Hull, Suffragettes and Art

Detail from 'Fairwell'

The suffragettes were the militant group which broke away from the suffragists who were more peaceful in the campaign of 'Votes for Women'. The campaign really started in 1897 when Millicent Fawcett founded the National Union of Women's Suffrage', suffrage means, the right to vote and this is what women wanted. Millicent Fawcett believed in peaceful protest, she felt that any violence or trouble would make men think women couldn't be trusted to have the vote. Patience and logical arguments, Fawcett argued women could hold responsible posts in society on school boards; women had to pay taxes so why couldn't they vote. The women's suffrage movement was the first highly organized political movement to adapt itself successfully to the new publicity methods to which the national daily newspapers had given rise. The processions, demonstrations, bazaars and badges and regalia, parlor games and illustrated post cards, have all been copied by subsequent political agitations and showed the
ingenuity with which public notice was directed to the demand for Votes for Women.

Suffragettes and Art

The Women's social and political Union was formed by Emmeline Pankhurst on October 10th 1903 to campaign for Votes for Women. Sylvia Pankhurst (Emmeline's daughter) was a trained artist and from the beginning art played a large part in the campaign. Paintings, embroidered banners, posters, photographs, cartoons and enamels were used as advertising and propaganda for the cause. Art was sold for money to help the campaign and was used as propaganda. They also destroyed art as part of their cause.

Farewell

On the 10th March 1914 at the National Gallery, London the painting 'Rokeby Venus' by Velasquez bought by public subscription for 45,000 pounds was attacked by a suffragette. Mary Richardson also known as 'Slasher Mary' was a Canadian woman (1889-1961) who was a suffragette in the United Kingdom. Mary attacked the painting with a meat chopper, smashed the glass and slashing the canvas seven times before police and gallery attendance could stop her. She said that she wanted to destroy the most beautiful woman in mythical history as a protest against the government destroying Emmeline Pankhurst, the most beautiful character in modern history. Mary Richardson's attacks led to the decision to circulate photographs of the women to galleries, so that they could look out for known militant suffragettes among their visitors.

Art Attack in Hull

The attacks on works of art in London and Manchester prompted the withdrawal from exhibition at the Ferens Art Gallery of Leighton's Farewell depicting a solitary woman mourning the departure of a loved one. It's unclear if a specific threat had been made against this piece of art work but the curator A H Proctor had considered plain clothed policemen on duty in the gallery.

The painting by Lord Frederick Leighton, Scarborough born artist was purchased by the Ferens Art Gallery, Hull in 1912. In 1914 it was taken down after this possible threat by the suffragettes. Leighton was the first British artist to receive a peerage and was president of London's Royal Academy from 1878 till his death in 1896. Leighton's late Victorian neo classical style, most of his subjects were from mythology. He was typically Victorian in his attitude; his female subjects were portrayed as either powerful predators or passively decorative.

Leighton was well known for being against the Women's Suffrage movement. Leighton was criticized by the suffragists and attacks in March of 1914 on works of art would have made art galleries wary. There was an incident report at the Ferens Art Gallery which brought the decision to remove from display the painting 'Farewell'.

Farewell was placed back on display in September 1914 as there was a suffragette truce called on the outbreak of the First World War. There is no evidence of a specific threat by suffragettes in Hull so maybe they were just being cautious due to the actual attacks that had taken place on art in Manchester and London.