the practice of female artists covers a wide range of themes and practices from the expressive portraits of Chantal Joffe, to Rana Begum’s abstract explorations of space, light and colour. These artists along with those already mentioned and many more will help to build a picture of contemporary women artists’ practice.