Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted Access (SIA Only)
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Fine and Decorative Art and Design
Abstract
Eighteenth-century Britain witnessed the emergence of educated and creative women who challenged their exclusion from intellectual and artistic spheres. This dissertation explores how Bluestocking intellectual culture and the art of Maria Cosway reflected women’s negotiation of creativity and authority within patriarchal society. Combining visual analysis with feminist art-historical and literary perspectives, it examines artworks, letters, and contemporary criticism to trace how women asserted their voices through both conversation and image. The study reveals that Bluestocking sociability and Cosway’s artistic practice shared strategies of self-fashioning that subtly resisted restrictive gender norms. By bridging the study of visual and intellectual culture, this dissertation contributes to a fuller understanding of eighteenth-century feminist modernity and women’s role in shaping artistic discourse.
Recommended Citation
Luders, Emilia, "How Did Women Navigate the Restrictions on Their Artistic and Intellectual Productivity, 1780-1800?" (2026). MA in Fine and Decorative Art and Design Dissertations. 12.
https://digitalcommons.sia.edu/ma_fine_ad/12