Whose Art Is It Anyway? When Women’s Artworks Were Wrongly Credited to Men

For decades, some famous artworks by many female artists have been incorrectly attributed to men. For instance, for nearly five decades, sketches by Caroline Louisa Daly (1832–1893) were part of Canada’s Confederation Centre of the Arts gallery, but the credit was given to two male artists. According to an article by Ashifa Kassam published in 2017 for The Guardian, the “signatures of C Daly or CL Daly were long attributed to John Corry Wilson Daly and Charles L Daly.” This error was later corrected by the gallery, and an exhibition was held to introduce the artist and her work.This is not the only incident, and it is not always just about attribution. Throughout history, it has not always been a simple case of mistaken credit. Instead, women

have often been key innovators within emerging styles, developing new techniques, subjects, and visual approaches. Unfortunately, the contributions of women were frequently absorbed into the background as collaborations or influences. In 1952, artist Helen Frankenthaler developed the soak-stain technique in painting. For this, paint was poured directly onto raw canvas. Artists such as Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland built entire bodies of work based on her approach. She was labelled as an influence rather than being credited as the one who developed it.Here is a look at artworks by women artists that were wrongly attributed to men.

The Jolly Toper by Judith Leyster (1609–1660)

The Dutch master’s artworks were, for a long time, attributed to the painter Frans Hals, who was her peer and rumoured rival. She was most active in the early 1630s, but it was only after two centuries that due credit was given to her. It was revealed following a lawsuit between an art dealer and his vendor, which led to the realisation that the paintings were by Leyster and not Hals. She had married an artist called Jan Miense Molenaer, and many of her works were also misattributed to him. This painting was acquired by the Frans Hals Museum and, in 1927, was attributed to her by researcher Juliane Harms.

Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1654)

The Italian painter was one of the most celebrated artists of the Baroque period. Painted between 1615 and 1617, it shows Gentileschi in the guise of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian saint martyred in the early fourth century. “The saint is portrayed as resilient, having endured torture, as indeed the artist herself did during the trial following her rape at the age of 17 by the painter Agostino Tassi. After the trial, Artemisia moved from Rome to Florence, where this painting was probably made. She seems to have used her own image frequently in works she produced in Florence. A number of self-portraits are known, and others are recorded in seventeenth-century inventories,” states the website of the National Gallery, London.The painting was not formally credited to Artemisia until 2017.

Portrait of Charlotte du Val d’Ognes by Marie-Denise Villers (1774–1821)

In 1917, The Met in New York purchased a portrait of a young woman artist for $200,000. According to The Met, this painting was made in 1801, and for a long time it was credited to the leading male Neoclassical painter of the day, Jacques-Louis David. In 1996, an art historian named Margaret Oppenheimer identified the author of this painting as Marie-Denise Villers.According to Anastasia Tsalta for Daily Art Magazine, “In 2011, art historian Anne Higonnet argued the painting is a self-portrait of the artist, and the du Val d’Ognes family renamed it Portrait of Charlotte du Val d’Ognes only after purchase. What supports this is that the sitter’s features resemble the way Villers’s sister, Marie-Victoire Lemoine, also a painter, depicted her.”