"Artfully Dressed: Women in the Art World", Volume II: Art & Fashion Historians by The Weiss Gallery

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

ARTFULLY DRESSED

Women in the Art World Portraits by Carla van de Puttelaar

Volume II: Art & Fashion Historians 5

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Unless stated otherwise, copyright in this catalogue (including content and design) is owned by Carla van de Puttelaar and The Weiss Gallery. All images ÂŠ 2018 Carla van de Puttelaar You may not reproduce, adapt, modify, communicate to the public, reproduce or otherwise use any part of this catalogue without the express written permission from Carla van de Puttelaar and The Weiss Gallery. All rights reserved. 2

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

CONTENTS Amber Butchart, 65 Flora Crichton-Stuart, 67 Floortje Evelein, 69 Maria Golovteeva, 71 Karen Hearn FSA, 73 Magdalena Herrera, 75 Ana Howie, 77 Cathinka Huizing, 79 Jane Malcolm-Davies PhD, 81 Hannah Marples, 85 Ninya Mikhaila, 87 Professor Aileen Ribeiro, 89 Diana Scarisbrick FSA, 91 Harriet Stoop-de Meester, 93 Professor Judy Sund, 95 Dorien Tamis PhD, 97 Jenny Tiramani, 99 Abbie Vandivere PhD, 101 Lisanne Wepler PhD, 103 Rahel Zoller, 105

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

ART & FASHION HISTORIANS 63

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Amber Butchart & The Tudor Tailors Amber (center) is a fashion historian and author working across cultural heritage, broadcasting and academia, who specialises in the historical intersections between dress, politics and culture. She is an Associate Lecturer at London College of Fashion, a former Research Fellow at the University of the Arts London, and is a regular speaker at London’s cultural hotspots from Tate to the V&A – and as far afield as Dubai and Moscow. Amber has contributed to numerous productions for the BBC, Sky Arts and Channel 4, and has written and presented documentaries for Radio 4. She has recently finished filming a series for BBC4 on what our clothes can teach us about history. Her publications include ‘British Fashion Illustration: Society and the Seasons’, ‘The Fashion of Film’ and ‘Nautical Chic’. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I have no specific role in the art world. I’m a fashion historian, so my work intersects areas of academia, broadcasting, publishing and museums. My work also has crossover with art history, as it’s often from paintings that we glean information about dress. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I enjoyed recreating the feel of old masters. And I love any opportunity to dress up! Do you have a favourite artist? I think it’s very difficult to choose one favourite. A lot of the time the artists I study are for context, so figurative realism is valued, but aesthetically I love the movement and life in the abstraction of Kandinsky. What is your earliest memory involving art? My father was a sculptor and sometime painter in his earlier life so his pieces and his workshop (our shed) are some of my earliest memories. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? Historically the position of women in the art world has always been precarious, summed up by the artificial art/craft divide – the notion that ‘fine art’ is somehow more valuable and worthy than craft. This is an ongoing battle. Even in the fashion world – an area that we tend to code as female – most top jobs are helmed by men. For example, the House of Dior has only recently got its first female artistic director in its seventy year history. Celebrating women in these worlds is important to show the next generation they can get involved and bring about change. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? The suit I’m wearing was created by Ninya Mikhaila and is a reproduction of a suit worn by Charles II. It was produced for A Stitch in Time, the TV series we made for BBC4. It’s paired with a turban by Alice Edgeley, one of my favourite turban makers who is also a friend.

Exhibited at The Weiss Ga"ery (16 - 31 May 2018)

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Flora Crichton-Stuart Flora was born and raised in New York until about three years ago, when her family moved back to London. She began her undergraduate degree at Edinburgh University and matriculated for one year until transferring to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, from where she holds a BA in Art History and Religion. She will be studying for an MA in Italian Renaissance Art at The Courtauld Institute of Art and will hopefully have the opportunity to return to Italy to do some research! Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? My role in the art world is just beginning. In May of 2017 I graduated with a degree in Art History from Vassar College and since then I have been fortunate to earn placements at The Guggenheim, The Met and now Sotheby's. Working with objects is my passion and my hope is to find a role in this industry that allows me to spend the rest of my life dedicated to this subject I feel passionate about. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I am normally quite camera shy so this project really pushed me to go beyond my comfort zone, something I am very glad for. Additionally, once Carla spoke to me about what she was doing I couldn't have been more honoured to be a part of the project. In a field where men have often dominated it is a privilege to be pictured alongside a group of women who have either forged their path in this industry or just beginning to do so now. Do you have a favourite artist? I find this question very diďŹ&#x192;cult, but I have to say Fra Angelico and his frescos at San Marco have always held a special place in my heart. What is your earliest memory involving art? Growing up my house was always covered head-to-toe with art. Not a single space left exposed. As a result of this, there is not one particular work that comes to mind. Instead, it's more of a generalised memory about the feeling of being surrounded by objects. It was a way of seeing through the eyes of the artists and in a way also the eyes of my dad. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? I feel passionate about the female presence in the art world. I have had many inspiring women guide and ultimately shape my experience as a burgeoning art historian. From my tutor in college to my supervisors and employers I have been surrounded by dedicated women. I think my greatest hope is that in due course I might be able to continue this cycle and inspire the next generation. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? The jacket unfortunately has no label and was a gift from my dad. My cousin Caroline had a vintage clothing sale and he purchased it from her about five years ago. My jewellery is special to me in a variety of ways. I wore the earrings because they are a symbol of my great love of animals, in particular, of elephants. Admittedly I am often prone to anthropomorphising elephants, but I find it hard not to when in many ways they interact just as we do. They love, they mourn and as the saying goes, an elephant never forgets. I am always looking for new ways to combine my love of animals and my love of art. I even wrote my undergraduate thesis on the depiction of elephants in 16th century Italian art. The earrings were designed by Patrick Mavros. Without necessarily realising it, I selected to wear necklaces gifted to me entirely from strong women in my lifetime thus far. The small star was from my field hockey team at Vassar. The mushroom was a present from my mother. The cameo a gift from my mother's mother. The gold pendant from my Godmother, Gaby Koppleman (who is also an art restorer). The cameo in particular has a long history of its own as my grandma used to wear it as a pin before I adapted it as a necklace. So, for an exhibition on the presence of women in the art world you have captured me adorned in jewellery that encapsulates the female presence in my own life.

