Now You See Us: Tate Britain showcases the women who paved the way for future generations

This May, Tate Britain will present an ambitious group show charting women’s 400 year journey to being recognised as professional artists.

Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920 takes a look at the artists who paved the way for future generations and established what it meant to be a woman in the British art world. 

From Tudor times to the First World War, Now You See Us will display the works of celebrated names such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Angelica Kauffman, Julia Margaret Cameron and Gwen John, alongside many others who are only now being rediscovered.

Featuring more than 150 works, the show dismantles stereotypes surrounding women artists in history, who were often thought of as amateurs. 

They challenged what it meant to be a working woman of the time by going against society’s expectations – having commercial careers as artists and taking part in public exhibitions.

Determined to succeed and refusing to be boxed in, these women painted what were usually thought to be subjects for male artists – history pieces, battle scenes and the nude.

Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520 – 1920 is on at Tate Britian in Millbank, Pimlico, between May 16 and October 13.

Picture: Gwen John Self-Portrait, 1902 Purchased by the Tate in 1942 (Picture: Tate Britain, courtesy of the artist)