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First published in hardback by HarperCollinsPublishers in 2016 as Girls Can Do Anything

This revised paperback edition first printed in 2018

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Caitlin Doyle asserts her moral rights as author of the text.

Cover and interior illustrations by Chuck Gonzales

Cover and interior design by Pete Clayman

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Source ISBN 9780008285616

Ebook Edition © February 2018 ISBN: 9780008213459

Version: 2018-02-22

DEDICATION

Dedicated to Bump (AKA Saoirse)

This title comes from a sign my encouraging

parents hung in my room when I was small.

This book is dedicated to the women and

men in my life who taught me from a young

age that, truly, girls can do anything.—C.D.

CONTENTS

COVER

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

INTRODUCTION

ARTS & LITERATURE

POLITICS & WORLD-BUILDING

SCIENCE & INNOVATION

SPORTS & ENDURANCE

EPILOGUE

SEA CHANGE: WAVES OF FEMINISM

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

GLOSSARY

INDEX

IMAGE CREDITS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Introduction

Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and welcome to the adventure that is We Can Do Anything!

Within these colorful and informative pages, there is something for everyone—a little bit of round-the-world record-breaking here, some major history changers there … But mostly, this book is a wonderful opportunity for each of us to hear about the making of the world around us, and to listen to the female voices—so often silenced by history books and social norms—that spoke so much of the world’s wisdom.

I sometimes think about a fridge magnet I once saw, which said, “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” I wanted to give this inanimate magnet the power of speech, because its message was the same as the one that I hoped to deliver through this book: for much of history, a majority of the silent voices were those of girls and women. I know that some of you are thinking, “but it’s the 21st century, and everyone from Beyoncé to Taylor Swift, Joseph Gordon Levitt to Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, is leaning in, standing up, and shouting loud in support of women.” That’s true, so you might also say that feminism’s no longer a dirty word and women have made it—and that this book is simply an attractive, educational, historical, and “politically correct” artefact about a time and place where women found themselves to be the supporting acts on an otherwise masculine stage … Right? Wrong.

If history has taught us anything, it is that those great thinkers and doers of the past must stand as inspiring examples for us to learn from—and do better. For every woman who has chipped away at the glass ceiling of business, or outperformed every other runner on the track, there are still millions of others who never even make it to the starting line. My wish is for you, dear readers, the creators of the future, to ensure that we all learn from the greatness that came before, in order to make the future even greater—for all.

Within these pages, I have included more than 200 incredible women who I believe to have been at the top of their game within their chosen fields. However, there are simply not enough pages to include every great individual, and the selection I have made is limited by my own research and subjectivity. I invite you to include your own “greats” within the pages of this book. You will find blank pages at the end of each chapter, where you can add the names and details of the women who really mean something to you—be they big names from history, or current affairs, or people from your own life who have inspired and amazed you. Make this book your own.

Caitlin Doyle

June 2016

CONTENTS

SAPPHO

MURASAKI SHIKIBU

SAINT HILDEGARD OF BINGEN

THE MONA LISA

ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI

APHRA BEHN

COUNTESS D’AULNOY

FAIRY TALES

JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ

JULIA MARGARET CAMERON

BEATRIX POTTER

VIRGINIA WOOLF

COCO CHANEL

MA RAINEY

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE

DOROTHEA LANGE

ANNI ALBERS

FEATURE: WOMEN IN PHOTOGRAPHY

MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE

JOSEPHINE BAKER

KATHARINE HEPBURN

FRIDA KAHLO

GINGER ROGERS

FEATURE: FUNNY WOMEN

LUCILLE BALL

SISTER ROSETTA THARPE

BILLIE HOLIDAY

ÉDITH PIAF

ELLA FITZGERALD

PHYLLIS DILLER

MARGOT FONTEYN

MARIA CALLAS

MARILYN MONROE

MAIJA ISOLA

YAYOI KUSAMA

AUDREY HEPBURN

DELIA DERBYSHIRE

FEATURE: WOMEN IN MUSIC

DOLLY PARTON

MERYL STREEP

ANNA WINTOUR

FEATURE: FEMALE FASHION-SETTERS

OPRAH WINFREY

MADONNA

EVELYN GLENNIE

J.K. ROWLING

FEATURE: WOMEN OF LETTERS

THE NIGHTINGALES

BEYONCÉ

MISTY COPELAND

SAPPHO ONE OF THE GREATEST POETS OF ANTIQUITY

FULL NAME: Sappho

BORN: C. 620 B.C., LESBOS, GREECE

DIED: 550 B.C., LESBOS, GREECE

NATIONALITY: ANCIENT GREEK

A poetess, believed to be Sappho, from an ancient Roman fresco

“Beauty endures only for as long as it can be seen; goodness, beautiful today, will remain so tomorrow.”