Exhibited at The Weiss Ga"ery (16 - 31 May 2018)

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Floortje Evelein Floortje is a young art historian, born and raised in Amsterdam. She attended the University of Amsterdam, where she recently graduated. She aspires to be a restorer of contemporary art. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? Currently, I'm still an observer. I recently finished my degree in Art History, and want to work in the restoration field eventually. But until then, I enjoy learning about art, viewing art and visiting museums. I've been drawing all my life as well. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I'm a huge fan of Carla's work. Her aesthetics overlap a lot with my own and her photographs really touch me. It's an honour to be able to be a part of it and be submerged by her style. Do you have a favourite artist? Many! My personal favourites are Edgar Degas and Edward Hopper. What is your earliest memory involving art? My father used to take me to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam quite often when I was young. I was amazed by the variety of art and what kind of messages it could deliver in the most abstract way. I instantly fell in love. My mother is an artist herself too, so it was fascinating to me to see an artist at work, up-close during my time growing up. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? Women have come a long way in the last decades, but the art scene is still dominated by men. Women are still not treated equally, which is ridiculous since art should be the last place where gender matters, since it's full of free spirits. I'd be excited to see more women get successful, as I believe there are still too many stories left untold. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? In this picture I'm wearing a hand-made black dress from the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;40s or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;50s, adorned with voile. I don't know the story behind it, although I wish I did. I would love to know who has worn it before me.

Exhibited at The Weiss Ga"ery (16 - 31 May 2018)

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Maria Golovteeva Maria is from Moscow, but currently lives in London. She is a PhD candidate in Art History at the University of St. Andrews and works at Sotheby's auction house. Her interests include art (obviously), literature, cinema, theatre, languages, traveling, technology and sports. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I am an art historian, so I consider my research to be my main contribution to the art world. I think it is important to bring some unstudied areas of art history to the attention of the research community, as current art historical research is mostly interdisciplinary and reflects on many topics significant for our society (for example, gender studies or ecology). At the same time, besides providing specialist knowledge, I aim to make art history interesting and easy to understand for a wider public, as I consider it to be essential for self-education, self-development and a better comprehension of the world and people around us. Besides academia, I also play an active role in the sphere of art business. I have worked for art dealers, galleries, an art publication, an art fair and an auction house. It is definitely a more vibrant part of the art world that changes and evolves very quickly. I would say that working in the art business is more of a lifestyle, than a mere job. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I really like that this project does not involve using airbrushing or any other retouching techniques. I think it is important, especially in our day and age, to portray women realistically, in natural light. I also like how Carla examines human skin, hair and texture of garments. This attention to texture, together with the black background, resembles works of the Flemish Primitives. During the shoot, I was impressed at how quickly and professionally everything was done, catching the essence of the moment. Do you have a favourite artist? It is really hard to say who my favourite artist is, but if I have to choose, I would say Van Gogh. What is your earliest memory involving art? My earliest memory involving art would probably be a book about Leonardo Da Vinci with Mona Lisa on the cover that stood in my parents' bookshelf. It was a large-format edition with colourful reproductions of art works from the series dedicated to the greatest artists of the world. We had a few other books from this series and I remember looking through them. I could not read them, because they were in German. I think in the late Soviet era such books were still not printed in Russian and I guess my parents or grandparents brought those books from their work trips abroad (to other countries of the Soviet block, of course). Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art world is not a manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world in the way it has been in the past, but there is still a lot of work to be done. It is encouraging to take a moment and think about the large number of successes, with so many empowered women in this world working as artists, in museums, as art dealers and as academics and critics. I hope we see a near future with more women directing the best museums across the world, and with even more representation at the top levels in galleries and fairs, as well as female artists breaking records at the auction houses. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? Carla brought this beautiful garment by Favourbrook and it immediately caught my eye. I also wear bracelets that are extremely important to me, as they are presents from my parents.

Exhibited at The Weiss Ga"ery (16 - 31 May 2018)

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Karen Hearn FSA Karen was the Curator of 16th & 17th Century British Art at Tate Britain, London, from 1992 – 2012. She is now an Honorary Professor at University College London. Her research focuses on art made in Britain between 1500 and 1710, and particularly on British-Netherlandish cultural links during that period. She lectures widely internationally, and has made a number of television appearances. In 1995, she curated the major Tate exhibition ‘Dynasties: Painting in Tudor & Jacobean England 1530 – 1630’, for which she received a European Woman of Achievement Award. She also curated ‘Van Dyck & Britain’ (2009) and ‘Rubens & Britain’ (2011-12), both at Tate Britain. She continues to research and lecture on Anthony van Dyck’s London years. Her 2002 Tate exhibition ‘Marcus Gheeraerts II: Elizabethan Artist’ established the theme of the ‘pregnancy portrait’, which will also be the subject of her next book. The co-editor of ‘Lady Anne Cliﬀord: Culture, Patronage & Gender in 17th Century Britain’, her other publications include: ‘Nicholas Hilliard’ (she has a particular interest in portrait miniatures); ‘Lely and Holland’, in ‘Peter Lely: A Lyrical Vision’, (Courtauld Gallery exhibition catalogue 2012); and '"Picture-drawer, born at Antwerp": Migrant Artists in Jacobean London', in ‘Painting in Britain 1500 – 1630: Production, Influences and Patronage’. Her small 2015 exhibition on Cornelius Johnson ‘Cornelis Jonson van Ceulen, 1593 – 1661’ at the National Portrait Gallery in London accompanied her short book on this Anglo-Netherlandish portrait-painter. She is now working on a full-scale monograph on Johnson’s work and career. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I was a curator at Tate Britain for twenty-two years, from 1990 till 2012. As the Curator of 16th & 17th Century British Art there I curated numerous exhibitions and displays, and I’m now Honorary Professor at University College London. I continue to sit on various art- and heritage-related committees and to curate exhibitions. I also chair the curatorial advisory group for The Portland Collection at The Harley Gallery. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? The experience of being directed how to pose, to gaze and to hold a position must have resembled sitting for a very expert portrait-painter of the past. I kept thinking of van Dyck – perhaps because I was posing in the vintage pearl-drop earrings I first wore for the private view of my Tate exhibition ‘Van Dyck & Britain’. Do you have a favourite artist? Cornelius Johnson (Cornelis Jonson van Ceulen) – the subject of my current intensive research, and on whom I have worked for almost twenty years. What is your earliest memory involving art? My amateur-watercolourist grandfather taking me to exhibitions at the Royal Academy. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? I was covered in a beautiful piece of brocade from Watts of Westminster (which Carla had selected). The earrings were vintage imitation pearl drops - I bought them in early 2009 specifically to wear at the launch of my Tate Britain exhibition Van Dyck & Britain (the intention was to echo the earrings worn by many of van Dyck's British sitters).

