Today, the word “bluestocking” is a quaint, derogatory term for a bookish woman, conjuring up images of schoolmarmish clothes and spectacles.

Less well-known are the original Bluestockings, a group of predominantly female writers, artists and thinkers in 18th century London whose impact on the future of female art, literature and identity was profound.

The exhibition:

Now the Bluestocking circle is about to become the subject of a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, titled Brilliant Women: 18th Century Bluestockings.

Using famous paintings, rarely-seen portraits, graphic satires and personal artefacts, it will explore the lives and work of women such as early “feminist” Mary Wollstonecraft, artist Angelica Kauffmann, historian Catharine Macaulay and novelist Fanny Burney.

Sandy Nairne, the gallery’s director said: “These were remarkable, brilliant women and the Bluestockings are an excellent subject for us to explore.”

Reshaping female mythology:

Elizabeth Eger, English lecturer at Kings College London and co-curator of the exhibition, approached the gallery seven years ago having been inspired by Richard Samuel’s 1778 painting “Portraits in the Characters of the Muses in the Temple of Apollo (The Nine Living Muses of Great Britain),” the subject of her PhD.

The painting depicts artistic women of the time – Angelica Kauffmann, the singer Elizabeth Sheridan (née Linley) and writers Elizabeth Carter and Anna Barbauld – as the nine muses, the daughters of Zeus who each presided over a different art.

“It intrigued me that these women had made their own female community,” Eger said. “And I was also interested in the way they deployed visual modes such as portraiture to celebrate their intellect.”

She describes how the women “strategically” reshaped female mythology in order to assert their own identity. “There is a self-portrait by Angelica Kauffmann, which is a homage to the Judgment of Hercules, where the hero chooses between vice and virtue. Kauffmann casts herself in the role of Hercules, but depicts the choice as between music and painting.”

History:

The Bluestocking women began meeting at the home of fashionable society hostess Elizabeth Montagu, in the 1750s.

Supported by intellectual male friends such as David Garrick, Samuel Johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds, they rejected traditional feminine conversation and instead arranged literary breakfasts where they discussed academic pursuits.

They earned their moniker from the unusually informal blue woollen stockings that Montagu’s friend, botanist Benjamin Stillingfleet, wore to one of the meetings.

One portrait in the exhibition, by Hogarth, depicts David Garrick and his wife Eva Maria. Garrick sits at his desk, holding a quill pen, and his wife is shown behind him, poised to swipe the pen from his hand.

The image is powerfully indicative of the Bluestocking spirit. The idea, put forward by Mary Wollstonecraft in A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792), that men are not intellectually superior to women.

The women formed an important part of the changing landscape of the 18th century; a period framed by new possibilities of the Enlightenment, which had come before, and the restraints of the age of revolution looming ahead.

Icons:

They were celebrated as icons of patriotic pride and came to symbolise the progress of a civilised and commercial nation. Collectively, they pushed the boundaries of what women could achieve, providing a legacy for their literary and artistic granddaughters.

But by the end of the century, as the political and social situation grew more repressive, the radical beliefs and unconventional sex lives of some of the group made them unpopular in society.

With the advent of Victorian conservatism and re-enforced gender demarcation, the names of many of the Bluestocking women faded into obscurity, along with their achievements.

Now at last, their substantial contribution to the creation and definition of our national culture is being acknowledged.

13 Mar-15 Jun 2008
National Portrait Gallery
St Martin’s Place
WC2H
020 7306 0055

Covent Garden’s musicians may be driven away by changes Covent Garden London want to introduce to the area, it emerged today, including quiet breaks between performances.

The singers and instrumentalists who perform in the West End market’s famous piazza are facing restrictions after the landlord halved the amount of time they are allowed to perform from two hours to one.

Some of the musicians fear the new rules will deprive the area of its artistic atmosphere, as well as reducing the money they make from donations.

It is feared that the changes will drive musicians away as they will be financially unable to continue playing in the piazza.

A group of performers, including six string quartets and 15 singers, have launched a petition to prevent the changes, which was signed by 700 people within 36 hours.

The market, which was designed in 1632, attracts 30 million tourists a year. It is well known for its daily spectacle of musicians, jugglers, mime artists and variety acts.

The area is regarded as one of London’s entertainment centres.

Chloe Batt assesses some spring 2008 catwalk shows, and finds they are fashion-a-glow-glow.

From Camden to Brixton a sartorial revolution is sweeping the capital.

Neon is back and it’s shoving aside the muted tones of yester-season and draping itself around the bodies of the capital’s fashionistas.

Whatever happened to the English rose palette of pastel hues? Suddenly we’ve gone all nu-rave.

London girls are eschewing their wardrobes of preppy grey, understated navy and slimming black for a less sensible collection of hot pinks, bright yellows, electric blues and letterbox red.

The spring 2008 fashion shows in Paris, New York and London were awash with a kaleidoscope of colours. Shades of yellow from canary to lemon were on display from Andrew Gn to Sonia Rykiel to Roksanda Ilincic.

Even Ralph Lauren, the arbiter of preppy, ventured into sunshine territory with his womenswear. Chloé showed shift dresses splattered with crayon box colours.

Rich hues festooned the catwalks, from fuchsia at Jill Sander to deep purple at Versace.

And the palette of bright neon is spilling onto the high street.

At Topshop, colour-hungry shoppers are snapping up a spectrum of dresses, tops, skirts and hoodies in tangerine, magenta and coral.

The girls who once sang the praises of understated elegance are now flocking to American Apparel – the store largely responsible for instilling neon into the capital’s fashion consciousness. Its brightly coloured sweaters, tees and dresses have become ubiquitous among the young and fashionable.

A girl who might a few months ago have bought her party outfit at Whistles will now choose an American Apparel mustard-yellow racer-back dress or a lime-green tube dress to wear on a night out.

We once worried about how flattering leggings were in black. Now we’re wearing them in electric blue, purple and red lamé.

We used to want to look like Kate Moss, earnestly scouring pictures of her boyishly cut clothes, waistcoats and jeans. Now we want to look like Agyness Deyn. We want to wear Henry Holland’s garishly bright, slogan-emblazoned T-shirts and Ray-Ban Wayfarers.

Spring is nearly here and Londoners are brightening up.

But we better just enjoy the lamé leggings while they last. Come autumn, we’ll be back to black.

Photos courtesy of American Apparel

St James’s Park is to become the location of an environmental project based on the 1940s “Dig for Victory” wartime campaign. Chloe Batt digs deeper.

The project, titled “Dig for Victory: The War on Waste”, follows on from the success of the park’s 2007 allotment scheme.

St James’s Park, one of London’s eight royal parks, has recreated a Second World War allotment and a modern day allotment side by side.

The scheme is being coordinated by the Royal Parks Organisation, the Churchill Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms.

The aim is to promote recycling and wildlife protection, as well as wartime issues still relevant today, such as healthy food and living sustainably.

The project will run from May to October 2008, alongside an exhibition on view at the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms.

Activities designed to teach gardening, healthy eating and food science will also be organised for local schools and communities to participate in.

Photo courtesy of The Royal Parks