In the past women were tied to domestic life, having no access to learning art as a vocation, participating in artistic life and being seen as responsible entirely for the domestic, indoor, behind the walls activities. They were denied to study, to taking part in exhibitions, to go outside and to be inspired by life experiences, unassociated with domestic things. They were limited to society’s expectations, encircled often by the jealousy of their male counterparts and by continuous denials on all levels.

It was very rare for a woman to become an artist and especially to continue to work as one, while having a child and a family. Most of the outstanding examples had already an artistic background in the form of mentorship, either because they had a father or a husband who was an artist himself. Likewise, very few who did breakthrough, are not at all well-known, not studied about and not yet fully valued in the art market today.

There were actually quite a lot of successful female artists who were at the same time mothers. Unfortunately just as in the past today too, they seldom get the credit for doing both. Some of these exemplary women were: Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Leyster, Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Berthe Morisot, Suzanne Valadon, Barbara Hepworth, Louise Bourgeois, Yoko Ono, Jenny Holzer, Kara Walker.

For many of these women, their children became their muse, their models and their inspirations, incorporating motherhood in their works. Some of them even painted self-portraits with their children, like Vigée Le Brun, who’s paintings reflect the love she had for her daughter.

These paintings were considered as scandalous at the time, during the 18th century because of their theme