Exhibited at The Weiss Ga"ery (16 - 31 May 2018)

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Magdalena Herrera Born in Havana to a family of artists, Magdalena left Cuba as a child to settle in Paris, where she studied Fine Art and Art History at the Sorbonne before starting her career as a photographer and art director. She has worked on books, prints and magazines, spending ten years as Art Director and head of the photo department at National Geographic France before joining Geo France as Director of Photography. Magdalena also runs workshops and seminars around the world and is a tutor in photography at the Noorderlicht Masterclass at Groningen, Holland, and at Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, India, as well as for the Soros foundation in Haiti. She has taught photojournalism at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. She is regularly solicited as a jury member at international photography competitions and in 2018 Magdalena Herrera led the World Press Photo Contest Jury. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I am an art director and director of photography. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I enjoyed being part of a group of women being photographed by a photographer whose photos I like. Do you have a favourite artist? The painter Francis Bacon, the sculptor Carl André… What is your earliest memory involving art? One day, coming back from school, I couldn’t find my dolls. I looked everywhere and finally discovered them in my father’s studio. He had taken them to serve as subjects for one of his paintings. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? This black coat by Comme des Garçons is like a winter uniform for me – I like its straight and masculine look.

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Ana Howie Ana was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to a Dominican mother and Kiwi father. When she was around one year old, they left New Zealand, and began what would turn out to be a decade-long travelling expedition around North and Central America on a sailing boat. During this time, they visited Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and Guatemala among other places, and spent some time in San Francisco as well. Ana undertook a Bachelor's degree in French and Art History at the University of Auckland, and completed her undergraduate studies at Université Paris-Sorbonne. From there, she went on to complete her MA in Art History at London's Courtauld Institute of Art. She currently works at Masterpiece London, the summer art fair, and will pursue a PhD at Cambridge University in 2018. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I work for Masterpiece, the cross-collecting art fair. I am also intending to undertake a PhD in dress history in 2018. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I have never been photographed in any professional capacity. I was quite nervous to be a part of Carla's project, but she was kind and patient throughout the session. Her photography is extraordinary, and has captured something exquisite. Do you have a favourite artist? I have many favourite artists, including Anthony van Dyck, Thomas Gainsborough and John Singer Sargent. My area of interest in art history is feminine portraiture, and these artists breathe life into their portraits with expressive brushwork and sparkling tonalities. What is your earliest memory involving art? When I was twelve, I was browsing the shelves of my local library in New Zealand, and came across a book entitled ‘100 Masterpieces of Western Art’. I took it home and devoured it in an afternoon. From that moment, I decided I needed to be involved in the art world. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? In today's world, it is crucial that women are represented in a range of positions in the art world. Throughout my education, I have had strong, exceptional women inspire and guide me, and I hope to one day pass this on to other women and girls who wish to find their place in the arts. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? I am wearing an oﬀ-the-shoulder top from Zara and a brocade skirt from ASOS. The entire ensemble cost less than $50! I have always had a predilection for opulent fabrics and clothing, and enjoy wearing them whenever I can.

Exhibited at The Weiss Ga"ery (16 - 31 May 2018)

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Cathinka Huizing Cathinka, based in Alkmaar in The Netherlands, is an Art Historian (University of Leiden). Together with co-author Harriet Stoop- de Meester, Cathinka has researched the contemporary Dutch Portrait world. In 2010 they published ‘Portretten van Portrettisten’ (Portraits of Portraitists) and organised an exhibition on Dutch portrait painting in museum Het Nijenhuis, Heino ‘Portraits Now’. In 2016 they were asked by Museum De Fundatie in Zwolle to curate a show on Dutch portrait Photography: ‘Dutch Identity’. This is also the title of the book which interviews twentyfive renowned Dutch Portrait photographers. Cathinka is a member of the selection committee of the Dutch Portrait Award (DNP). Cathinka is co-author of the complete catalogue of Adrien Jean Le Mayeur (1880 – 1958) and global expert on the life and work of this Belgian artist who lived for over twenty-five years on the island of Bali where he found the inspiration for his colourful paintings. She keeps the archive on the works by Le Mayeur (LMA). Cathinka is fascinated by abstract art, focusing specifically on the post War period with international appeal, and with a bias towards female artists. In 2005 she founded Fountain Art, advising and assisting companies and individuals with their collections, with regular sales at its home gallery. She exhibits works by national and international artists who worked between the ‘40s and the ‘90s, as well as contemporary artists. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? Art is basic for me, art is everywhere in so many forms. I want to preserve the legacy of Le Mayeur by protecting his oeuvre and by collecting images and information for the Le Mayeur Archive. I also hope to help modern and contemporary artists and photographers to get more visibility by curating shows and bringing their art to the public. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? The task of a portrait painter or photographer is to capture the sitter’s identity while bringing their own identity into the work at the same time. They also have to keep in mind that the viewer, too, brings their own identity while looking at the portrait. We wrote about this in Dutch Identity and it was a thrill to experience this process myself on the morning Carla took her pictures of us. It is unbelievable how many women are working in the art world, Carla has a very good subject at hand. Do you have a favourite artist? To be honest, I do not have a favourite artist. I appreciate Old Masters, Renaissance drawings, 19th Century Art, Impressionists, Post War and Contemporary Art. Fields like Architecture, Sculpture, Decorative Arts and photography as well. As long as an art work triggers me, strikes me emotionally or impresses me because of the skill, the idea or the story it tells me, I can love it. What is your earliest memory involving art? My mother often took me to the auctions of 20th Century art at Mak van Waay in Amsterdam in the ‘60s. Living in Rotterdam I often went to the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, when I was fifteen or sixteen years old. I saw the Dalis, the Tower of Babel by Breughel, the Magrittes and the Durers. Instead of sport I followed an art class in the museum during the weekends. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? A couple of years ago I curated a show ‘Vigour thy name is Woman’, with abstract works by women from all over the world. These women were not being seen in the era they lived and worked in: immediately after World War II. I wanted to show the great quality of the paintings. Very few ladies made it to the top, and never earned what their fellow male artists got. And still most women artists don’t. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? Johannes Oﬀerhaus, a young Dutch designer based in Berlin designed the monumental creation I was photographed in. In 2016 Johannes graduated cum laude and won the Frans Molenaar Couture Award named after a fashion legend in Holland. His work is a research into form, movement and technique in fashion. Because of the very light material you feel very free wearing his designs.

