Contrary to what traditional art history courses imply, lesbians have existed and contributed to the visual art world for centuries and continue to do so today. Like artists of any other sexuality, they have painted, drawn, sculpted, and photographed their experience of the world around them, as well as their personal lives. Often (though rarely in the past, thanks to stiflingly homophobic laws), their sexuality informs their work and contributes greatly to their artistic process. Indeed, these artists’ works have contributed not only to the visual arts, but also to the LGBT movement as a whole. It is an unfortunate reality that these women are often overlooked, or their sexualities neatly written out of their history.

This is especially noticeable when studying artists active during and before the twentieth century, when it was acceptable for two ‘spinsters’ to live together and behave affectionately (within defined social parameters) in public without any eyebrows being raised. Though many of these women were gay or bisexual, their biographers would insist on their relationship merely just being ‘good friends’ with their companions. A tentative example of one such artist was Rosa Bonheur, a pioneer of realist painting in the nineteenth century. Furthermore, all too many depictions of lesbians, both in art and modern media, are presented as erotica, designed by and for straight male audiences. This has often swept any depictions of female love or identity under the rug of ‘smut’ and discouraged artists from depicting their experience of their sexuality in a frank and open way. The work of Gerda Wegener, whose career was most active during the late 1920s and early 1930s, is a rare example of a woman in this time period expressing her own desires and struggles. In her playful Art Deco style, Wegener reflected her relationship with her wife, Lili Elbe (a successful visual artist in her own right). Their attempt to have their marriage officially recognised was additionally complicated at the time due to Elbe being a transgender woman. Though this struggle was unsuccessful, both Elbe and Wegener contributed defining works to the Parisian Belle Époque scene, such as Wegener’s ‘A Summer Day’ (1927).

From the 1970s onwards, the conversation surrounding sexuality and art has been dramatically opened. Many artists use lesbian imagery to start a dialogue about their lives and experiences. Tee Corinne, one of the most most famous LGBT artists of the late twentieth century, used photography to capture the daily lives of the women around her. Corinne’s work frequently depicted women in moments of intimacy. The vulnerability and warmth of these images has made them a cornerstone of counterculture art of the 1970s. One of the highlights of Corinne’s work is from the collection entitled A Woman’s Touch (1979). It is a solarised image of a nude female couple embracing. The two women hold each other close, completely involved in one another’s presence. They do not offer a knowing ‘come hither’ gaze to the viewer, a common trope of traditional images of female intimacy. Since 1977, Corinne has been a leading researcher in lesbian art history, a field which until then was virtually non-existent. Of the need for lesbian scholarship in art history, Corinne said, “The lack of a publicly accessible history is a devastating form of oppression. Lesbians face it constantly.” Corinne didn’t retire from writing and she continued to fight for LGBT rights until her death in 2006, two years after the first US state (Massachusetts) legalised same-sex marriage.

However, a group of lesbian artists which are doubly overlooked by the traditional canon of art history, and even contemporary art critique, are women of colour. Racism in both the LGBT community and art scholarship has too frequently led to the work of these women to be undervalued and marginalised. Despite this, these women have and continue to contribute some of the most influential works to the art world. Their works cover many themes and media, offering an invaluable insight into their lives and experiences of the world. These include Zanele Muholi, Lenore Chinn, Alma López, Sherley Camille Olopherne, and countless others. One of the most well known is Mickalene Thomas, whose complex paintings touch on themes such as femininity, sexuality, and performance. Thomas frequently inserts herself into the paintings, simultaneously expressing her power as an artist as well as her identity as a gay, Black woman. One of her most famous works is ‘Origin of the Universe I’ (2012), a painting inspired by Gustave Courbet’s ‘Origine du Monde’ (1866). In ‘Origin of the Universe I’, Thomas uses herself as the model. By first photographing herself in the same pose as Courbet’s model and then painting the picture, Thomas subverts the crass objectification of the original painting into an image of female agency. Her body is studded with dark rhinestones, a hallmark of Thomas’s style. Throughout her career, Thomas has critiqued the white-centric portraiture of the late nineteenth century by depicting Black women in the traditional poses and scenes. The universe which Thomas has crafted in her work is one populated by strong women, glamour and fantasy. However, moments of vulnerability and realism can also be found, particularly in the collection Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman: A Portrait of My Mother (2012), an exhibition which examined Thomas’s relationship with her mother. Indeed, the work of Mickalene Thomas spans numerous styles and topics, offering a rich tableau of artistic invention.

There are many lesbian artists who work outside the boundaries of so-called ‘figurative’ art, using abstraction to portray their identities and experiences. One of the most famous of these was Bernice Bing, a Chinese-American painter whose calligraphy-inspired works stood out from the San Francisco Bay Area art scene which she was associated with. A devout Buddhist, Bing viewed her work as an extension of her spirituality, as well as a means to reconcile her cultural heritage, faith and identity as a lesbian. Bing avoided the trends which dominated Abstract Expressionism from the 1950s onwards, and staunchly disengaged herself from the self-promotion and self-mythologising which produced ‘names’ like Rothko and Pollock. Bing’s remarkable talent in using the fluid line can be seen in an untitled piece of abstract calligraphy which she created in 1989. The dynamic lines of the work invoke the artist’s energy and strength. The contrasting red and black inks create a striking visual contrast, referring to the traditional ink landscapes which Bing studied at Zhejiang Art Academy in Hangzhou. The same year, Bing joined the Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA), a non profit organisation which promotes the voices of Asian-American women in art. Through her commitment to art and activism, Bing created an inspiring body of work which challenged the elite establishment of modern art. Another remarkable artist that specialises in abstraction and mixed-media is Harmony Hammond. Based in New Mexico, Hammond asserts the artistic value of traditionally ‘feminine’ materials, subjects and methods in her work. Chronically undervalued fiber arts such as weaving and sewing are frequently used as the primary medium in her sculpture. In the piece ‘Presence VII’ (1972), Hammond created a hanging form from lengths of woven fabric and painted scraps of material. ‘Presence VII’ is physical and evocative, leaving viewers wondering what lies at the centre of the layers and layers of fabric. This is enhanced by the fact that the work is intended to be displayed hanging freely in a room with at least five other ‘presences’. The use of woven fabric and sewn elements continues to feature in the paintings which Hammond has produced in her later career. Hammond has been an activist in the LGBT community since the early 70s, having curated A Lesbian Show in 1978, an exhibition which featured works by lesbian artists. In 2000, Hammond wrote the influential Lesbian Art in America: A Contemporary History. Throughout her writing, Hammond has argued against the idea that ‘labelling’ an artist as lesbian is both constrictive and othering. In an interview with We Who Feel Differently, she stated, “If you do not name, you do not have a cultural history, and if you don’t have a cultural history, you do not exist…I never felt that putting the words ‘lesbian’ and ‘artist’ together was limiting in any way. It’s only a box if you let it be.”

Putting the words “lesbian” and “artist” together is a political gesture, acknowledging a historically marginalised group’s ability to independently create. However, within that group there are many different identities, political interpretations, and experiences of oppression. The women which have been discussed throughout this article (which is by no means exhaustive) span different times and styles, each providing a unique and complex body of work. They share the commonality of being gay and making art. Their work, which has so often been overlooked, deserves both respect and consideration. For too long women were afraid to openly identify as lesbians for fear of having their art ridiculed or being objectified. The importance of allowing women of all races, sexualities and religions self-determination and expression is paramount to begin creating spaces in which they can thrive not only as artists, but as people.