The long-invisible yet frequently invoked painting Women's Work: A Medley by Florence Claxton is being auctioned at Sothebys on 16 March. It has been splendidly cleaned and now looks superb. Here's hoping it will find a new and public home.
In it, Claxton illustrates the many obstacles faced by aspiring female professionals and the few occupations open, all centred around male gender supremacy.
Here's the thing [as we say now] For decades/centuries women's art ambitions were seriously hampered by the dominant [i.e. masculine] belief that no wife should pursue extra-domestic activities, and no husband should permit, let alone assist a wife to do so. In 1782 a satire demanded that Richard Cosway recall Maria to her first duty - 'shirts and shifts be making or be mending'. 'If Madam cannot make a shirt,' this continued; 'Or mend, or from it wash the dirt, Better than paint,' then Richard's stockings would be full of holes and his manhood in shreds. Even when fully capable of managing a household and educating children as well as making and mending, women who had grown up to regard marriage as their first aim - and had no other income - could seldom risk exposing husbands to mockery.
When Effie Gray married Everett Millais [as she chose to call him in reaction to the name John] he delegated to her all domestic responsibilities, including his social and professional diary. Friends and clients were told that she made all such arrangements - a duty that was probably not interrupted by the birth of eight children.
Several mid-20th century artists - a list would be useful - are on record as announcing that there could be only one professional in the house, and he must take precedence in respect of studio space, exhibitions, sales, critical reputation and public esteem. Wikipedia states that when John Bratby did not receive the same recognition as his wife Jean Cooke, he often painted over or slashed her canvases and restricted her painting time to three hours in the morning.
She retaliated with a great portrait of 'the artist as sulky husband'. and years later with a self portrait 'Not Waving but Painting'.
'