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Jane Malcolm-Davies PhD Jane Malcolm-Davies is co-director of The Tudor Tailor, which researches and retails publications and products aimed at improving reconstructions of historical dress for pedagogical projects and heritage sites. She is senior post-doctoral researcher with Refashioning the Renaissance, an EUfunded project based at Aalto University, Helsinki. Jane is also director of THREAD, an Innovation Fund Denmark initiative, which is developing a themed model for refugee integration using textiles as the catalyst for change at the Centre for Textile Research at the University of Copenhagen. Jane was a Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow there from 2015 – 2017, when she worked on Knitting in Early Modern Europe (KEME) and developed an online database of evidence for this under-researched textile production process. Jane is also working on ways to integrate Analytical Tools for Organic Material Studies (ATOMS) into textile research. She was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of the Highlands & Islands (Centre for Interpretation Studies) and the University of Southampton, where she developed an online database of Tudor effigies. She lectured in entrepreneurship and heritage management at the University of Surrey, introduced costumed interpreters at Hampton Court Palace (1992 – 2004), coordinated training for the front-of-house team at Buckingham Palace each summer (2000 – 2010), and has recently coached volunteer guides for the new National Army Museum in London. Jane sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Dress History and the Archaeological Textiles Review. She is treasurer of The Costume Society of Great Britain. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I try to make sense of paintings, portraits, effigies and other pictorial representations of people’s dress in the past by cross-referencing them with archaeological and documentary evidence, and increasingly, through the use of scientific analysis – not only of the organic materials but through statistical studies of what is represented and described. My work with Ninya Mikhaila at The Tudor Tailor provides a great opportunity to translate all this theory into a practical outcome – a garment which someone can make and wear. I like finding patterns in data – a graph, a pie or a bar chart – these are all art forms too. I’ve recently become very interested in the visualisation of knowledge. Artists who work with scientists often bring interesting new perspectives to scientific work. Copenhagen, where I live, has pioneered this sort of multidisciplinary dialogue. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? Ninya and I have been colleagues for a long time and the opportunity to celebrate our successful partnership in photographic images with Carla was very exciting. We have run photoshoots for our own publications but we have never had the fun of being subjects in an artistic project in this way before. Ninya and I are real adventurers. We like exploring and finding new ways to delve into the data and develop ideas. Our best creative moments happen when we are on long road trips to remote places in search of clues about 16th century dress. I’d like to think that Carla has captured us as individuals and the way we put our heads together and bring our very different ways of seeing the world to bear on our research. We are a real team – and that’s what the world needs: teams not individuals. It would be great if other people could be inspired to work together to be greater than the sum of their parts by Carla’s images of us. Do you have a favourite artist? Professionally, I like any artist who shows constructional details of garments in their work! Effigies of people in churches are a real favourite of mine because they show clothes in wear in three dimensions. My personal taste is for naïve representations of life. I like Chagall and Frida Kahlo’s work but I have real soft spots for Escher and the cartoonist Mordillo. What is your earliest memory involving art? My paternal grandfather was a pharmacologist at the university in Cardiff. This was a reserved occupation during the war and he worked on the medicinal benefits of the opium poppy. After the war, he worked with the police to control drug smuggling through Cardiff Docks. This required a reference collection of plants on the roof at his laboratory. He was one of the few people licensed to

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

grow cannabis. In his private life, my grandfather was an enthusiastic painter. You’d think with access to marijuana, he might have been an imaginative artist, but he enjoyed painting very traditional watercolours of natural scenes and still life in oils. I used to watch him prepare all his materials and equipment meticulously and then clean it and put it all away neatly afterwards. Art can be very messy but I liked his clinical approach to the process even though what he produced wasn’t great art, he took pride in doing it all properly. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? The Turner Prize committee are to be applauded for removing the age limit of who could be put forward for the award this year. They recognised that limiting eligible work to young artists excludes women in particular, who often get into their stride as artists after having children. We still live in an undeniably patriarchal society and the art world is no diﬀerent from other sectors – whether it’s the creatives, the curators or the commercial companies. I’m a believer in positive action to accelerate change for women and all other groups who are unfairly challenged today. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? Ninya Mikhaila and I are authors of books on reconstructing 16th century dress. The garments we wear in the photograph will appear in our forthcoming book The Typical Tudor and are based on extensive research into ordinary people’s dress. There are very few visual sources which depict ordinary, working people in the 16th century, particularly in Britain. Much of the information available for study comes from documentary evidence such as wills and household accounts. Ninya and I felt that Carla’s project oﬀered a fantastic opportunity to create portraits of a vastly underrepresented section of Tudor society.

