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We Can Do Anything: From sports to innovation, art to politics, meet over 200 women who got there first
Many fairy tales have a girl or woman at the center of them, such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel. In some cases, these women are able to make their own choices and rescue themselves. However, in several retellings that are now common today, these women often need to be rescued by someone else. There is a modern trend to give women in these stories a sense of their own control once again, as can be seen in current versions of these stories on the big screen, such as Tangled and Enchanted.
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
CINDERELLA
JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ AUTHOR, ACTIVIST, AND EARLY FEMINIST
FULL NAME: Juana Inés de la Cruz
BORN: NOVEMBER 12, 1651, SAN MIGUEL NEPANTLA (NOW TEPETLIXPA), MEXICO
DIED: APRIL 17, 1695, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
NATIONALITY: MEXICAN
“I don’t study to know more, but to ignore less.”
JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ
TEENAGE WONDER
Almost 400 years ago, Juana Inés de la Cruz was her generation’s Malala (see here). An outspoken activist for women’s right to an education, Juana’s scholarly work became known throughout Mexico—and as far as Spain—when she was still a teenager. Aged 16, Juana decided to become a nun in Mexico City, as it would give her the freedom to study and write. At the time, living as a nun was one of the only options for a girl who wanted to pursue these activities. As a nun, Sor (Sister) Juana wrote poetry, plays, and essays, challenging social norms and defending women’s rights. Juana found her own access to education—as she was entirely self-taught. From 1669 until the end of her life, Juana lived at the Convent of Santa Paula, where she wrote, taught music and drama, composed music, and worked as the convent’s accountant and archivist. She built up one of the largest private libraries in the New World. (The “New World” was an early European name for the Americas.)
THE TENTH MUSE
Unlike many writers and artists throughout history, Juana was successful in her lifetime, during the Golden Age of Spanish arts. Her nickname was the “Tenth Muse.” She was a very talented writer and set her hand to many different genres and styles. She was also the unofficial royal court poet in the 1680s. The characters in her plays included women who were both brave and clever, and her religious works praised the learned female saints. Eventually, the Church disapproved of her writing and her beliefs, instructing her to focus on religious studies. However, Juana defended herself admirably, while also asserting all women’s right to knowledge: “One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper.”
Juana has lived on as a lasting icon of many things: Mexican identity, early feminism, and independence. In the 20th century—thanks, in part, to the work of Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo (see here) and contemporary artists—Juana became famous again. (She can be seen in Rivera’s 1947 mural, Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central in Mexico City, Mexico.) Her ideas and accomplishments were ahead of their time, but the world has finally caught up. She is credited as the first published feminist of the New World and an outstanding writer of her period. Today, Juana’s portrait is on Mexican currency and she remains an inspiration to modern artists, scholars, and feminists.
A statue of Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz, given from Mexico to Madrid, Spain in 1981
FABULOUS FIRSTS
JULIA MARGARET CAMERON EARLY PIONEER OF PHOTOGRAPHY
FULL NAME: Julia Margaret Cameron
BORN: JUNE 11, 1815, CALCUTTA, INDIA
DIED: JANUARY 26, 1879, KALUTARA, SRI LANKA
NATIONALITY: BRITISH
Portrait of Julia Margaret Cameron from 1870, by Henry Herschel Hay Cameron
FROM SCIENCE TO ART
One of the most influential and innovative photographers of the 1800s, Julia Margaret Cameron was also a visionary. In the 19th century, photography was a new and developing science—a cutting-edge way to record a person or scene. Julia, however, used her portraits to elevate photography to an art form.
A camera similar to the type Margaret would have used late in her career
A LATE BLOOMER
The fourth of seven daughters, Julia could have disappeared as the middle child of a large family. But instead, she stood out as the most artistic and eccentric. Julia had an international upbringing: while her family was British, she was born in India, educated in France, and spent time in India, Sri Lanka, and Africa.
While in South Africa in 1836, Julia met John Herschel, the famous British astronomer. They became life-long friends, and a few years later he introduced her to photography. He would continue to advise her on technical matters until he died. (Remember, at the time, photography was still a very manual process involving chemistry and darkrooms.) Julia started her photography career relatively late in life, at the age of 48, when her daughter gave her a camera as a present.