SAPPHO

THE POETESS

Sappho, or Psappha, is often simply referred to as “the Poetess”—so great was her talent. Her fame is considerable, especially as very little is known about the woman herself.

Sappho spent most of her life on the Greek island of Lesbos and is believed to have been born to an aristocratic family. She is said to have married and had a daughter, but any details of this are scarce. Sappho wrote many songs and poems and is considered to be one of the greatest of the ancient poets.

BEAUTY ENDURES

Little remains of Sappho’s work, but scholars continue to be fascinated by her. Newly discovered poems have been published as recently as 2014. Her poetry and songs were written in a unique style, now called “Sapphic” meter. The language was simple and direct, but full of melody.

Often Sappho wrote about beauty and love—sometimes addressing her poems to men but more often to women. In fact, her name (as an adjective, “Sapphic”) is used to describe romantic love between women, as is the island where she was born (“lesbian” comes from “Lesbos”). She wrote odes to the goddesses and retellings of Greek myths. She also wrote about her community and, it is believed, herself. This was different from the male poets of the time, who tended to focus on politics.

In spite of the fact that Sappho lived over 2,000 years ago, and that much of her work has been lost, her words are still read and studied today. Sappho remains known as one of the greatest ancient poets, and her memory lives on through her work.

MURASAKI SHIKIBU FIRST MODERN NOVELIST

FULL NAME: Murasaki Shikibu

BORN: C. 978, HEIAN-KYŌ, JAPAN

DIED: C. 1014, POSSIBLY BIWA, JAPAN

NATIONALITY: JAPANESE

LADY MURASAKI

Murasaki Shikibu, also known as “Lady Murasaki,” was an 11th-century poet and novelist in Japan. She wrote during Japan’s “Heian” period, a golden age of peace, harmony, and the arts. Heian women did not typically learn written Chinese (the language of government in Japan), but Murasaki was anything but typical. She excelled and quickly became a prolific writer of poems and novels in Japanese and is believed to be the world’s first novelist. Her novel, The Tale of Genji, was written in 1007. Many consider it the greatest work of Japanese literature and the oldest full novel in the world. Among other works, she also wrote a volume of poetry entitled The Diary of Lady Murasaki.

Murasaki was married and had a daughter, but her husband died within two years of their marriage. It is believed that because of her incredible writing talent and intelligence, she was brought to live at the royal court. There, she became a lady-in-waiting to Empress Akiko. Murasaki kept a diary about her views on life at court. She used these observations for her novel about daily life among upper class society. The Tale of Genji was immediately successful. It has since been translated into several languages and illustrated editions. To this day, it continues to be studied as the main source of knowledge about life in ancient Japanese society.

FABULOUS FIRSTS

WRITER OF THE WORLD’S FIRST NOVEL

SAINT HILDEGARD OF BINGEN IMPORTANT MEDIEVAL COMPOSER AND “INVENTOR” OF OPERA

FULL NAME: Hildegard von Bingen (A.K.A. Sibyl of the Rhine)

BORN: C. 1098, BEMERSHEIM, WEST FRANCONIA (NOW GERMANY)

DIED: 1179, RUPERTSBERG, WEST FRANCONIA (NOW GERMANY)

NATIONALITY: GERMAN

Illustration of Saint Hildegard (date unknown)

INSTRUCTIONS FROM GOD

Hildegard von Bingen achieved many things through devotion to her faith. She became a nun, but she was also a composer, author, preacher, visionary healer-doctor—later a saint. She is also credited as being the inventor of opera. From a young age, Hildegard felt a connection to God. She experienced visions and heard voices. Her parents sent her, aged eight, to live in a convent. As a student of the mother superior, Jutta, Hildegard read and studied widely. When Jutta died, 38-year-old Hildegard was unanimously elected by her fellow nuns to replace her. Her writings became well known, and many nuns came to learn from her. Hildegard knew about medicine and was a great healer. Crowds gathered to have her “miracles” worked on them. She preached widely, even though this was illegal for women. She often challenged senior Church officials and fought for independence. Some of her views on the Church, and on women in society, were progressive. She corresponded with several important figures of the time, many of whom sought her advice, including the German emperor and the English monarchs.

