Women Can't Paint

In 2013 Georg Baselitz declared that 'women don't paint very well'. Whilst shocking, his comments reveal what Helen Gørrill argues is prolific discrimination in the artworld. In a groundbreaking study of gender and value, Gørrill proves that there are few aesthetic differences in men and women's painting, but that men's art is valued at up to 80 per cent more than women's. Indeed, the power of masculinity is such that when men sign their work it goes up in value, yet when women sign their work it goes down. Museums, the author attests, are also complicit in this vicious cycle as they collect tokenist female artwork which impinges upon its artists' market value.

An essential text for students and teachers, Gørrill's book is provocative and challenges existing methodologies whilst introducing shocking evidence. She proves how the price of being a woman impacts upon all forms of artistic currency, be it social, cultural or economic and in the vanguard of the 'Me Too' movement calls for the artworld to take action.

"The first book to analyse art and value from within the field, specifically with a gender focus, Women Can't Paint calls for the artworld to acknowledge and address the prevalent discrimination in all forms of artistic currency"--
Helen Gørrill is an artist, futurist, writer, editor, and educator lecturing in visual culture. She holds a PhD in contemporary painting, gender and inequality, and her artwork is digitally archived by the Brooklyn Museum's EASCFA collection. As an academic she applies disruptive techniques to challenge stagnancy in gender equality, feminist methodologies and the visual arts.
"A detailed analysis of how women are sidelined in the art world - and how they can fight back... a sound exposé of the systematic vilification of art by women." --Times Higher Education