Australian Women, Art and the Interwar Years : Migration and Identity

This book examines the experience of migration of strong-minded Australian women, who were influential cultural agents from the years directly following the end of World War I until 1941—a pivotal period in the history of cultural relations between Britain and its dominions that has been overlooked in art history.

Australian Women, Art and the Interwar Years: Migration and Identity offers fresh perspectives on the challenges emerging from past nationalistic narratives of Australian art, particularly regarding the ways they have overlooked women’s agency in shaping Australian art and identity. Through a transnational theoretical framework, this book examines the experience of migration of strong-minded Australian women, who were influential cultural agents from the years directly following the end of the First World War until 1941—a pivotal period in the history of cultural relations between Britain and its dominions that has been overlooked in art history. It explores the complexities of cultural ties between Australia and Britain and provides new insights into the interconnectivity between Australian and British modernisms. This book contributes to contemporary post-colonial debates regarding the cultural survival of the Empire. It innovatively intertwines discussions about national identity, migration, global visual culture, modernism, women, and cultural policy. This book's interdisciplinary approach will attract a diverse range of scholars and researchers in art history and women's migration, particularly focusing on cultural transfers, national identity, and modernism in interwar Australia and Britain. Additionally, this book will appeal to art curators, as it addresses exhibition history and curatorial studies while also exploring themes that have recently gained traction in exhibitions in both Australia and the United Kingdom.