THE CULT OF HILDEGARD

Hildegard was one of the most prolific writers of her time. She documented her religious visions, as well as writing poetry, plays, and books on medicine and women’s health. As well as for her role as a visionary, she is best known today as a composer of popular songs, which are still being performed. Around 70 of her compositions have survived—a huge number for a medieval composer.

After she died, the process of making her a saint was started—but it wasn’t until 2012 that she was declared a saint. She was also named a “Doctor of the Church”—a title held by very few saints—to emphasize the importance of her teachings. A “Cult of Hildegard” exists today, followed by those who live by those teachings. Hildegard was a determined leader. She is still celebrated as a feminist who both promoted and celebrated the virtues of female community and intellect.

THE MONA LISA THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS PAINTING

FULL NAME: La Gioconda (or, more commonly, The Mona Lisa)

CREATED: C. 1503, FLORENCE, ITALY

NATIONALITY: ITALIAN/FRENCH

THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS SMILE

La Gioconda, the painting better known as The Mona Lisa, is one of the most visited and best-known paintings in the entire world. Its painter, Leonardo da Vinci, was not only an artist, but also an inventor, sculptor, architect, and engineer. He painted the work in Florence some time between 1503 and 1506, and the painting now hangs in the Musee de Louvre in Paris, France. Leonardo’s composition and style set the standard and revolutionized portrait painting.

WHO IS MONA LISA?

In spite of its claim to be the world’s most famous painting, a lot of mystery surrounds the half-smiling woman in the picture. Many historians believe her to be Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, the wife of a silk merchant from Florence. Others believe the model could have been Leonardo’s mother, Caterina, or an Italian princess named Isabella d’Este. A more unusual suggestion is that the painting is actually meant to be a riddle: a self-portrait of Leonardo himself. The question remains unanswered to this day, over 500 years later.

Just who is the woman in the painting? No one is certain. All we do know is that The Mona Lisa was painted in oil paints on wood around 1503.

The Musee de Louvre, in Paris, France, is one of the most popular museums of art in the world.

The Mona Lisa remains one of the most replicated artworks, imitated by artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol. Operas and ballads have been written about her, as well as movies, novels, and plays. Her mysterious smile remains the most recognized in the world.

ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI IMPORTANT PAINTER OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

FULL NAME: Artemisia Gentileschi

BORN: JULY 8, 1593, ROME, ITALY

DIED: C. 1652, NAPLES, ITALY

NATIONALITY: ITALIAN

“Birth of St. John the Baptist,” 1635 oil-on-canvas painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi was the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, an accomplished Italian painter of the Baroque period. (Baroque design was grand and full of movement and a major artistic style in Renaissance Europe.) Orazio encouraged his daughter’s artistic skills, and they worked together on several paintings. Artemisia eventually moved to Florence, where she worked for wealthy art patrons, including the Medici family and the King of Spain.

STRONG WOMEN

Artemisia’s most famous works include “Madonna and Child,” “Susanna and the Elders,” “Judith Slaying Holofernes,” and “Cleopatra,” as well as several self-portraits. Her paintings often focus on active female characters who are equal to men. This was unusual at a time when women were usually painted as beautiful and passive. Very few women made it as Renaissance painters. However, Artemisia was successful during her lifetime, which is uncommon for any painter, but even more so for a woman in that period. She was also the first woman to become a member of the famous Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. She is now considered one of the best and most progressive painters of the time and a feminist icon.

FABULOUS FIRSTS

FIRST WOMAN TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, FLORENCE, ITALY

APHRA BEHN PIONEERING AUTHOR AND ONE OF THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL FEMALE WRITERS

FULL NAME: Aphra Behn

BORN: C. 1640, U.K.

DIED: APRIL 16, 1689, LONDON, U.K.

NATIONALITY: ENGLISH

Original 1688 first edition cover of Aphra Benn’s novel, Oroonoko

UNLADYLIKE?