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Hannah Marples Hannah was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. She attended the Dukeries Academy in New Ollerton (2006 – 2013), and obtained a Foundation Art Diploma at West Notts College, Mansfield (2013 – 2014). Hannah is currently in her fourth and final year studying Costume with Textiles, specialising in embroidery, at the University of Huddersfield. Hannah hopes to set up as a freelance costume maker. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? At present I’m still at university, however I focus on historical costume construction. I also create a lot of digital garment patterns and working drawings, as well as painting portraits and doing embroidery. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I really enjoyed meeting Carla, as well as other women within the creative industry. It was also interesting seeing how other professionals work within their specialism. Do you have a favourite artist? My favourite artist is Agnieszka Osipa. What is your earliest memory involving art? As a child on a weekend I would sit in the kitchen at home with a bright red plastic pinafore on, painting and making a mess. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? I feel like women, not just in art, are only recently being acknowledged for the work that they do. I also believe that it's more recently being recognised that the work and skill women have is equal to men. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? I am wearing a piece of draped velvet that was given to me by my family, even though it isn’t obvious to the audience but something as simple as fabric shows that they surround me with their support. The ruﬀ is my own work, to demonstrate my love of historical clothing.

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Ninya Mikhaila Ninya established her business as an historical costumier in 1994, after gaining a Higher National Diploma in Costume Interpretation at the London College of Fashion. Clients include Historic Royal Palaces, The Royal Armouries, The National Trust, English Heritage, The National Archives and Gainsborough’s House. Ninya is co-author of ‘The Tudor Tailor: Reconstructing sixteenth century dress’, and ‘The Tudor Child: Clothing and Culture 1485 – 1625’. She recently worked alongside fashion historian Amber Butchart filming a new television series for BBC4 called ‘A Stitch in Time’. Ninya is married to Michael Perry, a sculptor and artist responsible for the illustrations in The Tudor Tailor range of books. They live in Nottingham with their two daughters. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I started out as a maker of historical dress, but the thing I love about researching and making reconstructions of clothes from the past is that very quickly I start to ask questions about the people who would have worn them. Since starting The Tudor Tailor with Jane Malcolm-Davies back in 2006 I have really enjoyed the balance of researching, making and sharing discoveries with a wider audience. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? Jane Malcolm-Davies and I are currently working on a book entitled ‘The Typical Tudor’ which focuses on working people’s dress. One of the challenges of researching this topic is the lack of visual sources depicting ‘ordinary’ people. We felt that by being dressed as lower class sixteenth century women for our portraits we were redressing the balance, just a little bit! I also felt that Carla was really capturing the connection, and the essence, of the collaborative relationship between myself and Jane, and that is very special. Do you have a favourite artist? As a dress historian I love artists that show people doing ordinary things whilst wearing their everyday clothes! Pieter Bruegel the Elder is a superhero to me for doing for that. What is your earliest memory involving art? Both my parents are very creative people, my mum made clothes for us and my dad was a carpenter. All my early memories are infused with things being made around me, and I grew up with the expectation that I would be capable of creating the things I envisioned as well – which I have! Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? Women have always played an important role in the art world. I’m glad that there is now more of an appreciation of the value of the work that we do. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? Jane Malcolm-Davies and I are authors of books on reconstructing sixteenth century dress. The garments we wear in the photograph will appear in our forthcoming book The Typical Tudor and are based on extensive research into ordinary people’s dress. There are very few visual sources which depict ordinary, working people in the sixteenth century, particularly in Britain, and much of the information available for study comes from documentary evidence such as wills and household accounts. Jane and I felt that Carla’s project oﬀered a fantastic opportunity to create portraits of a vastly under-represented section of Tudor society.

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Professor Aileen Ribeiro After studying History at Kings College, London University, and some years teaching in Africa, Aileen took an MA and Ph.D at the Courtauld Institute of Art, specialising in the study of dress in art. From 1975 to 2009 she was head of the History of Dress Department at the Courtauld Institute, and is now Professor Emeritus in the History of Art at London University. She lectures widely in Great Britain, Europe and North America, and has acted as costume contributor/consultant to a number of major art exhibitions. She is the author of many publications, the most recent being ‘Clothing Art. A Visual Culture of Fashion 1600 – 1914’, which won the Apollo Book of the Year Award in 2017. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I have a unique position in the art world as an art historian whose area of expertise is a study of the different ways in which artists use clothing/dress/fashion and textiles in their work. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I loved the concept of portrait photography as a work of art, the use of textiles, drapery and lighting to create an atmospheric historical mood. Do you have a favourite artist? What an impossible question! Sometimes it might be the artist I'm currently working on – for example, great artists like Ingres, Liotard, Goya, Whistler, to name just a few. There are also artists who always make the heart sing – Velazquez, Vermeer and Manet. And unexpected delights, outside the realm of dress in art, like 17th century Spanish still-lifes or landscapes by Klimt. What is your earliest memory involving art? At secondary school in York, with a passion for history, sending off to the National Portrait Gallery in London for postcards of famous historical figures. This gave me a life-long love of portraiture, combining dress and art. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? Artists in general often find it difficult to pursue a life in art. I'm only familiar with academia where it seems to me that women art historians have an easier life (a regular salary, time off etc.) than practising artists. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? All clothing tells a story and sometimes many stories; this is why clothes and art, especially portraiture, are so closely linked. In my portrait by Carla, I came to the sitting – it was just like being in an artist’s studio – wearing a dress by Rundholz Black Label, a favourite designer for imaginative, loosely-fitted and cleverly cut styles, suited to the persona of an academic working in the arts. I thought it would be not only an interesting dress in itself, one I felt comfortable in, but also a perfect backdrop for draperies, and for some items of jewellery which I brought along. Carla, being of course an artist, had her own ideas on how I should appear. Most of the jewellery vanished, except for a jade bangle on my right wrist, and two diamond rings on my left hand. The dress was mainly covered by voluminous silks from Watts & Co., (founded in 1874), which was inspired by, and contributed to, the Gothic Revival of the period. The firm was (and is) famous for its ecclesiastical vestments and fabrics; a number of silks are named after famous ‘Gothic’ artists, such as as Crivelli, van der Weyden, Memling, and Holbein. For hundreds of years, artists have used flowing fabrics, with their loose folds to elevate works of art, including portraits, into the realm of timelessness. When I see this portrait with the wonderful draperies, arranged with immense artistic skill by Carla, the effect is almost regal, a figure of contemplation and, I think, serenity. The combination of the unidealised face and the glorious rich fabrics remind me somewhat of 17th century Dutch art.

