What a Woman may be, and yet not have the Vote thumbnail 1

What a Woman may be, and yet not have the Vote

Poster
1913 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Women's Suffrage movement in Britain was formalised in 1903 when Emmeline Pankhurst established the Women's Social and Political Union. Voting rights for women over 30 were granted in 1918, but equal rights with men (that is, at age 21) were not granted until 1928. This poster was produced by the Suffrage Atelier, a society formed in 1909, to 'encourage artists to forward the Women's Movement, and particularly the enfranchisement of women, by means of pictorial publications'. The relatively unsophisticated technique of block printing was partly a consequence of limited funds, but it also allowed 'fresh cartoons [to be] got out at very short notice'.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleWhat a Woman may be, and yet not have the Vote (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Woodcut, coloured by hand
Brief description
'What a woman may be, and yet not have the vote', woodcut poster issued by the Suffrage Atelier, London, 1913
Physical description
Landscape format poster in green, red and black on white ground. Two strips of five images each, one above the other. The top row has the legend 'What a Woman may be and yet not have the Vote' and five images: Mayor, Nurse, Mother, Doctor or Teacher, Factory Hand. The bottom row has the legend 'What a Man may be & yet not lose the Vote' with five images: Convict, Lunatic, Proprietor of white Slaves, Unfit for Service, Drunkard.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 510mm
  • Sheet width: 773mm
Style
Gallery label
(01/07/2023)
Women’s equality

Graphic design has brought attention to the fight for women’s equality for over a hundred years.

In the UK, a key moment was the granting of voting rights to some women in 1918. Feminism expanded in the 1970s to promote equality of the sexes. Since the 1990s, it has moved towards an understanding that the fight for empowerment relates to all underrepresented identities.

3 What a Woman may be, and yet not have the Vote
Designer: The Suffrage Atelier
Date: 1913
Location: England
Materials: Woodcut printed paper
Given by Miss A. E. Norris
Museum no. E.646-1972

4 Black women will not be intimidated
Designer: See Red Women’s Workshop
Date: 1980–81
Location: England
Materials: Screenprint on paper
Given by Suzy Mackie, Pru Stevenson and Bronwen Rice
Museum no. E.91-2011

5 Resisters
Designer: Aqui
Date: 2018
Location: UK
Materials: Risograph on paper
Given by Aqui Thami
Museum no. E.669-2019

6 Women’s liberation is the revolution!!
Designer: Pen Dalton
Date: About 1974
Location: England
Materials: Screenprint on paper
Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko
Museum no. E.788-2004

7 Can you find her?
Designer: UN Women Egypt and DDB
Dubai
Date: 2017
Location: Dubai
Materials: Printed paper

[Young V&A, Design Gallery, Design gives us a voice, group object label]
Credit line
Given by Miss A. E. Norris
Subjects depicted
Summary
The Women's Suffrage movement in Britain was formalised in 1903 when Emmeline Pankhurst established the Women's Social and Political Union. Voting rights for women over 30 were granted in 1918, but equal rights with men (that is, at age 21) were not granted until 1928. This poster was produced by the Suffrage Atelier, a society formed in 1909, to 'encourage artists to forward the Women's Movement, and particularly the enfranchisement of women, by means of pictorial publications'. The relatively unsophisticated technique of block printing was partly a consequence of limited funds, but it also allowed 'fresh cartoons [to be] got out at very short notice'.
Bibliographic reference
Gravett, Paul and Harris Dunning, John Comics unmasked : art and anarchy in the UK London : The British Library 2014. ISBN: 9780712357357
Collection
Accession number
E.646-1972

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Record createdMarch 4, 2003
Record URL
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