Women Can’t Paint: Gender, the Glass Ceiling and Values in Contemporary Art

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In 2013 Georg Baselitz declared that ‘women don’t paint very well’. Whilst shocking, his comments reveal what Helen Gørrill argues is prolific discrimination in the artworld. In a groundbreaking study of gender and value, Gørrill proves that there are few aesthetic differences in men and women’s painting, but that men’s art is valued at up to 80 per cent more than women’s. Indeed, the power of masculinity is such that when men sign their work it goes up in value, yet when women sign their work it goes down. Museums, the author attests, are also complicit in this vicious cycle as they collect tokenist female artwork which impinges upon its artists’ market value. An essential text for students and teachers, Gørrill’s book is provocative and challenges existing methodologies whilst introducing shocking evidence. She proves how the price of being a woman impacts upon all forms of artistic currency, be it social, cultural or economic and in the vanguard of the ‘Me Too’ movement calls for the artworld to take action Title Page Copyright Page Contents Figures Acknowledgements Introduction: Women can’t paint Setting the scene: The trouble with gender Counting, after all, is a feminist strategy Throwing out the baby with the bathwater Chapter 1: Masculinities and femininities in painting: The new androgynous aesthetics in contemporary art On the masculinities and femininities of paint: ‘IT’S NOT FOR GIRLS!’ Femininity lives elsewhere A discovery of androgynous aesthetics A gendered analysis of figuration and abstraction in contemporary painting A gendered approach to subject matter in contemporary painting A gendered approach to painting mediums in contemporary art A gendered approach to picture format in contemporary art A gendered approach to painting support in contemporary art A gendered approach to the overall average lightness contained within contemporary painting A gendered approach to overall average scale of contemporary painting A gendered approach to the analysis of the artist’s signature or annotation of an artwork female On feminine and masculine aesthetics Women cannot paint: They simply don’t pass the market test, the value test80 Chapter 2: The price of being a woman artist: Dollars, dirhams, pounds and euros Where are all the women artists? Tornados striking the artworld An insurmountable obstacle WAVE: I can’t see you! Gender value gaps in the artworld How femininities and masculinities can increase or decrease value in art How the use of a signature can devalue a woman’s artwork A descending glass ceiling The femininity of abstraction in contemporary paintings Chapter 3: The museum exposed: Gendered visibilities and essentialist aesthetics through equality Hiding behind headlines The impact of museum inclusion on the economic value of painting The gendered visibility of artists in our museum collections Segregation versus integration in feminist curatorial practice Essentialist aesthetics in equal collections The Finnish National Gallery collection: Equality in collections, greater freedom of creativity through aesthetics? Chapter 4: Gender parity and arts prizes: ‘Only men are capable of aesthetic greatness’ Patriarchal climates The United States The UK Europe The Middle East The magnitude of the tornado that represents gender (in)equality in art prizes The impact of arts prizes on economic values The impact of arts prizes on museum inclusion The masculinity of prize success Chapter 5: The importance of wearing the Right Old (Art) School Tie: Networking, gender and painting values Cultural and social capital in contemporary painting Gender, cultural/social capital and artist’s inclusion in the Tate collection Gender, economic value of paintings and art school location Returning to the issue of gender: ‘The pram in the hall’ A rather bleak outlook Chapter 6: Sexism and ageism in visual art values: ‘But men are allowed to be old or ugly!’ Bye Bye Totty, Hello Invisible Woman The art is yet young Sales have dried up Perceived discrimination against women by men The new contemporary artworld hysteria The artworld Queen Bee Fact is stranger than fiction Chapter 7: Smashing the glass ceiling of women’s art: Manifestos for equality that could actually work We had better prepare our great-granddaughters for disappointment Manifesto for a gender-equal artworld #1: An education for all through role models Manifesto for a gender-equal artworld #2: Museum diversity policies to be fully inclusive and take account of gender Manifesto for a gender-equal artworld #3: The introduction of gender quotas or caps Manifesto for a gender-equal artworld #4: Media and Museum PR responsibility to gender equality Manifesto for a gender-equal artworld #5: Call for artworld regulation Manifesto for a gender-equal artworld #6: Feminist (and visual arts) methodologies to embrace a quantitative research Manifesto for a gender-equal artworld #7: More funding to investigate and find solutions for art gender inequalities Conclusion: Baselitz’s folly: Women can paint Glossary Appendices Appendix 1: Contemporary British painters with ‘Top 100’ visibility at the 1992–4 London auctions Appendix 2: Contemporary British painters with ‘Top 100’ visibility at the 2012–14 London auctions Appendix 3: Contemporary British painters with ‘Top 100’ visibility at the 1992–4 London auctions per cm² Appendix 4: Contemporary British painters with ‘Top 100’ visibility at the 2012–14 London auctions per cm² Appendix 5: Top 10 performing female artists in the sample: The United States Appendix 6: Top 10 performing male artists in the sample: The United States Appendix 7: Top 10 performing female artists in the sample: The Middle East Appendix 8: Top 10 performing male artists in the sample: The Middle East Appendix 9: Top 10 performing female artists in the sample: The UK Appendix 10: Top 10 performing male artists in the sample: The UK Appendix 11: Top 10 performing female artists in the sample: Europe (other than the UK) Appendix 12: Top 10 performing male artists in the sample: Europe (other than the UK) Appendix 13: How gender/the brandof femininity impacts upon aestheticvariables and sales Appendix 14: How gender/the brandof masculinity impacts upon aestheticvariables and sales Appendix 15: Gender equality(age at creation of artwork) in the Finnish National Gallery: A global comparison Appendix 16: An assessment of the levels of abstraction or figuration in contemporary paintings at the Finnish National Gallery Appendix 17: An assessment of the subject matter in contemporary paintings at the Finnish National Gallery Appendix 18: An assessment and global comparison of the average scale of paintings Appendix 19: A global assessment of the use of media in contemporary paintings Appendix 20: A global assessment of supports in contemporary paintings Notes Introduction: Women can’t paint Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Conclusion: Baselitz’s folly: Women can paint Glossary References Index