Great Female Artists.

It has often been said that women get the short end of stick in our society. We have all heard of how difficult it is for a female to get a high level job in many careers. We here time and time again of the way women are treated as inferior to men. These assertions may or may not be true today, but certainly have been an issue in the past. The art world has not been spared from the issue of perceived female inequality.

It has been asked, “Why are there no great female artists”, Linda Nochlin attempted to answer this question in an article by the same name. It was her assertion that there really had not been any great female artists. It seems, however, that this is not due to female inferiority. Instead it seems to revolve around a lack of opportunity. In times past women artists were not treated seriously. They were not given the opportunity for education in the arts. The few who were educated had great difficulty making others take their art work seriously.

The question must be asked, if more women had been educated and accepted would one of those be considered by art historians as a “great” artists? Men have had the opportunity for training in art for ages. They have also had the opportunity to have their work exhibited and appreciated. There have been many men over many years who had these opportunities. That means the odds are pretty good that there have been some “great” male artists. Women, on the other hand, were not accepted in the past. It has only been in recent times that women began to be accepted as serious artists. That means that there have been fewer women than men over a shorter period of time that opportunity to be “great”. That really cuts down the odds of there having been a “great” female artist up to this point.

Many men today still fail to look at female artists with the respect that they deserve. Women have just as much potential as men to be excellent artists. It is sometimes hard for me to see the problem because I see female artist as equal with male artists. That is probably the case because I have many peers that are females. I also have been taught by women and see them as just as competent as my male professors.

Women truly have been given the short end of the stick in the art world. It is only fairly recently that they have had the opportunity that men have had had for centuries. It is very likely that with expanding opportunities there will be many great female artists in time to come. Women are just as talented as men and deserve the same respect and adoration that men receive for their art work.