The new ideas, progressive thinking and technical acumen that women creatives have brought to art and design throughout history is significant yet too often underestimated and undervalued. As part of the NGV’s 2022 program Observations:Women in Art and Design History, join Laurie Benson, NGV Curator, International Art, for a free tour of works by some of the most important international women artists practising from 1500 to 1900. Benson will share insights into the careers and artistic outputs of artists such as Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614), regarded as the first professional woman painter in Western art history, as well as Mary Beale, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Anne Vallayer-Coster.

Observations: Women in Art and Design History 1500-1970 is a landmark year-long online seminar series, examining the contributions of women to art and design history. The NGV-curated series features leading historians, writers and curators from around the world who explore the work of some of the most significant women in art and design; and the contexts, frameworks and networks that both supported and challenged their respective practices.