Paula Modersohn-Becker Her life and work by Gill Perry

Gillian Perry is professor of

history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

. She is a specialist in eighteenth century portraiture and has written two books on the actress in art. In 2011/12 she curated the exhibition ''The First Actresses'' at the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

in London which was widely reviewed.

Education

Perry studied at the University of Sussex from 1968 to 1972, graduating with a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in art history and French.

Career

Perry joined the Open University in 1977. She began her D.Phil. on the topic of ''Paula Modersohn-Becker and Worpswede 1876-1907'' under the supervision of John Röhl of the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

in 1978 but submitted her thesis on the topic of ''Paula Modersohn-Becker and Worpswede 1889-1907'' for the degree of M.Phil. in 1984. Her research into Modersohn-Becker formed the subject of her first book which was published by the

Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, The Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cofo ...

in 1979. Perry was head of the department of art history at the Open University from 2005 to 2008, and head of research from 2005 to 2009. She is currently professor in art history there. Perry is a specialist in eighteenth-century portraiture and has written two books on the actress in art. In 2011–12, she curated the exhibition ''The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons'' at the National Portrait Gallery in London, supported by Lucy Peltz.The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons - Press Release.
National Portrait Gallery, 19 October 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2016.

Selected publications

*''Paula Modersohn-Becker: Her life and work''. Women's Press, 1979. *''Women artists and the Parisian avant-garde: Modernism and 'feminine' art 1900-1920s''.

Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England, and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with t ...

, Manchester, 1995. *''Spectacular flirtations: Viewing the actress in British art and theatre, 1768-1820''.

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

, New Haven, 2007. . *''The first actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons''.

and

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is a university press that is a part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earn ...

, London, 2011. (With Joseph Roach &

Shearer West Shearer Carroll West is a British-American art-historian and university administrator serving as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds since 2024. She was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham from 2017 to 2024. Early l ...

) *''Playing at home: The house in contemporary art''.

Reaktion Books Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher based in Islington, London, England. It was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987. Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture, and design. In recen ...

, London, 2013.

References

External links

Gill Perry talking on The importance of women in celebrity culture.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Gill Living people Academics of the Open University Year of birth missing (living people) British art historians Women art historians Alumni of the University of Sussex 1950s births British women historians