Raising awareness of women’s roles in portraiture

Gill Perry, Professor of Art History at The Open University, stimulated public debate around the topic through an extensive public engagement programme that included an international series of public lectures, a major curated exhibition with the National Portrait Gallery and substantial media coverage.

 

'The growing consumer culture of the 18th century is often seen to anticipate our own era of mass reproduction and our obsession with visual media.'

The research, Portraiture, Gender and Theatre: The First Actresses, which spans the period from the late 17th century to the early 19th century, raised the profile of the important role of gender and feminine portraiture in perceptions of the theatre and the importance of women in the development of modern celebrity culture.

 

“One of my key interests is the important role of women in this relationship,” said Professor Perry. “I researched how gender difference is constructed in visual representation, especially painting, prints and sculpture.”

 

The exhibition provoked extensive media interest and debate and received over 140 recorded UK press acknowledgments, which was record-breaking coverage for a historical exhibition of this size at the National Portrait Gallery. It also directly influenced and enhanced the programming of the Gallery and encouraged links with institutions and representatives from British theatre.

 

“The growing consumer culture of the 18th century is often seen to anticipate our own era of mass reproduction and our obsession with visual media,” said Professor Perry. “My research shows the constant feminine face of celebrity culture and my exhibitions were designed to show how portraiture can function as a carefully manipulated masquerade as another form of performance.”

 

As she suggests, there are many echoes in our own mass media obsession with feminine celebrity.

 

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