About The Other Half
The research platform The Other Half. The Role of Women in the Dutch Art World 1780-1980 aims to increase the knowledge and visibility of women in the Dutch art world.
MISSION AND ORIGINS
Women have always played an important role in the art world, but their efforts have often been marginalised in historiography. In particular, women who actively collected, managed, researched, presented and promoted art have received little attention.
To broaden the perspective on the role of women within the Dutch art world, The Other Half was launched in 2021 and has since grown into a broad platform for exchanging knowledge. The mission of The Other Half is twofold. First, we want to create awareness of the role of women as actors in the Dutch art field, thereby increasing their visibility and fostering contributions to the body of knowledge. Second, we aim to permanently integrate these women into the historiography of visual art, design, museology and all other fields they engaged in.
The platform focuses on a range of women who were involved as collectors, critics, curators, dealers or donors of artworks that are or have been in Dutch public collections. The focus is not only on prominent figures such as Helene Kröller-Müller (1869-1939), but also on women who have been less visible. In doing so, we strive for a collaborative network between various Dutch museums and research institutes, with a platform where activities, current research and research results can be found.
The Other Half was founded in 2021 by an associate professor from the University of Amsterdam and curators from the Rijksmuseum, the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. A year later, the director of collections from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen joined, and in early 2024 a museology lecturer from the Reinwardt Academy followed suit. These institutions are represented in the steering committee, which organises expert meetings and has set up and continues to develop this online platform. With these activities, the platform provides an opportunity for all museums, research institutions and independent researchers to share research on how women have contributed to the Dutch art world in many ways – in addition to making art.
A SEQUEL TO…
The Other Half builds on the efforts of previous generations. Following Linda Nochlin’s pioneering essay ‘Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?’ (1971), publications on women artists also appeared in the Netherlands, such as Schilderen uit liefhebberij: De Nederlandse kunstenares van de 19e eeuw tot nu (1978), the exhibition catalogues Bloemen uit de Kelder (1989) and Elck zijn waerom (1999), and Hannah Klarenbeek’s study Penseelprinsessen & broodschilderessen: Vrouwen in de beeldende kunst 1808-1913 (2012). Liesbeth Brandt Corstius, Els Kloek, Katlijne van der Stighelen, Yvette Marcus-de Groot and many others were pioneers in the field of Dutch feminist art history. They brought to light the limited representation of women artists in Dutch museums – thirty years after the Guerrilla Girls’ iconic commentary on the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Recent interest in women artists has been stimulated in part by studies such as Een nog onverteld verhaal. Verkennend onderzoek naar gender(on)gelijkheid in de kunstwereld (2022) by WOMEN Inc and the report Vrouwelijke beeldend kunstenaars in Nederland. Arbeidsmarktpositie, carrièreverloop, representatie (2024) by the Boekman Foundation, commissioned by Stichting Niemeijer Fonds. These studies, and the media attention they generated, caused a stir in Dutch museums that was reflected in acquisitions, exhibitions and renewed collection presentations paying attention to women artists. As a result, women makers of art and design are now increasingly visible. This is why The Other Half does not pay specific attention to female artists, but rather to all the other parts women have played, for instance as donors, critics or museum employees.
an invitation to art historians
The Other Half does not stand on its own. This initiative is an invitation to all art historians, researchers and enthusiasts to write a more inclusive and balanced art history together. The sharing of research, sources, methods, data and insights is essential for the platform to function and for pursuing a deeper understanding of women’s role in the art world. This platform aims to contribute to a fairer portrait of those who have long stood in the shadows of others. Let’s work together and highlight the other half of art history, to get a more complete, and therefore better, picture of it.