Women's Work

Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing clothing created from spun fibres. In Women’s Work, archaeologist-linguist Elizabeth Wayland Barber “weaves the strands of mythology and literature, ethnology and documented history into a rich tapestry” (John Noble Wilford, The New York Times Book Review), illuminating the vital role women held in preindustrial societies. With a distinctive and innovative approach to ancient remains, Barber examines ancient textiles from Stone Age string skirts and ancient Egyptian sleeved tunics to intricate Neolithic Swiss linens and colourfully patterned Minoan dresses, offering us captivating glimpses into the daily lives of women through the cloth they made and wore.

Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing clothing created from spun fibres. In Women’s Work, archaeologist-linguist Elizabeth Wayland Barber “weaves the strands of mythology and literature, ethnology and documented history into a rich tapestry” (John Noble Wilford, The New York Times Book Review), illuminating the vital role women held in preindustrial societies. With a distinctive and innovative approach to ancient remains, Barber examines ancient textiles from Stone Age string skirts and ancient Egyptian sleeved tunics to intricate Neolithic Swiss linens and colourfully patterned Minoan dresses, offering us captivating glimpses into the daily lives of women through the cloth they made and wore.

This powerful and insightful work offers a bold celebration of the innovative, brilliant artists reclaiming the idea of ‘women’s work’. In the history of western art, decorative and applied arts – including textiles and ceramics – have been separated from the ‘high arts’ of painting and sculpture and deemed to be more suitable for women. Artists began to reclaim and redefine these materials and methods , energizing them with expressions of identity and imagination. Women’s Work tells the story of this radical change , highlighting some of the modern and contemporary artists who dared to defy this hierarchy and who, through, experimentation and invention, transformed their medium. The work of these women has helped underscore the ongoing value of these art forms within the history of art , championing ‘women’s work’ as powerful mediums worthy of celebration. With biographical entries on each artist featured, as well as beautiful images of their artworks , Women's Work raises up the work of these visionary and groundbreaking artists, telling their stories and examining their artistic legacies.

This powerful and insightful work offers a bold celebration of the innovative, brilliant artists reclaiming the idea of ‘women’s work’. In the history of western art, decorative and applied arts – including textiles and ceramics – have been separated from the ‘high arts’ of painting and sculpture and deemed to be more suitable for women. Artists began to reclaim and redefine these materials and methods , energizing them with expressions of identity and imagination. Women’s Work tells the story of this radical change , highlighting some of the modern and contemporary artists who dared to defy this hierarchy and who, through, experimentation and invention, transformed their medium. The work of these women hashelped underscore the ongoing value of these art forms within the history of art , championing‘women’s work’ as powerful mediums worthy of celebration. With biographical entries on each artist featured, as well as beautiful images of their artworks , Women's Work raises up the work of these visionary and groundbreaking artists, telling their stories and examining their artistic legacies.