The Victorian Society and Public Statues and Sculpture Association are holding a conference day on the 17th of September at the Art Workers Guild.

A new aesthetic or ‘mere decoration’? Architectural Sculpture in Britain 1850-1914 has been co-organised by the Victorian Society and the Public Statues and Sculpture Association, this hybrid conference will discuss architectural sculpture in Britain from 1850 to 1914 at the Art Workers Guild in London on Saturday 17 September 2022, and will be streamed online.

Tickets are available here.

About the talk: As the novelist Emile Zola famously stated in The Masterpiece (c.1886), being a sculptor was noted the ‘noblest and manliest of the arts.’ Such gendered language, frequently used at the time, created a barrier of expectations regarding the women who produced such works. The use of ‘noblest’ directly next to ‘manliest’ creates a clear link between prestige, skills and the physical strength associated exclusively with the male gender to undertake such production. Women were not conceived, in certain circles, as being able to design, model nor produce such ‘noble’ works especially in relation to the built environment. Firmly situating the practice of sculpture within the context of the Glasgow Society of Lady Artists (GSLA), a club established in 1882 by women, for women, the paper will discuss how the Glasgow based club, GSLA, helped to create a platform for such works before discussing several sculptors who were members of the club. The GSLA Club House, which by the mid-1890s had its own specifically designed exhibition space, provided the perfect platform for many of the sculptors to showcase new works before exhibiting them at larger, more prestigious shows. And by the early 1900s, GSLA boasted several Artist and Affiliate Members who produced sculptural pieces for the built environment. The paper will touch upon Artist and Affiliate members included Evelyn Mary Beale (1870-1944), Margaret Cross Primrose Findlay (1902-1968) and Phyllis Muriel Cowan Archibald (1880-1947).

Join Dr Karen Mailley-Watt, for Doors Open Day 2022, on a whirlwind journey through Victorian and Edwardian Glasgow where she will investigate some buildings and spaces which were occupied, run, or utilised by the city’s women.

Meet some of the women who frequented Glasgow’s first woman-only residential club, The Glasgow Society of Lady Artists, at 5 Blythswood Square. The club, established in 1882, boasted an array of pioneering women including artists, architects, doctors, nurses, teachers, activists, and philanthropists. By 1893 the club expanded membership to include non-artist and professional members creating a long waiting list. Due to its popularity, the society had to move premises several times to respond to, and to accommodate the members ever-changing needs.

Through this illustrative talk, Karen will also touch upon other spaces and buildings used by women during this time including the Ladies’ Department and library at the Glasgow Athenaeum. Where appropriate she will highlight some of the fundraising techniques including Fancy Fairs and Bazaars which were used to fund such spaces and support pro-woman causes.

‘Ladies have the Knack of Making the Most of Wall Space’: The Glasgow Society of Lady Artists since 1882’

The Glasgow Society of Lady Artists (GSLA), established in 1882, by eight female students of the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) was crucial in helping navigate the social, political and in some cases economic barriers placed before its Artist members. Established as an artists’ club, GSLA quickly developed into Scotland’s first residential club for women, opening its doors to lay members in the 1890s and thus servicing the needs for both the professional artist and women from other professional fields. Artist members included Ann Macbeth, Jessie M.King, Helen Paxton Brown, Grace Wilson Melvin and De Courcy Lewthwaite Dewar. From 1893 the club settled at a townhouse in 5 Blythswood Square. Over the years the building’s rooms were utilised as studios, for organising exhibitions, meetings, lectures and hosting a sketch club. Via fundraising in 1895, GSLA commissioned the architects Fred Rowntree and George Walton to design a custom exhibition gallery to showcase members’ works and visiting exhibitions. This short talk will discuss the three spaces occupied by GSLA in the 1880s and 1890s and how each of the spaces (135 Wellington Street, 22 Charing Cross and 5 Blythswood Square) were used as platforms to create visibility and opportunity for women.

Organiser: Women’s History Scotland

Transatlantic Showcase is free for everyone interested in Scottish women’s and gender history. Booking is through Eventbrite for the Showcase as a whole. We encourage participants to attend all three sessions, if possible, to enable reflection across presentations.