Exhibited at The Weiss Ga"ery (16 - 31 May 2018)

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Diana Scarisbrick FSA Diana was born in Australia in 1928 and studied History at Oxford University. As consultant to S.J. Phillips from 1975 she learnt how to use her training as a historian to explain the cultural, social and political significance of jewellery and engraved gems. This led to the publication of twenty books, exhibitions at home and abroad, and engagements with museums, auctioneers, collectors, and the Parisian jeweller, Chaumet, over almost fifty years. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I enjoy the freedom to continue working at an advanced age. Present projects include the biography of Margaret de Flahaut (1788 – 1867), a Scottish heiress who married a Napoleonic general, and lived at the centre of British and French political and cultural life in a period of great change. As a Research Associate of the Beazley Archive in Oxford I collaborate with Professor Sir John Boardman on catalogues of ancestral British collections of engraved gems, most recent being ‘The Beverley Gems’ (2016) for the Duke of Northumberland. I am also writing a history of diamond jewellery from 1360 to the present, and the catalogue of a private collection of 300 rings. I’m proudest of having, on behalf of S.J. Phillips, traced the provenance of a Book of Hours to a purchase by François I in 1538, and which has recently been acquired by the Louvre. In spite of the many obstacles, I have learnt how to turn my independence to advantage and hope my example of starting a career in the art world late in life will be followed by other ‘outsiders’. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? The session with Carla made me feel like one of Sir Joshua Reynolds’ sitters, for she engaged me in an interesting conversation and I was fascinated by her professionalism – her study of the light, the experimenting with diﬀerent poses, the exemplary patience. Thomas Carlyle declared that he could learn more about a person from a portrait than from one hundred books, and in my case Carla certainly seems to have captured the continuing quest for knowledge which enthrals me! Do you have a favourite artist? Giovanni Bellini What is your earliest memory involving art? Aged nine, I was impressed by the monument to T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia, died 1935) by Eric Kennington in the Anglo-Saxon church of St. Martin in Wareham, Dorset. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? I don’t think women can complain today about a glass ceiling: they seem to have succeeded as museum directors and curators, as teachers and scholars, as publishers and dealers. None have emerged as a critic in the Brian Sewell mould, nor are there many women collectors following the example of Isabella d’Este and the Comtesse de Béhague: Barbara Johnson spent a fortune on works of art but seems to have bought them to make a profit. The exception today is an anonymous enthusiast for medieval works of art, which she combines with an interest in contemporary painting, and I have not encountered any other similarly dedicated women. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? There is nothing much to say about my spinel cross except that it is faceted both front and back, and bordered by rose diamonds which enhance the rich colour. It is 18th century in date, with provenance to the German princely family of Lichtenstein. The dress and jacket were bought in Paris some time ago. I think most jewellery looks good on green.

Exhibited at The Weiss Ga"ery (16 - 31 May 2018)

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Harriet Stoop- de Meester Harriet has written two books and put together two exhibitions about portraits with co-author Cathinka Huizing: Portretten van Portrettisten with an exhibition about painted portraits Portretten Nu in Het Nijenhuis, Heino, Zwolle, and the photobook Dutch Identity, with a show Dutch Portrait Photography Now in Museum De Fundatie, Zwolle. Harriet is a committee member of the Friends of Singer Laren, chairperson for selecting art for the Anna Singer Artotheek and in that context she regularly gives talks about contemporary artists. She is also a jury member of the Singer Prize and Dutch Portrait Award (DNP). As a freelance curator, she is putting together an exhibition on the gardens of Piet Oudolf, a famous Dutch garden designer, in Singer Laren. Harriet is an expert on the 17th-century Dutch painter Gerrit Lundens (1622 – 1686). Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? For me it is important to translate the meaning of the art of Dutch contemporary and historical artists to the public by showing their artistic and creative process in a book, an article or in a lecture. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? After writing a book on twenty Dutch portrait photographers and their portraits, is was interesting to be a sitter myself. I feel privileged to work together with one of best photographers I know and to see how Carla is using daylight to achieve the fascinating ‘clair-obscure’ effect in her photos. I never realised the limited space in her studio she requires to make these magnificent pictures. Do you have a favourite artist? Many contemporary artists are my favourites. Because I know a lot of artists through their work and I am familiar with the stories behind their processes I appreciate their works even more. A work of art that has a connection with nature’s wilderness has my preference. Examples are the landscapes and flowers painted by Alice Brasser or the animal sculptures with beautiful patina by Ans Zondag, and the African nature photography of Janaina Matarazzo. What is your earliest memory involving art? In the living room of my grandmother’s house there used to hang a large painting ‘The Fairground Visitors’ by Gerrit Lundens (1622 – 1686). As a little child I would look at the people in the beautiful costumes visiting the fair and I couldn’t believe that this painting was hundreds of years old. Much later when I showed a photo of this painting to my professor Ernst van de Wetering with the question if it was a suitable object for the research of my theses, he was in shock. Van de Wetering immediately recognised the composition of Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’. This painting was not only my first memory involving art but also the inspiration for me to step into the world of art and until now it still keeps me busy. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? I come across a lot of excellent female artists and female art professionals, with a very good sense for quality and authenticity. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? The creation I am wearing was designed and made by Johannes Offerhaus (1993), a young Dutch fashion designer. Johannes won the Frans Molenaar Couture Award last year. This outfit is part of his last collection: An Experiment with Parabolas. The parabola as a mathematical equation was his inspiration. In his designs Johannes Offerhaus brings fashion, technology and movement together.

