Brilliant Women at National Portrait Gallery

Brilliant Women at National Portrait Gallery is an exhibition that tells the story of the Bluestocking women: the well educated and learned women who were the original circle of the 18th century, their followers and their male supporters.

Examining their lives through their portraits and the effect that they had on society, the Brilliant Women exhibition is a thoughtful and creative show that will enlighten modern viewers to their struggles and the support that they received from their fellow male scholars and the artistic communities.

Writing novels, poetry and criticism, political thought and painting self portraits, the Bluestocking women all made a living from expressing their art, barring their patron Elizabeth Montagu, who was dubbed Queen of the Blues. Forming an important creative network, visitors to Brilliant Women at National Portrait Gallery will see how famous masterpieces, rarely seen portraits, satires and personal artifacts frame their reputations and work in a historical context.

Fine art and commemorative item, along with other piece of popular culture, all highlights the ways in which the Brilliant Women were perceived by different levels of society. Framed between the Enlightenment and the Revolution, the Bluestockings were the first symbols of national pride where women were celebrated as educated. Also examining the images of Bluestocking women and how they adapted the language of the feminine iconography to suit themselves, Brilliant Women at National Portrait Gallery invites viewers to revel in their achievements and rediscover these lost artists.

Despite their generous contribution to the creation and definition of national culture in the 18th century, their artistic movements have largely been lost or covered over. The American and French Revolutions had huge impact on the freedom and movement of women all over Europe and in Britain, and the exhibition closes with a poignant look at the likes of Mary Wollstonecraft whose reputation was so marred by the social scandal surrounding her. With changing moral roles and radical political shifts, the Bluestocking influence for women's educative rights were quashed by women like Christian social reformer Hannah More, whose promotion of traditional female roles were the foundation of the a new female activism which dominated the Victorian age.

Brilliant Women at National Portrait Gallery is on show in the Porter Gallery until the 15th June.

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