For many hundreds of years, men paid artists to make art, decided which art to buy, and decided which art could be shown in and bought by museums.


Most of the artists were men, because women were expected to be at home having children and looking after the house. There were women artists, but for a long time it was harder for them to find chances to show their art.


Later, male art historians wrote about male artists but most of them ignored women artists. People assumed the term “artist” referred to a man. By selecting a group of women artists in our collection, we are highlighting the hard work of women making art. We are still interested in the history of male artists as well. We just want to hear more voices and different stories.

19 artworks
Birdman
© The Executors of the Frink Estate and Archive. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Birdman early 1960s

Elisabeth Frink (1930–1993)

Bronze

H 82 x W 21 x D 21 cm

Gallery Oldham

Spinning Mules 3 and 4
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Spinning Mules 3 and 4 2005

Janis Bowie (b.1956)

Acrylic on canvas

H 80 x W 100 cm

Gallery Oldham

Cone Winder
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Cone Winder 2019

Janis Bowie (b.1956)

Oil on canvas

H 31 x W 39.5 cm

Gallery Oldham

Allow Your Friends to Meet Your Enemies
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Allow Your Friends to Meet Your Enemies 2011

Lubaina Himid (b.1954)

Acrylic, pencil & magazine clipping on paper

H 74.5 x W 95 cm

Gallery Oldham

Dieppe, France
© the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Bridgeman Images

Dieppe, France

Laura Sylvia Gosse (1881–1968)

Oil on canvas

H 59.5 x W 49.5 cm

Gallery Oldham

The Children of Charles I
Image credit: Bridgeman Images

The Children of Charles I exhibited 1895

Margaret Isabel Dicksee (1859–1903)

Oil on canvas

H 105.5 x W 85 cm

Gallery Oldham

Child with Stars and Stripes 2
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Child with Stars and Stripes 2 2002

Fareha Zeba (b.1961)

Oil & newspaper on board

H 72 x W 72 cm

Gallery Oldham

Paddlers
© the copyright holder. Image credit: Bridgeman Images

Paddlers

Dorothea Sharp (1874–1955)

Oil on canvas

H 84 x W 87 cm

Gallery Oldham

Sir William Walton (1902–1983)
© The Executors of the Frink Estate and Archive. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Sir William Walton (1902–1983) 1975

Elisabeth Frink (1930–1993)

Bronze

H 35 x W 19 x D 27 cm

Gallery Oldham

Number Seventeen
© the Sandra Blow estate partnership. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Number Seventeen 1961

Sandra Blow (1925–2006)

Oil on board

H 122 x W 112 cm

Gallery Oldham

Clouds over Denshaw Farm
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Clouds over Denshaw Farm 2015

Joyce Parfitt (b.1939)

Oil on canvas

H 55 x W 65 cm

Gallery Oldham

Small Mollington Knot Cushion
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Small Mollington Knot Cushion 1973

Ann Sutton (b.1935)

Wool & polyester

H 35 x W 49 x D 17 cm

Gallery Oldham

Portrait of Two Sisters
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Portrait of Two Sisters 1993

Aneela Majid (b.1963)

Oil on canvas

H 153 x W 114.4 cm

Gallery Oldham

Insulin
© the copyright holder. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Insulin c.2002

Atia Islam Anne (b.1962)

Acrylic on canvas

H 182.5 x W 90.8 cm

Gallery Oldham

Too Close to Home
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Too Close to Home 2019

Diana Terry

Collagraph print

H 60 x W 76.6 cm

Gallery Oldham

Saddleworth Hills, Dusk
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Saddleworth Hills, Dusk 2015

Sheila Dewsbury (b.1944)

Oil on canvas

H 34.5 x W 32.5 cm

Gallery Oldham

Bonjour, Pierrot!
Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Bonjour, Pierrot!

Ethel Wright (1866–1939)

Oil on canvas

H 160 x W 109 cm

Gallery Oldham

King Street, Delph
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

King Street, Delph 2015

Judith Alsop Miles (b.1959)

Watercolour on paper

H 38 x W 32 cm

Gallery Oldham

Spikey Orange
© the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

Spikey Orange 2003

Catrin Mostyn Jones (b.1960)

Ceramic

H 18 x W 24 x D 7 cm

Gallery Oldham