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Professor Judy Sund Judy is a professor of Art History at the City University of New York, and is best known for her work on Van Gogh, which consists of two books, several essays, and numerous public lectures on that artist. Her interests, however, are wide-ranging (she’s also published on Watteau, Kahlo, the Chicago World Fair, and West Mexican burial eﬃgies in 20th-century advertising). Her forthcoming book, Exotic, is a pan-historic exploration of Western takes and take-oﬀs on other peoples and cultures; it starts with a faux-leopard stool in King Tut’s tomb and extends to the present (e.g. Rihanna’s tattoos). Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? My role in the art world is mainly that of a scholar and teacher, though I’ve been involved in some exhibitions, and am currently organizing one for the NY Botanical Garden (which has to do with Van Gogh’s enthusiasm for the public gardens he made his own through visual and textual representations). What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I enjoy the twinned ideas of serious women made beautiful and beautiful women taken seriously. Do you have a favourite artist? Matisse (who did not take women seriously, but made some seriously beautiful work). What is your earliest memory involving art? My earliest memory involving art is making ‘magic’ pictures with my mom and sisters. These were double-sided crayon drawings that had to be held to the window (with light coming through) to be fully seen and appreciated. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? My ‘special thought’ is that in art, as in life, the future is female. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? The scarf I put on because Carla told me to. The flowers: I recently completed a long project – my book on Exoticism, which will be published by Phaidon next year. My friend Claudia Polsky, who lives in Berkeley, CA, knew how long and hard I had laboured on it, and when she heard through the grapevine that I had completed the book, she sent me congratulatory sunflowers. Claudia chose sunflowers because of my long-time work on Van Gogh. The other connection is that I was born and raised in San Diego, and that’s where Claudia was able to find four dozen sunflowers in the middle of January! They were shipped to me in an enormous box – and they were a complete surprise – I had not spoken to Claudia in months. They filled my apartment with bursts of yellow in the midst of a dreary winter.

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Dorien Tamis PhD Dorien is a freelance art historian and journalist. She has worked for the University of Amsterdam and many museums, among them the Rijksmuseum and the Centraal Museum, Utrecht. From painterly recipes and techniques to picture frames, to Sea-Beggar medals and Madeleine Albright’s jewellery and even taxidermy – she has written on a wide range of subjects both in scholarly publications and magazines and newspapers, intended for a larger audience. In 2016 she defended her dissertation entitled ‘Van twee handen geschildert: werkverdeling tussen schilders in de Nederlanden in de zestiende en zeventiende eeuw’. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? As a freelance art historian and journalist I am actively researching, analysing and writing, mainly in the field of Netherlandish painting. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? Being the ‘passive’ subject of Carla’s beautifully lit art work was rather a different, even contrasting and thought-provoking experience. Instead of viewing an art work from a distance and trying to assess it objectively, posing not only made me feel very self-conscious, it made me reconsider the interaction between artist and subject, which is quite personal. Do you have a favourite artist? Although it is the unsurpassed mastery of light and texture of Netherlandish painters that attracts me most, and which inspired me to write my PhD-thesis on their workshop practice and working methods, there is way too much beautiful, interesting and admirable art to have any one favourite artist. If anything, I have a favourite period which is the 16th century, the time of the Reformation, the Dutch Revolt, Elizabeth I and the Great Armada. Its fierce and adventurous spirit got me interested from an early age, initially in history, to end up at art history, because admittedly, I enjoy working with beautiful pictures most. What is your earliest memory involving art? Growing up in a small village, I was very fond of an eccentric aunt, a singer and musician, who collected paintings and other objets d’art, which I now consider of mainly a rather syrupy sweet quality. As a child, however, I was much impressed by her treasures, and considered her collection the height of gracious tastefulness. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? It does seem that the ratio of men to women working in the art world at large is more balanced than in other professions, maybe in part due to art traditionally being considered a suitable occupation for women. However, equality is still far off, be it in payment or position. On a more personal level, it is my experience that women often find difficulty in being taken seriously, pursuing a career, and not being told that art ‘is after all a hobby that doesn’t need to be paid for.’ What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? Carla and I share a fascination for rich fabrics and the way texture is rendered. As well as studying fabric and costumes in painting, I also love to handle the actual material, and sew and embroider historically inspired clothes for myself and my daughters. Carla has me draped in an enormous length of brocaded teal silk that my sea-faring husband brought back for me from the market of Muscat in Oman, and a heavy woollen fabric with traditional motives from India.

ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Jenny Tiramani Jenny has worked as a Costume and Stage Designer since 1977. She was Associate Designer at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East 1979 – 1997 and Director of Theatre Design at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London 1997 – 2005, receiving the Laurence Oliver Award for Best Costume Design in 2003, for the Globe production of ‘Twelfth Night’ and the Tony Award for Best Costume Design for the revival of the same production in 2014. Designs for opera include costumes for ‘Anna Bolena’ by Donizetti (Metropolitan Opera, New York September 2011) and for ‘Andre Chenier’ (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 2015) and both stage and costume design for ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ (Sydney Opera House 2015). Jenny is the Principal of The School of Historical Dress, a new venture founded in 2009 to teach an object-based approach to the subject. In 2008 she completed Janet Arnold’s ‘Patterns of Fashion 4: The cut and construction of linen shirts, smocks, headwear, neckwear and accessories for men & women c1540 – 1660’. With four co-authors she has published ‘Seventeenth Century Women’s Dress Patterns: Book One’, ‘Seventeenth Century Women’s Dress Patterns: Book Two’ and ‘17th-Century Men’s Dress Patterns’, for the V&A. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I have worked as a theatre designer since 1976 but more recently have focused on researching dress history through surviving garments, using portraiture as a vital tool for investigations. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? Seeing myself through someone else's eyes. Do you have a favourite artist? It’s difficult to single one artist out. Contemporary artists – Ron Mueck, Jeff Wall, Grayson Perry. Dead artists – no favourite. What is your earliest memory involving art? Drawing characters from Shakespeare's play ‘The Tempest’ when I was nine years old and getting a small tin of watercolour paints for Christmas that my dad showed me how to use. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? The same thought as that regarding the position of women in society generally – we are still having to live and work in what is essentially a male-orientated world. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? I'm wearing a white cotton dress from the AW17 Elizabethan Sportswear Part IV Collection of Nabil Nayal. Nabil is a designer and a historian whose fashion designs often take inspiration from clothing at the time of Elizabeth I. He is also currently undertaking a research doctorate, and as part of his studies he has taken classes at The School of Historical Dress with myself and other colleagues there. Nabil and I first met when he came to take a short course in making, starching and setting ruffs with me. The dress I'm wearing is an example of using ruffled pleats that evoke 16th century neck ruffs. It also features other 16th century details, amongst which are the detachable round 'Spanish' sleeves that tie to the shoulders of the sleeveless dress. It looks quite different on me to how it appears on the beautiful young models you can watch wearing it on the catwalk online, but one of the strengths of Nabil's work is that his clothes look good on many body shapes. I felt great in the dress and I'm thrilled that Carla could photograph me in the work of one of our students.

