Storage Break 2. – In the Shadow
Works by female artists from the Municipal Gallery Collection 1900–1950
10 May 2023 – 1 October 2023.
Curator: Eszter Molnárné Aczél
Storage Break 2.
Margit Gráber (1895–1993): Sketch for Mural, 1947
tempera and pastel on paper
What is the percentage of female artists in our collection? What considerations went into selecting their works? The starting point for research was József Rippl-Rónai to Dóra Maurer. A Selection from the Modern Collection of the Municipal Gallery, a 2022 exhibition at Balatonfüred’s Vaszary Gallery which offered a kind of overview of the works held at the Municipal Gallery. It was after this that we started to comb through the storage rooms of BHM Kiscell Museum—Municipal Gallery with an eye on female representation.
Last year’s exhibition, the first in the Storage Break series, presented works by 19th-century female artists from the Municipal Gallery collection; this time we are focusing on works created between 1900 and 1950. Looking at the numbers, it is clear that the first half of the 20th century marks a new era: there is a much higher proportion of works by female artists than in any previous period. Additionally, we have many works by Mariska Undi, Jolán Gross-Bettelheim, and Margit Gráber, and wanted to showcase these. Also on display are sculptures and works on paper by Mária Kósa, an extraordinary and undeservedly forgotten artist; these are true discoveries.
Olga Hadzsy (1873–1968): View from Svábhegy, 1915
oil on canvas
This was a period when women could choose art as a career for the first time, although this very rarely translated into a secure livelihood. Female artists had still to go against the grain of the insistent views of male artists and critics that women, although being saturated with art and beauty and making first-rate copyists, were short of creative genius.
Starting with the late 19th century, women were allowed to study at art academies, if not on the same terms as their male colleagues. It was also then that they started to appear at exhibitions; however, early shows dedicated to female artists often featured fine art alongside kitchen, design, or craft artefacts, which, ironically, drew a clear line between “female activities” and “professional” art.
Margit Gráber (1895–1993): Self-Portrait with Blue Shawl, 1930
tempera and pastel on board
The Association of Hungarian Female Artist was founded in 1908, late for European standards, and operated until 1946, supporting and promoting female artists through exhibitions. Their first show in 1909 had an international scope, which they hoped would draw attention and lend gravity to it. The work of the association was under constant criticism for gender-based segregation, but, since other art organisations were reluctant to accept female members, this was in effect the sole outlet for female artists. As yet, no study of their 29 exhibitions exists.
There are close to 100 hundred works by 26 female artists at the present exhibition of the Municipal Gallery, including oils, watercolours, drawings, prints, and sculptures. Many of the artists, despite having dedicated their lives to art, are as good as unknown to present-day audiences. This exhibition is a chance for discovery.