Women Artists & Designers of the National Trust

by Rachel Conroy

Genres: Art History

272 pages, Paperback

Published February 20, 2025

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book exceeded my expectations in being a real joy to read from start to finish. I’ve given it four stars because I’ve got some reservations about the this selection being limited by its provenance in the - admittedly enormous - National Trust collection, and I’m not sure whether a sex-specific selection like this is state-of-the-art in terms of current thinking on sex and gender in art and design. Nevertheless, I borrowed it from the library because I thought I would enjoy reading about designers familiar and unfamiliar to me, and I certainly did. Well done to Rachel Conroy and the team which produced it.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

What a lovely little collection of women artists, their histories and passions. It paints such a picture of the history of art in the UK (and beyond), even if just in mini biographies. The only thing I wanted was more examples of the artists' bodies of work, though I appreciate that the premise is the collections of the National Trust. Would've also loved a map showing where these pieces are kept across the country.