Exhibited at The Weiss Ga"ery (16 - 31 May 2018)

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ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Abbie Vandivere PhD Abbie is a Paintings Conservator who grew up in Canada and the U.K. After a BA from Princeton University, she received a diploma in the Conservation of Easel Paintings from the Courtauld Institute of Art and moved to Amsterdam in 2005. She worked as a freelance conservator while researching oil painting techniques in Early Netherlandish Paintings, and received her PhD in 2013. Abbie has been working as a Paintings Conservator at the Mauritshuis since 2015, and coordinates the Technical Art History MA programme at the University of Amsterdam. She also plays Roller Derby, and represented the Netherlands at the World Cup in 2014. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I am a Paintings Conservator at the Mauritshuis, and I specialise in the conservation and technical examination of 15th-17th century Dutch paintings. I also coordinate the Technical Art History MA programme at the University of Amsterdam. I enjoy the combination of art and science that forms the basis for conservation. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I got to know Carla when she was one of the participants in my Summer University course about reconstructing Netherlandish paintings. Her photos have a lot in common with some of the Dutch paintings that I work with, so I loved seeing how she translated these visual motifs into beautiful – yet unconventional – portraits. Do you have a favourite artist? Hieronymus Bosch’s visions of heaven and hell are my favourites, as they are full of whimsical details. To celebrate receiving my PhD in 2013, I got a tattoo of the skating bird from Bosch’s ‘Temptation of Saint Anthony’ on my back. What is your earliest memory involving art? As a child I loved watching ’The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross' on TV. He showed me that a painting is the result of a process that follows a series of steps, and ‘there are no mistakes, only happy accidents’. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? Conservation is a field dominated by women who are increasingly climbing to the higher ranks in museums. Some argue that it’s our patience and caring nature that draws us to protecting pictures, but I especially like the hands-on aspects of treating paintings, and operating scientific and analytical equipment. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? I had this dress custom-made for my doctoral defence. The fabric was designed and printed by an online company, then Susan Renvoize sewed the dress from a pattern inspired by the 1950s. My favourite painter, and one of the artists I studied for my PhD, is Hieronymus Bosch. The skating bird on the dress, and in the tattoo on my back, is a detail from his ‘Temptation of Saint Anthony’.

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Lisanne Wepler PhD Lisanne is an art historian, interested in how images and stories of animals were formed throughout the centuries. One important source is the Aesopian fable. Her aim is now to assemble fables in the fine arts, graphics and applied arts from 1600 – 1900 and to specify the presentation of (living) animals in the fine arts. She is doing research on this subject as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Leiden (2016 – 2020). Before that she worked as a junior curator at the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig (2013 – 2015). She finished her dissertation Bilderzählungen in der Vogelmalerei des niederländischen Barocks (Imhof 2014) in February 2013 at the University of Bonn, Germany, and studied Art History and German Philology in Kassel, Germany. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? I am an art historian and presently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Leiden. I am an eager observer and I love to write on art histories concerning animals. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? I always enjoy working with Carla and experience her thunderous temperament in a moment of complete and most creative silence. Do you have a favourite artist? It is inspiring to see how an artist depicts movement and the essence of a form with as few as possible brushstrokes. For example Japanese paintings contain this idea – I adore Kawanabe Kyosai. I also love baroque abundance and extravagance in paintings by, for example, Abraham Bisschop, Nicolas de Largillière and Jean-Baptiste Oudry, and my admiration also goes to the stunning humour in pictures by Abraham Hondius and Melchior d´Hondecoeter. And since the Late Rembrandt exhibition I am also a fan of his touching late works (and never thought to admit to this one day). What is your earliest memory involving art? My grandfather drew a bird consisting of only circles with a very soft green Faber-Castell pencil (surely 6 B) on a yellowish sheet of paper that stank of paint thinner. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? No, I like to think about human beings in the art world rather than of men and women. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? I am wearing a vintage dress that Carla had in her collection of vintage clothes and costumes. I chose it because the black and white remembered me of the colours of magpies, which I admire.

Exhibited at The Weiss Ga"ery (16 - 31 May 2018)

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ARTFULLY DRESSED: Women in the Art World

Rahel Zoller Rahel was born in Rottweil, Germany and lives and works in London. She studied at Goldsmiths University of London and works as Book Arts and Design Specialist Technician at London College of Communication. Since October 2015 she has been a member of ABC [Artists’ Books Cooperative]. Her books are held in a number of prestigious fine art collections such as the Artists' Books Tate Library Collection, Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and Museum of the Manuscripts of Mont-Saint-Michel in France. Could you tell us something about your role in the art world? The social life of the book in contemporary society is an ongoing theme in my work and I am deeply interested in the latest innovations happening within publishing and the art world. I believe now, in this digital age, the book is shifting from an inevitable cultural experience to a specialized one. This notion has driven many of the ideas in my work and has helped to inspire me to work with diﬀerent concepts of language, translation, reading and writing. Continuing to research around this subject has also helped me to consistently develop my role as a teacher at London College of Communication. Working for institutions around the world has given me the opportunity to understand different ways of working and has inspired my own work, as well as the work of my students. What did you enjoy about being a part of this project? Being portrayed by another artist brought up questions about perceptions, image, work dynamics and conceptual thoughts especially within the focus on female artists in the art world. Do you have a favourite artist? I find it hard to choose a favourite artist as I am inspired by sculptural aesthetics, conceptual structures and emotional challenges, this could be through intentional and unintentional arrangements. What is your earliest memory involving art? Growing up in my father’s wood workshop was where I developed my sense of raw materials, watching the transformative process of one object becoming another. Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world? Although I don’t necessarily distinguish a diﬀerence between art created by female or male, I notice even in my own surroundings that female artists are less presented. What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it? The dress I am wearing is from Sacai.

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The Weiss Gallery 59 Jermyn Street London SW1Y 6LX +44(0)207 409 0035 www.weissgallery.com