Julia’s 1870 photograph, “Vivian and Merlin”—an illustration for poet Alfred Lord Tennyson’s work, “Idylls of Spring”
CAPTURING BEAUTY
Julia experimented with artistic uses for photography and was one of the first ever to do so. She is best known for her portraits, often close-ups of family, friends, and the celebrities from her social circle. Julia used her photographs to re-tell stories from myths and legends, including those of King Arthur. She wanted to capture beauty, and even the sitter’s soul, rather than simple reality. Julia’s style was very unusual: her photographs were intentionally out of focus, and she kept, or even added, scratches and marks in her work. Fellow photographers often thought her work was sloppy, but painters loved her style. Perhaps her work was simply ahead of its time, as she remains a huge inspiration to many modern photographers and other artists. Today, Julia’s work continues to be shown in exhibitions around the world, from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
BEATRIX POTTER ONE OF THE BEST-LOVED CHILDREN’S AUTHORS OF ALL TIME
FULL NAME: Helen Beatrix Potter
BORN: JULY 28, 1866, LONDON, U.K.
DIED: DECEMBER 22, 1943, NEAR SAWREY, CUMBRIA, U.K.
NATIONALITY: BRITISH
A British postage stamp, circa 1979, showing The Tale of Peter Rabbit
PETER RABBIT’S CREATOR
Despite writing 100 years ago, Beatrix Potter remains one of the best-loved and best-selling children’s authors in history. The mischievous Peter Rabbit is recognized by children all over the world.
Beatrix came from a wealthy English family, and her parents were very artistic. At the time, it was common for children to be looked after by nannies. The Potter nannies spent a lot of time outside with the children and allowed them to set up homes for all sorts of creatures in their nursery. From a young age, Beatrix was fascinated. She sketched animals and insects very carefully and accurately. Eventually, she studied at the National Art Training School. Even though her animal characters wear clothes and engage in human activities, they still look remarkably realistic.
Beatrix first had success making greeting cards, but she also wrote and illustrated stories for friends. One such story was The Tale of Peter Rabbit. In 1902, the publisher Frederick Warne & Co. published Peter Rabbit, and it quickly became popular with young readers. Several tales followed, including The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tale of Tom Kitten, and The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck. In total, Beatrix wrote 28 books in her lifetime, many of which became instant children’s classics.
A portrait of Beatrix outside of her home in the Lake District, by Charles G.Y. King
WRITING IN NATURE
Throughout her life, Beatrix remained fascinated by nature and animals. Beatrix moved from being a writer in London to a farmer in the countryside of the English Lake District (see top left). Later in life, she wrote less and spent a lot of her time tending her farms and sheep. In particular, she raised a local breed of sheep, the Herdwick, for which she won many prizes. Her commitment to nature and the environment was ahead of its time, and today she would be called a conservationist. She actively campaigned about nature and was a smart businesswoman. When she died, she left 4,000 acres of land and farms to the National Trust, a nature preservation organization in England.
Beatrix Potter’s work remains just as popular today as it was in her lifetime. Her works have been translated into 35 languages and have sold over 100 million copies. And 110 years after the publication of her first book, Beatrix’s fans have a new surprise in store. A long-lost and previously unpublished story, The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots, was found in 2014. The text, illustrated by prize-winning artist Quentin Blake, is available September 2016!
Beatrix’s home in the English Lake District was Yew Tree Farm, pictured here. It can still be visited today.
VIRGINIA WOOLF LITERARY PIONEER
FULL NAME: Adeline Virginia Stephen Woolf
BORN: JANUARY 25, 1882, LONDON, U.K.
DIED: MARCH 28, 1941, NEAR LEWES, EAST SUSSEX, U.K.
NATIONALITY: BRITISH
“A woman must have money and a room of her own …”
VIRGINIA WOOLF
A FAMILY OF ARTISTS
Virginia Woolf is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. She helped kick-start modernism—a major art movement that rejected traditional ideas and instead focused on brand-new concepts that fit better in the modern, industrial world. Modernism included every art form—from painting to novels, music to architecture—and continues to influence styles of art today.
