Jenny MacLeod

Jenny MacLeod with Edinburgh Castle, an etching by Katherine Cameron

 

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‘An art in which women are destined to excel’:

Scottish Women Etchers of the Etching Revival,

1880-1930

The picture I am proudly holding is an etching of Edinburgh Castle by Scottish artist Katherine Cameron (1874-1965), although you may be more familiar with her older brother David Young Cameron (1865-1945). Critics of women etchers in the early 20^th century remarked that etching was an art in which women were destined to excel. If that was the case, then why are the few etchings we see in galleries comprised of those by men? Moreover, women’s contribution to the art remains a footnote in current scholarship of Scottish art history, despite Scotland’s strong printmaking heritage.

My PhD research focuses on several key questions in order to understand the extent of women’s participation in the Etching Revival. Where did women etchers receive their training and how was their work marketed, received and collected compared to their male counterparts? What kind of subject matter did they work in and how far can these be associated with their gender? I will also explore how they navigated the male dominated print market to become successful printmakers in their day, but also consider why they remain relatively obscure in present day.

Detail of a Sales Ledger of the Royal Society for Painter-Etchers (RE). Bankside Gallery, London.

To answer these questions, I have relied heavily on archival research. Luckily, this is where I absolutely thrive. I have spent many hours in the archives of the Glasgow School of Art and the Edinburgh College of Art sifting through student registers, prospectuses, and letters to the secretary and treasurer. Auction records, museum collection databases, newspaper repositories, exhibition catalogues, reviews and even Post-Office directories have been invaluable sources of information in tracing their careers. True detective work came in the form of genealogical research where wills, probates, census and birth records were utilised in order to further confirm their identities.

Examining surviving exhibition catalogues of the RE. Bankside Gallery, London.

Last summer, I was lucky enough to be awarded a Research Training Support Grant from the College of the Arts which enabled me to consult archival material at the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers at Bankside Gallery, London. Being let loose in their archives was particularly thrilling! Through this I have so far identified nearly 100 Scottish women who made etchings between 1880 and 1930.

When I first began this PhD in 2020, one of the main activities I was excited for was the chance to undertake an etching course to get a better understanding of the technical elements of the art. I was delighted when I was awarded funding from SGSAH’s Engagement Funding to be able to learn from Master Printer, Ian McNicol at Glasgow Print Studio earlier this year.

Jenny MacLeod standing behind a rochat proofing press at Glasgow Print Studio.

My research is going to be the first in-depth analysis of Scottish women etchers working between 1880 and 1930, and it will demonstrate that they made significant contributions to the Etching Revival and Boom periods. My hope is that this work will be a steppingstone in encouraging museums to improve cataloguing and display of the work of women etchers, thereby increasing their accessibility to enable us to enjoy many more wonderful pieces by these talented women.