Aphra Behn was many things: novelist, playwright, poet, translator, and spy. She lived in the mid-1600s, at a time when women were very firmly under the control of their fathers and husbands. Nevertheless, Aphra became a celebrity. She was a paid author, financially independent, and this made her very unusual. She also fought for the equality of the sexes. For all of this, she was accused of being “unladylike”—but she did not let this stand in her way.

CELEBRITY, SPY, WRITER

Little is known of Aphra’s early years, other than that she spent some time in South America. In 1666, Aphra is known to have acted as an English spy in Antwerp, Holland on behalf of the royal family. She collected intelligence about military threats during the Second Dutch War. Not long after, she began writing plays, followed by novels and poetry, as a means of earning an income and paying off her debts. Being a professional (paid) writer was almost unheard of for a woman at the time. Her most successful play was called “The Rover” and was written in 1681. She wrote several plays and was considered one of the most prolific playwrights of her time. Her speciality was comedy, but through her plays she was able to question the contemporary treatment of women. Her 1688 novel, Oroonoko, is today recognized as iconic in the development of the novel in the English language. The novel told the story of an enslaved prince and the harsh treatment of the local people by the colonists.

Aphra was also unusual in that she never used a male pen name or pretended to be a man when she wrote or competed against male playwrights. She was radical in her belief that women should be educated. Aphra Behn’s work was overlooked for roughly 300 years, until the 20th century. Now, she is recognized as an important writer, novelist, and feminist icon.

COUNTESS D’AULNOY NOVELIST WHO COINED THE TERM “FAIRY TALE”

FULL NAME: Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville

BORN: (EXACT DATE UNKNOWN) 1650, NEAR HONFLEUR, FRANCE

DIED: JANUARY 14, 1705, PARIS, FRANCE

NATIONALITY: FRENCH

Countess d’Aulnoy, in an 18th-century engraving

FAIRY TALES FOR GROWN-UPS

Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, also known as the Countess d’Aulnoy or Madame d’Aulnoy, was a 17th-century novelist and fairy-tale writer. Many of her works told of intrigue and scandal, just like her own personal life. As a young wife, Marie is rumored to have conspired with her mother to make up false accusations about her husband. When the plot backfired, Marie had to leave France for 15 years. During this time, she traveled in Spain, England, and Holland. Her adventures fed into her stories, and when she returned to France in 1685, she began her literary career. At the time, literary salons (where writers would share stories out loud) were fashionable. Marie hosted her own popular salon, and her work was soon published.

Marie’s novels were very popular across Europe. They told fictionalized accounts of history in the royal European courts. However, it was her fairy tales (contes de fées), first published in 1707, for which she is best known. Marie coined the term “fairy tales” for the popular folk tales featuring fantasy characters and magic. The Brothers Grimm would become famous for their own collections of such tales over 100 years later. While Marie’s tales are less well known today, she made a huge contribution to the genre that helped create the tales we love today.

FAIRY TALE CHARACTERS

RAPUNZEL

AURORA (FROM SLEEPING BEAUTY)

SNOW WHITE

Fairy tales are fantasy stories—often, but not always, for children—that feature magic and include creatures such as fairies, elves, and dragons. Countess d’Aulnoy coined the term contes de fées (fairy tales) in the 17th century, grouping together this style of story. Traditionally, these tales were told out loud and passed down from generation to generation. The Grimm Brothers, Charles Perrault, Countess d’Aulnoy, and Hans Christian Anderson all collected these stories, and they have become the tales we know and love today.

Many fairy tales have a girl or woman at the center of them, such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel. In some cases, these women are able to make their own choices and rescue themselves. However, in several retellings that are now common today, these women often need to be rescued by someone else. There is a modern trend to give women in these stories a sense of their own control once again, as can be seen in current versions of these stories on the big screen, such as Tangled and Enchanted.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

CINDERELLA

JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ AUTHOR, ACTIVIST, AND EARLY FEMINIST

FULL NAME: Juana Inés de la Cruz

BORN: NOVEMBER 12, 1651, SAN MIGUEL NEPANTLA (NOW TEPETLIXPA), MEXICO

DIED: APRIL 17, 1695, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

NATIONALITY: MEXICAN

“I don’t study to know more, but to ignore less.”

JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ

TEENAGE WONDER

Almost 400 years ago, Juana Inés de la Cruz was her generation’s Malala (see here). An outspoken activist for women’s right to an education, Juana’s scholarly work became known throughout Mexico—and as far as Spain—when she was still a teenager. Aged 16, Juana decided to become a nun in Mexico City, as it would give her the freedom to study and write. At the time, living as a nun was one of the only options for a girl who wanted to pursue these activities. As a nun, Sor (Sister) Juana wrote poetry, plays, and essays, challenging social norms and defending women’s rights. Juana found her own access to education—as she was entirely self-taught. From 1669 until the end of her life, Juana lived at the Convent of Santa Paula, where she wrote, taught music and drama, composed music, and worked as the convent’s accountant and archivist. She built up one of the largest private libraries in the New World. (The “New World” was an early European name for the Americas.)

THE TENTH MUSE

Unlike many writers and artists throughout history, Juana was successful in her lifetime, during the Golden Age of Spanish arts. Her nickname was the “Tenth Muse.” She was a very talented writer and set her hand to many different genres and styles. She was also the unofficial royal court poet in the 1680s. The characters in her plays included women who were both brave and clever, and her religious works praised the learned female saints. Eventually, the Church disapproved of her writing and her beliefs, instructing her to focus on religious studies. However, Juana defended herself admirably, while also asserting all women’s right to knowledge: “One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper.”

Juana has lived on as a lasting icon of many things: Mexican identity, early feminism, and independence. In the 20th century—thanks, in part, to the work of Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo (see here) and contemporary artists—Juana became famous again. (She can be seen in Rivera’s 1947 mural, Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central in Mexico City, Mexico.) Her ideas and accomplishments were ahead of their time, but the world has finally caught up. She is credited as the first published feminist of the New World and an outstanding writer of her period. Today, Juana’s portrait is on Mexican currency and she remains an inspiration to modern artists, scholars, and feminists.

A statue of Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz, given from Mexico to Madrid, Spain in 1981

FABULOUS FIRSTS

FIRST PUBLISHED FEMINIST OF THE “NEW WORLD”

JULIA MARGARET CAMERON EARLY PIONEER OF PHOTOGRAPHY

FULL NAME: Julia Margaret Cameron

BORN: JUNE 11, 1815, CALCUTTA, INDIA

DIED: JANUARY 26, 1879, KALUTARA, SRI LANKA

NATIONALITY: BRITISH

Portrait of Julia Margaret Cameron from 1870, by Henry Herschel Hay Cameron

FROM SCIENCE TO ART

One of the most influential and innovative photographers of the 1800s, Julia Margaret Cameron was also a visionary. In the 19th century, photography was a new and developing science—a cutting-edge way to record a person or scene. Julia, however, used her portraits to elevate photography to an art form.

A camera similar to the type Margaret would have used late in her career

A LATE BLOOMER

The fourth of seven daughters, Julia could have disappeared as the middle child of a large family. But instead, she stood out as the most artistic and eccentric. Julia had an international upbringing: while her family was British, she was born in India, educated in France, and spent time in India, Sri Lanka, and Africa.

While in South Africa in 1836, Julia met John Herschel, the famous British astronomer. They became life-long friends, and a few years later he introduced her to photography. He would continue to advise her on technical matters until he died. (Remember, at the time, photography was still a very manual process involving chemistry and darkrooms.) Julia started her photography career relatively late in life, at the age of 48, when her daughter gave her a camera as a present.

Julia’s 1870 photograph, “Vivian and Merlin”—an illustration for poet Alfred Lord Tennyson’s work, “Idylls of Spring”

CAPTURING BEAUTY

Julia experimented with artistic uses for photography and was one of the first ever to do so. She is best known for her portraits, often close-ups of family, friends, and the celebrities from her social circle. Julia used her photographs to re-tell stories from myths and legends, including those of King Arthur. She wanted to capture beauty, and even the sitter’s soul, rather than simple reality. Julia’s style was very unusual: her photographs were intentionally out of focus, and she kept, or even added, scratches and marks in her work. Fellow photographers often thought her work was sloppy, but painters loved her style. Perhaps her work was simply ahead of its time, as she remains a huge inspiration to many modern photographers and other artists. Today, Julia’s work continues to be shown in exhibitions around the world, from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

BEATRIX POTTER ONE OF THE BEST-LOVED CHILDREN’S AUTHORS OF ALL TIME

FULL NAME: Helen Beatrix Potter

BORN: JULY 28, 1866, LONDON, U.K.

DIED: DECEMBER 22, 1943, NEAR SAWREY, CUMBRIA, U.K.

NATIONALITY: BRITISH

A British postage stamp, circa 1979, showing The Tale of Peter Rabbit

PETER RABBIT’S CREATOR

Despite writing 100 years ago, Beatrix Potter remains one of the best-loved and best-selling children’s authors in history. The mischievous Peter Rabbit is recognized by children all over the world.

Beatrix came from a wealthy English family, and her parents were very artistic. At the time, it was common for children to be looked after by nannies. The Potter nannies spent a lot of time outside with the children and allowed them to set up homes for all sorts of creatures in their nursery. From a young age, Beatrix was fascinated. She sketched animals and insects very carefully and accurately. Eventually, she studied at the National Art Training School. Even though her animal characters wear clothes and engage in human activities, they still look remarkably realistic.

Beatrix first had success making greeting cards, but she also wrote and illustrated stories for friends. One such story was The Tale of Peter Rabbit. In 1902, the publisher Frederick Warne & Co. published Peter Rabbit, and it quickly became popular with young readers. Several tales followed, including The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tale of Tom Kitten, and The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck. In total, Beatrix wrote 28 books in her lifetime, many of which became instant children’s classics.

A portrait of Beatrix outside of her home in the Lake District, by Charles G.Y. King

WRITING IN NATURE

Throughout her life, Beatrix remained fascinated by nature and animals. Beatrix moved from being a writer in London to a farmer in the countryside of the English Lake District (see top left). Later in life, she wrote less and spent a lot of her time tending her farms and sheep. In particular, she raised a local breed of sheep, the Herdwick, for which she won many prizes. Her commitment to nature and the environment was ahead of its time, and today she would be called a conservationist. She actively campaigned about nature and was a smart businesswoman. When she died, she left 4,000 acres of land and farms to the National Trust, a nature preservation organization in England.

Beatrix Potter’s work remains just as popular today as it was in her lifetime. Her works have been translated into 35 languages and have sold over 100 million copies. And 110 years after the publication of her first book, Beatrix’s fans have a new surprise in store. A long-lost and previously unpublished story, The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots, was found in 2014. The text, illustrated by prize-winning artist Quentin Blake, is available September 2016!

Beatrix’s home in the English Lake District was Yew Tree Farm, pictured here. It can still be visited today.

VIRGINIA WOOLF LITERARY PIONEER

FULL NAME: Adeline Virginia Stephen Woolf

BORN: JANUARY 25, 1882, LONDON, U.K.

DIED: MARCH 28, 1941, NEAR LEWES, EAST SUSSEX, U.K.

NATIONALITY: BRITISH

“A woman must have money and a room of her own …”

VIRGINIA WOOLF

A FAMILY OF ARTISTS

Virginia Woolf is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. She helped kick-start modernism—a major art movement that rejected traditional ideas and instead focused on brand-new concepts that fit better in the modern, industrial world. Modernism included every art form—from painting to novels, music to architecture—and continues to influence styles of art today.

Adeline Virginia Stephen was born into a very artistic family (including her great aunt, the famous portrait photographer Julia Margaret Cameron—see here). One of eight children, young Virginia was especially close to her sister Vanessa (later the famous painter Vanessa Bell). Writerly from childhood, at the age of nine Virginia founded the family newspaper, the Hyde Park News. The family suffered a series of tragedies, with the death of Virginia’s mother, followed by that of two of her siblings and her father. These sadnesses contributed to Virginia’s depression, but they would also later be channeled into her writing.

THE BLOOMSBURY BOHEMIANS

Around 1907, Virginia and Vanessa moved to Bloomsbury, in London, where they held informal gatherings of bohemian artists and thinkers. Virginia met Leonard Woolf, who would become her husband and chief supporter for the rest of her life. The group quickly became the “Bloomsbury Group”—a talented group of artists, writers, and philosophers with a strong influence over the London art scene. Virginia and her writing were in the middle of it all.

The Bloomsbury Group of like-minded artists and writers lived in this square in Bloomsbury, London. The area was a hive of creativity for a number of years.

Virginia had unique thoughts on how to construct a novel. She liked the idea of not plotting a story from A to B, but instead following her natural flow of thoughts (a technique known as “stream-of-consciousness”). She also wrote about everyday, domestic happenings rather than great, dramatic events. Her first novels, including The Voyage Out, were more traditional, but the more she wrote, the more she experimented. In the course of her life, Virginia wrote reviews, essays, diaries, letters, and novels and became one of the most influential and respected writers of the era.

A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN

In 1917, Virginia and Leonard started a publishing company, called the Hogarth Press. It soon became a major publisher of modernist works and published over 500 books. In addition to being a writer, Virginia was a social activist and later feminist icon, exploring themes of class, war, women’s rights, and politics in her writing. The 1929 essay A Room of One’s Own contains Virginia’s most famous feminist remark, which became a slogan for later feminists aiming to achieve success in all areas: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”

Virginia’s mental health grew worse over the years, and in 1941 she committed suicide. In spite of such a tragic end, at the age of only 59, the great writer’s works live on larger than life. Her most famous novels, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, and Jacob’s Room, remain classics of modern literature. Virginia’s voice was unique and ahead of its time. Her style has influenced generations of writers, as well as artists and film-makers.

COCO CHANEL FASHION ICON AND ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL DESIGNERS OF ALL TIME

FULL NAME: Gabrielle “Coco” Bonheur Chanel

BORN: AUGUST 19, 1883, SAUMUR, FRANCE

DIED: JANUARY 10, 1971, PARIS, FRANCE

NATIONALITY: FRENCH

More than 100 years after Coco Chanel hit the fashion scene, her stylish designs and recognizable logo remain iconic all over the world.

FAREWELL TO THE CORSET

Voted one of the top fashion icons of all time by Time magazine, Coco Chanel was a game-changer in the world of women’s fashion. Before she made an impact with her designs, women squeezed themselves into corsets and super-feminine dresses. Coco was seen as revolutionary—bringing looser, more “masculine” clothes to women. She was one of the first women to wear pants, and the first to design pajamas and lightweight sportswear for women. Coco introduced the now-iconic “little black dress,” and her tweed skirt suits, costume jewelry, and simple yet elegant designs have become staples in the world of women’s apparel.

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, stylishly posed, in 1920

AMAZING ACHIEVEMENTS
| GAME-CHANGER IN WOMEN’S FASHION
| INTRODUCED THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS, PAJAMAS, AND BELL-BOTTOM PANTS
Coco was the very first fashion designer to launch her own perfume.

ENDURING STYLE ICON

Born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, Coco had a difficult early life. She was born into poverty in France and was raised in a girls’ home at a convent, where she was taught to sew. As a young woman, she made her way briefly into the entertainment industry as a cabaret singer, where she picked up the nickname of “Coco.” In 1910, she was funded to open her own hat shop, before moving on to women’s clothing and, eventually, perfume—the first fashion designer to do so. She felt that in order for clothes to be luxurious, they ultimately needed to be comfortable. This included her large role in bringing pants into women’s fashion. Coco’s designs were loved by Hollywood royalty, including actresses such as Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly. Coco Chanel quickly earned a position at the height of contemporary fashion, and her place as a revered fashion icon holds firm to this day.

With the Great Depression, followed by World War II, even wealthy people’s ability to buy high fashion was in decline. Coco closed the Chanel stores in 1939. However, in 1954, at the age of 70, she made a grand return to the world of clothing—with the introduction of bell-bottom pants. Coco opened her first fashion store over 100 years ago, yet her name continues to be a byword for iconic style. Her designs and philosophy of fashion have greatly influenced generations of designers that followed. Her “CC” logo is now one of the world’s most recognizable trademarks.

Coco’s fashion house remains as popular today as it was during her lifetime. This boutique window, in Milan, Italy, displays some of the 2012 Chanel designs.

MA RAINEY MOTHER OF THE BLUES

FULL NAME: Gertrude Malissa “Ma” Nix Pridgett Rainey

BORN: C. APRIL 26, 1886, COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, U.S.A.

DIED: DECEMBER 22, 1939, ROME, GEORGIA, U.S.A.

NATIONALITY: AMERICAN

MADAM GERTRUDE MA RAINEY

Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett began performing when she was around 13, first through her Baptist church and later on tour. In 1904, Gertrude married William Rainey, and the pair began touring as “Ma” and “Pa” Rainey soon after. By 1905, Ma had heard blues music and began to work it into her performance list. She quickly developed her own “raw” singing style, using her booming voice and unusual phrasing. She became the first popular entertainer to perform the blues on stage and came to be known as the “Mother of the Blues.”

