In her new book Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood, art critic Hettie Judah shows that motherhood has played a significant role in the history of art. Not only in the ways that both motherhood and mothering have been depicted, but also in the way that artists who are mothers have created representations of their experiences, and in doing so shaped their artistic identities.
Sculptor Barbara Hepworth once said that: “A woman artist is not deprived by cooking and having children, nor by nursing children with measles (even in triplicate) – one is in fact nourished by this rich life.” I have long admired Hepworth’s work, and her ability to work alongside her children. Hepworth also said that “being a mother enriches an artist’s life”. I don’t think this is entirely true.
Women in the art world face a motherhood penalty, where they experience a drop in income. Male artists, on the other hand, have a bump in their income when they become parents. This inequality means that mothering is sometimes seen as a setback to creativity.
