No Great Women Artists

So says art critic Brian Sewell in the UK’s Independent:

"The art market is not sexist," Mr Sewell said. "The likes of Bridget Riley and Louise Bourgeois are of the second and third rank. There has never been a first-rank woman artist.

"Only men are capable of aesthetic greatness. Women make up 50 per cent or more of classes at art school. Yet they fade away in their late 20s or 30s. Maybe it’s something to do with bearing children."

This, just a paragraph after name-checking Artemisia Gentilleschi, widely regarded by her male contemporaries as one of the great painters of the 17th century.

Riiight, Mr. Sewell. It has everything to do with our uteruses, and nothing to do with men being the majority of art critics, art investors, art dealers and auction house managers. Please go suck on a lead paint-filled brush.

Pieces by male artists regularly go for tens of millions of dollars. By contrast, Marlene Dumas became the most expensive living woman artist at auction 2 weeks ago when her work The Visitor sold for £3.2m at Sotheby’s (roughly $6.4 million).

The Russian artist Natalia Goncharova holds the record for the most expensive female artist sold at auction, with her Les Fleurs selling for £5.5 million. Yet this pales in comparison with the £43m made by British male artist Francis Bacon’s "Triptych, 1976" in May – the most expensive piece of contemporary art sold at auction to date.

Nope, no sexism in the art world. Never mind the fact that works by Mary Cassatt are dismissed for containing subject matter that is "domestic" (i.e., important to women of her time) or that Georgia O’Keefe’s stunning paitings were sniffed at because they dared resemble female genitalia. Because, y’know, male-produced art never resembles male genitalia, right? Read the rest of the article <a href=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art-and-architecture/features/theres-never-been-a-great-woman-artist-860865.html>here.</a> Meanwhile, I and the rest of the fabulous female artists on my blogroll will go back to making beauty in the world.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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