The Women who Shaped Modern Art in Britain

The Women Behind Modern Art in Britain tells the stories of determined women like Helen Sutherland, Margaret Gardiner, Myfanwy Piper and others, who helped to change the course of British art in the middle of the last century. Whether as friends, supporters, collectors, curators or galleristes, they played a central role in determining the emergence of artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Piet Mondrian, Alfred Wallis, Christopher Wood and Francis Bacon.

Hitherto overshadowed by their male counterparts, it was their vigour and passion that set London on course as an art metropolis, the equal of Paris and New York in the 1940s–60s.

About the Author

James Scott was the Founding Chairman of the Arts Project at The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in 1993. This project has been responsible for placing more than 1,500 works of art in the hospital. The extensive work of incorporating all aspects of artistic endeavour into healthcare continues in the hospital, as recently described in a book entitled The Healing Arts (Unicorn. 2019).

He has written The Sculpture of Kenneth Armitage (Lund Humphries, 2016) and in 2018-9 co-curated the Pallant House exhibition of the works of Julian Trevelyan, The Artist and his World. Forthcoming he is to co-curate Alfred Wallis. An Artist’s Artist at The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol.