In this themed auction, works by female artists active from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century come together. What today may seem self-evident – that artistic practice is not defined by gender – was for a long time far from a given. For many of the artists presented here, the professional role was shaped by clear limitations, unspoken rules and societal expectations.

Since the Renaissance, the role of the artist had been strongly coded as male, associated with notions of genius, virility and creative power. In the late 19th century, this meant that female artists were forced to strike a constant balance between artistic ambition and the norms of their time. When the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm opened the so-called “Ladies’ Department” in 1864, women were granted access to regular tuition – but under special conditions. Teaching took place in separate premises and at different times from that of the men, and female students were denied the opportunity to study from the live nude model.

Despite these limitations, many women artists established themselves and created their own networks. Several received their foundational training at August Malmström’s painting school, and with the founding of the Akademiklubben in 1877, new opportunities for fellowship and exchange between art students of both sexes emerged. Festivities, masquerades and the journal Palettskrap were organised here – an informal setting that became fertile ground for the networks and artists’ colonies that later took shape, not least in Paris.

Taken together, the works in this auction bear witness to artistic careers developed in resistance and solidarity, and to women artists who, despite limited opportunities, helped shape art history – then as now.