FROM GERTRUDE TO MA

She would go on to perform live music for over 30 years, including during the blues heyday of the 1920s. Her stage presence was captivating. Ma became the first great female blues vocalist and brought blues to a wider audience. After the Raineys separated in 1916, Ma began touring with her own band, Madam Gertrude Ma Rainey and her Georgia Smart Sets.

“They don’t understand that’s [the blues is] life’s way of talking. You don’t sing to feel better. You sing ‘cause that’s a way of understanding life.”

MA RAINEY

A collection of her songs from 1924 to 1928, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” album remains a classic of the blues genre.

FABULOUS FIRSTS

FIRST POPULAR ENTERTAINER TO PERFORM THE BLUES ON STAGE

BLUESY BUSINESSWOMAN

In 1923, Ma made her first record for Paramount Records. This was to be part of the first wave of blues records. (Mamie Smith was the first black woman to record an album, in 1920.) Ma’s songs dealt with love and work, and the everyday lives of Southern African-Americans. Ma worked with many famous musicians and singers of her day, including Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins. Ma was known as a savvy businesswoman, and she also owned two entertainment venues: the Lyric Theater and the Airdome.

Not only was Ma Rainey important to the evolution of blues music, her work inspired a wide range of musicians, as well as poets and novelists, such as Langston Hughes, Sterling Brown, and Alice Walker. Ma has been inducted into both the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame (in 1983) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in 1990) for her tremendous contributions to music of all genres.

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE MOTHER OF AMERICAN MODERNISM

FULL NAME: Georgia Totto O’Keeffe

BORN: NOVEMBER 15, 1887, SUN PRAIRIE, WISCONSIN, U.S.A.

DIED: MARCH 6, 1986, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, U.S.A.

NATIONALITY: AMERICAN

Cow skulls and colorful flowers featured heavily in Georgia’s work.

MODERN AMERICA ON CANVAS

Even if you don’t know the name “Georgia O’Keeffe,” chances are you’ve seen her work. Georgia is one of the most well-known American painters of all time. Her paintings are bold and brightly colored and grace the walls of museums around the world, as well as greeting cards and posters. She painted huge canvases with iconic images of America, including New York skyscrapers, Southwestern deserts and cow skulls, and huge flowers and clouds.

FROM SKYSCRAPERS TO COW SKULLS

Georgia came from a family of Wisconsin dairy farmers, and she was the second of seven children. As a young girl, she was taught watercolor painting. By age ten, she knew she would be an artist. She went on to study at the Art Institute of Chicago (which now houses the majority of her works) and the Art Students League in New York. There, she was taught revolutionary ideas of composition. The charcoal drawings she did as a result made Georgia one of the very first American artists to produce abstract art—this was her first exhibited work, in 1916. The art dealer and photographer responsible for this exhibition was Alfred Stieglitz. Alfred and Georgia would eventually marry, and Alfred would spend the rest of his life as Georgia’s supporter. By the 1920s, Georgia was becoming famous for her now-trademark themes of skyscrapers and flowers. Soon after, she began traveling to New Mexico. The desert landscapes made their way into her work, as a beautiful contrast to her skyscraper pieces. Her desire for new ideas led her to travel internationally, and she produced incredible paintings of the mountains of Peru and Japan.

Georgia painted the deserts and rock formations of New Mexico.

A U.S. postage stamp from 2013 commemorating Georgia’s work

FAMOUS PAINTER AND FEMINIST ICON

Later in life, Georgia suffered from an eye condition called macular degeneration that caused her to lose her sight. But she refused to be defeated. Georgia painted her last work without help at the age of 85. After that, she had the help of several assistants and continued to create beautiful art that she pictured in her imagination. Georgia was painting at a time when most famous artists were men, but she continued with her unique style and found great success. Her work is described as distinctly “female” for its curvy, “feminine” lines and close-ups, as well as her focus on nature. She has become a feminist icon, both for her distinct style and determination. Georgia was awarded the National Medal of Arts, in 1977, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1985, for her huge contribution to the arts. She remains one of the most important and influential American painters of all time and is known as the Mother of American Modernism.

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