Sue Blundell and Nick Bailey will discuss women artists of Fitzrovia’s past in this free lunchtime talk, part of a new series on the Women of Fitzrovia.
This summer Sue Blundell, with the assistance of Nick Bailey, will be giving a series of three talks on the women – some famous, some anonymous – who have featured in the history of Fitzrovia.
“My illustrious lordship, I’ll show you what a woman can do.”: Women Artists in Fitzrovia
Women flocked to The Slade School of Fine Art on Gower Street when it opened in 1871 because unlike the Royal Academy it admitted female students on an almost equal footing with men. It also allowed women to attend the life drawing classes providing the male models sported some strategically positioned drapery. By the 1890s women students outnumbered the men.
When they graduated, Fitzrovia’s low rents, artistic associations and generally bohemian atmosphere persuaded some of these women artists to accompany their male counterparts into our local garrets and studios, and more female creatives came to join them. They included women who painted on the walls of our neighbourhood restaurants and hospitals, women employed in the Omega Workshops on Fitzroy Square, and one outstanding Surrealist painter, Eileen Agar.
The Fitzrovia Chapel is wheelchair accessible. For accessibility needs, please contact freya@fitzroviachapel.org
ABOUT
Sue Blundell has lived in Fitzrovia since 1975. Before her retirement she taught Classical Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London, and for the Open University, specialising in the history of women in the Greek and Roman worlds. Recently she has been turning to her own neighbourhood in her pursuit of real-life and remarkable women.
Nick Bailey taught for many years in the Faculty of Architecture and Cities at the University of Westminster and is the Emeritus Professor of Urban Regeneration. He is a long-term resident of Fitzrovia and has written extensively on its history and urban development. He is actively involved in several local community organisations.
VENUE HIRE
Accessability
Outside the Chapel, there are two steps, which have a built-in wheelchair lift. The Chapel is wheelchair accessible. The majority is on one level, and there is a ramp that can be used to access the chancel (altar area). We have a fully accessible toilet. View more accessibility information
