Looking Back (II)
Plus ca change?
I'd met this newspaper cutting before – it regularly occurs in feminist works – and been distressed by the way that Frida Kahlo is reduced to being the 'wife of a master painter', and a 'wife who dabbles'. But reading it in full, you become aware that the body of the piece is more balanced and supportive of her skills, and you can understand why it's argued that the headline was probably written by a (male) editor – who may not have even read the piece in full.
Newspaper Cutting from 1933
That article was written in 1933, in the Sexist Stone Age. So surely things are better now? Surely there's no deprecating text, no deprecating headlines? And, when I was looking into the work of the artist Sheila Girling, an obituary I found for her filled me with hope. 'The Guardian' stated that:
The painter Sheila Girling, who has died aged 90, has often been acknowledged for her influence on the work of her husband, the sculptor Anthony Caro …
But then I had second thoughts. She doesn't 'dabble gleefully' – and that, in the context of progress against sexism, must be applauded (although it's setting the bar very low) – but it still mentions her husband in both the sub-heading and the first sentence, with the former describing her as a:
Modernist painter known for her chromatic brilliance who had a huge influence on the work of her husband, the sculptor Anthony Caro.
And then that very brief glimmer of optimism was extinguished entirely by the next item I found online …
Plus ca change!!
Online Obituary of Sheila Girling, from 2015