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View from the PenninesHenrietta Ward (1832–1924) was one of the most successful female painters of her day – her fi rst drawing was accepted at the Royal Academy when she was only 14. But like many female artists she has not had the recognition she deserves.Ward’s The Princes in the Tower is one of the key works in our current exhibition, Women Artists: From 1861 to 2015. Our aim is to celebrate Touchstones Rochdale’s history of collecting work by women. The exhibition looks at how some of the formal and conceptual concerns of female artists have changed from the late 19th century to the present day, and the role that gender has played in the production of art and its reception throughout this period.The gallery has a large number of works by female artists, but despite the strong holdings there is still a gender imbalance, with male artists predominating. This is not unique to Rochdale: it is estimated that only 5%of the art featured in major permanent collections worldwide is by women.We start the exhibition by looking at the Victorian period, where the vast majority of women artists, like Ward, were from the middle or upper classes and the scope and nature of their work was defi ned by their limited access to education, materials, exhibiting opportunities and patronage. Although increasing in number and levels of success, they still faced discrimination; painting was an acceptable hobby, but a career as an artist was frowned upon, and full membership to organisations such as the Royal Academy remained restricted to men.The 20th century brought greater freedom for women, with artists like Vanessa Bell assuming a place within the leading avant-garde movements of Above: Dorothea Sharp, Low TideLeft: Touchstones RochdaleMark Doyle, Curator at Touchstones Rochdale, explains how it is celebrating women, while over in Barnsley Natalie Murray explores the collections of the newly transformed Cooper Gallery26 NADFAS REVIEW / AUTUMN 2016 www.nadfas.org.ukREGIONAL GALLERIES