Adeline Virginia Stephen was born into a very artistic family (including her great aunt, the famous portrait photographer Julia Margaret Cameron—see here). One of eight children, young Virginia was especially close to her sister Vanessa (later the famous painter Vanessa Bell). Writerly from childhood, at the age of nine Virginia founded the family newspaper, the Hyde Park News. The family suffered a series of tragedies, with the death of Virginia’s mother, followed by that of two of her siblings and her father. These sadnesses contributed to Virginia’s depression, but they would also later be channeled into her writing.
THE BLOOMSBURY BOHEMIANS
Around 1907, Virginia and Vanessa moved to Bloomsbury, in London, where they held informal gatherings of bohemian artists and thinkers. Virginia met Leonard Woolf, who would become her husband and chief supporter for the rest of her life. The group quickly became the “Bloomsbury Group”—a talented group of artists, writers, and philosophers with a strong influence over the London art scene. Virginia and her writing were in the middle of it all.
The Bloomsbury Group of like-minded artists and writers lived in this square in Bloomsbury, London. The area was a hive of creativity for a number of years.
Virginia had unique thoughts on how to construct a novel. She liked the idea of not plotting a story from A to B, but instead following her natural flow of thoughts (a technique known as “stream-of-consciousness”). She also wrote about everyday, domestic happenings rather than great, dramatic events. Her first novels, including The Voyage Out, were more traditional, but the more she wrote, the more she experimented. In the course of her life, Virginia wrote reviews, essays, diaries, letters, and novels and became one of the most influential and respected writers of the era.
A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN
In 1917, Virginia and Leonard started a publishing company, called the Hogarth Press. It soon became a major publisher of modernist works and published over 500 books. In addition to being a writer, Virginia was a social activist and later feminist icon, exploring themes of class, war, women’s rights, and politics in her writing. The 1929 essay A Room of One’s Own contains Virginia’s most famous feminist remark, which became a slogan for later feminists aiming to achieve success in all areas: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”
Virginia’s mental health grew worse over the years, and in 1941 she committed suicide. In spite of such a tragic end, at the age of only 59, the great writer’s works live on larger than life. Her most famous novels, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, and Jacob’s Room, remain classics of modern literature. Virginia’s voice was unique and ahead of its time. Her style has influenced generations of writers, as well as artists and film-makers.
COCO CHANEL FASHION ICON AND ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL DESIGNERS OF ALL TIME
FULL NAME: Gabrielle “Coco” Bonheur Chanel
BORN: AUGUST 19, 1883, SAUMUR, FRANCE
DIED: JANUARY 10, 1971, PARIS, FRANCE
NATIONALITY: FRENCH
More than 100 years after Coco Chanel hit the fashion scene, her stylish designs and recognizable logo remain iconic all over the world.
FAREWELL TO THE CORSET
Voted one of the top fashion icons of all time by Time magazine, Coco Chanel was a game-changer in the world of women’s fashion. Before she made an impact with her designs, women squeezed themselves into corsets and super-feminine dresses. Coco was seen as revolutionary—bringing looser, more “masculine” clothes to women. She was one of the first women to wear pants, and the first to design pajamas and lightweight sportswear for women. Coco introduced the now-iconic “little black dress,” and her tweed skirt suits, costume jewelry, and simple yet elegant designs have become staples in the world of women’s apparel.
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, stylishly posed, in 1920
AMAZING ACHIEVEMENTS
ENDURING STYLE ICON
Born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, Coco had a difficult early life. She was born into poverty in France and was raised in a girls’ home at a convent, where she was taught to sew. As a young woman, she made her way briefly into the entertainment industry as a cabaret singer, where she picked up the nickname of “Coco.” In 1910, she was funded to open her own hat shop, before moving on to women’s clothing and, eventually, perfume—the first fashion designer to do so. She felt that in order for clothes to be luxurious, they ultimately needed to be comfortable. This included her large role in bringing pants into women’s fashion. Coco’s designs were loved by Hollywood royalty, including actresses such as Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly. Coco Chanel quickly earned a position at the height of contemporary fashion, and her place as a revered fashion icon holds firm to this day.
With the Great Depression, followed by World War II, even wealthy people’s ability to buy high fashion was in decline. Coco closed the Chanel stores in 1939. However, in 1954, at the age of 70, she made a grand return to the world of clothing—with the introduction of bell-bottom pants. Coco opened her first fashion store over 100 years ago, yet her name continues to be a byword for iconic style. Her designs and philosophy of fashion have greatly influenced generations of designers that followed. Her “CC” logo is now one of the world’s most recognizable trademarks.
