Women artists and the British poster movement (1900 – 1939)

Savage, Rebecca (2023). Women artists and the British poster movement (1900 – 1939). University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis is the first in-depth account of women poster artists working in Britain between 1900 and 1939. It uncovers and provides insight into the lives of over 250 women artists and analyses the publicity they produced for major companies including the Big Four Railways, the London Underground, and the General Post Office as well as the Government body the Empire Marketing Board.
By examining the poster production of women artists this thesis reveals the changes occurring within the British art world during the early twentieth century. It demonstrates how women used applied art mediums to overcome the gender boundaries of fine-art practice and makes clear how these actions connected to the changing social, political, and cultural position of women in interwar Britain.
However, this thesis is not merely a history of women’s poster production, nor is it an attempt to simply re-insert these women into existing scholarly knowledge. Instead, it explores how the status of the poster as both advertising and the ‘people’s art’ dismantled and upended traditional boundaries of artistic practice, and considers the impact identifying such a large number of previously overlooked women can have on scholarly understandings of early twentieth-century art. Accordingly, this thesis focuses on the range of experiences and issues associated with poster production. It explores the multiple jobs fulfilled by women poster artists — ranging from full-time freelance artists to agency workers — and reveals the multiple styles and imagery used in this work, all of which contributed to stylistic changes taking place during this time.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):