Coco’s fashion house remains as popular today as it was during her lifetime. This boutique window, in Milan, Italy, displays some of the 2012 Chanel designs.
MA RAINEY MOTHER OF THE BLUES
FULL NAME: Gertrude Malissa “Ma” Nix Pridgett Rainey
BORN: C. APRIL 26, 1886, COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, U.S.A.
DIED: DECEMBER 22, 1939, ROME, GEORGIA, U.S.A.
NATIONALITY: AMERICAN
MADAM GERTRUDE MA RAINEY
Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett began performing when she was around 13, first through her Baptist church and later on tour. In 1904, Gertrude married William Rainey, and the pair began touring as “Ma” and “Pa” Rainey soon after. By 1905, Ma had heard blues music and began to work it into her performance list. She quickly developed her own “raw” singing style, using her booming voice and unusual phrasing. She became the first popular entertainer to perform the blues on stage and came to be known as the “Mother of the Blues.”
FROM GERTRUDE TO MA
She would go on to perform live music for over 30 years, including during the blues heyday of the 1920s. Her stage presence was captivating. Ma became the first great female blues vocalist and brought blues to a wider audience. After the Raineys separated in 1916, Ma began touring with her own band, Madam Gertrude Ma Rainey and her Georgia Smart Sets.
“They don’t understand that’s [the blues is] life’s way of talking. You don’t sing to feel better. You sing ‘cause that’s a way of understanding life.”
MA RAINEY
A collection of her songs from 1924 to 1928, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” album remains a classic of the blues genre.
FABULOUS FIRSTS
BLUESY BUSINESSWOMAN
In 1923, Ma made her first record for Paramount Records. This was to be part of the first wave of blues records. (Mamie Smith was the first black woman to record an album, in 1920.) Ma’s songs dealt with love and work, and the everyday lives of Southern African-Americans. Ma worked with many famous musicians and singers of her day, including Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins. Ma was known as a savvy businesswoman, and she also owned two entertainment venues: the Lyric Theater and the Airdome.
Not only was Ma Rainey important to the evolution of blues music, her work inspired a wide range of musicians, as well as poets and novelists, such as Langston Hughes, Sterling Brown, and Alice Walker. Ma has been inducted into both the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame (in 1983) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in 1990) for her tremendous contributions to music of all genres.
GEORGIA O’KEEFFE MOTHER OF AMERICAN MODERNISM
FULL NAME: Georgia Totto O’Keeffe
BORN: NOVEMBER 15, 1887, SUN PRAIRIE, WISCONSIN, U.S.A.
DIED: MARCH 6, 1986, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, U.S.A.
NATIONALITY: AMERICAN
Cow skulls and colorful flowers featured heavily in Georgia’s work.
MODERN AMERICA ON CANVAS
Even if you don’t know the name “Georgia O’Keeffe,” chances are you’ve seen her work. Georgia is one of the most well-known American painters of all time. Her paintings are bold and brightly colored and grace the walls of museums around the world, as well as greeting cards and posters. She painted huge canvases with iconic images of America, including New York skyscrapers, Southwestern deserts and cow skulls, and huge flowers and clouds.
FROM SKYSCRAPERS TO COW SKULLS
Georgia came from a family of Wisconsin dairy farmers, and she was the second of seven children. As a young girl, she was taught watercolor painting. By age ten, she knew she would be an artist. She went on to study at the Art Institute of Chicago (which now houses the majority of her works) and the Art Students League in New York. There, she was taught revolutionary ideas of composition. The charcoal drawings she did as a result made Georgia one of the very first American artists to produce abstract art—this was her first exhibited work, in 1916. The art dealer and photographer responsible for this exhibition was Alfred Stieglitz. Alfred and Georgia would eventually marry, and Alfred would spend the rest of his life as Georgia’s supporter. By the 1920s, Georgia was becoming famous for her now-trademark themes of skyscrapers and flowers. Soon after, she began traveling to New Mexico. The desert landscapes made their way into her work, as a beautiful contrast to her skyscraper pieces. Her desire for new ideas led her to travel internationally, and she produced incredible paintings of the mountains of Peru and Japan.
Georgia painted the deserts and rock formations of New Mexico.
