Women's history

Explore photographs by pioneering women photographers from across Europe

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is a role model for generations of artists, bisexual women and people with disabilities.

Celebrating artworks by a selection of significant female artists from across Europe and throughout history

Exploring public art in Dublin by three female sculptors

A life devoted to art

How Art Nouveau reflects women’s changing roles and status in the late 19th century.

British botanist and photographer, Anna Atkins was a pioneer in photography and cyanotypes

Misia Sert was one of the most intriguing and influential women in Belle Époque Paris.

Pioneering Art Nouveau collector

Maria Sibylla Merian was born in Frankfurt in 1647 and raised in a family of artists.

Italian Renaissance painter Sofonisba Anguissola was the first female artist to achieve international recognition

Amalia Euphrosyne Lindegren was one of Sweden’s most popular 19th century artists and painters.

Suits for women, designed by women: questioning the status quo through fashion

Kimono's social history represents a unique cultural exchange between Japan and Europe

Pioneered by designer Madeleine Vionnet, bias cut fashion turned a technical innovation into curvaceous silhouettes

Declaring feminine willpower through fashion, Elsa Schiaparelli is one of fashion history's most renowned personalities.

Discover the changing silhouettes of women's fashion in the 20th century.

Bridal dresses in traditional Greek culture are colourful, rich and varied.

How Dutch women turned post-war upcycling into a symbol of female solidarity

A female fashion family affair. Callot Soeurs was one of the most influential fashion houses of the 20th century.

Active in the Dutch reform dress movement, Marie-Jeanette de Lange left a legacy on female fashion and society

For centuries, women have worn corsets as part of their wardrobes, despite becoming less popular during the 20th century

Meet the female authors and illustrators who brought the fairy tale to life

Portraits of poets, authors, journalists and writers from across Europe.

Serbia’s first feminist author: a writer and traveller who led a remarkable life

Writer, republican, literary theoretician and philosopher.

Three Black authors from the Americas who have lived in Europe

Learn about the life of the Swedish author and activist who wrote beloved children's books.

Meet the women who taught Europe to cook.

Travelling in our minds with books, like Selma Lagerlöf's The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

World War I diaries of a journalist and novelist who was Italy's first female newspaper editor

Read about female characters in European literature who broke the mould.

van Schurman was a humanist, writer, and poet in the 17th Century. Se was the first female Dutch university student.

One of Bulgaria’s most cherished poets during her lifetime

Alice Guy-Blaché was a cinema pioneer: the first female film director and the first woman to run her own studio

Meet the singer and actress who was the first Swede to hit the US charts

Clémentine Delait was a French bearded lady who found fame in the early 20th century

Singer, actor and activist known for her distinctive singing style and voice

Singer-songwriter and advocate for the rights of Black people across the world

Hugely talented Swedish opera singer who enjoyed worldwide fame in the mid-19th century

Challenging the stereotypes of Hollywood

Dancer, spy and freedom fighter - Josephine Baker was a force throughout her life as a performer and activist.

From Hollywood glamour to the Siberian gulag, explore this Lithuanian actor and director's life

Swedish jazz singer and actress Monica Zetterlund’s long career lasted for several decades.

The cinematic life of Poland’s first film star

Lucile Grahn was the first Danish ballerina to became internationally famous and pursue a ballet career.

Activist, feminist, politician and Holocaust survivor, whose life reflects high and low points of the 20th century

What visual representations of women working tell us about women’s history

African-American political activist, philosopher and author combatting racism, sexism and homophobia

Long before the home office was invented, working at home was already commonplace for one group within society: women.

Women's work has long been overlooked, raising questions of equality, rights and work-life balance.

The long and hard battle for social reform and a voice for women in politics.

How many statues in your hometown represent women?

Political pioneer who was a leader in the fight for Ireland’s independence

Champion figure skater who was the first Dutch gold medal winner at the Winter Olympic Games

Irish-Australian who won the first women’s Olympic swimming medal

Explore archive photographs of sporting activities at a girls school in Dublin

Hungarian Olympic gold medallist who survived the Holocaust and lived through the 1956 Revolution

Trude Pritzi and Richard Bergmann were table tennis world champions from Vienna

Explore this fashion gallery of outfits especially designed for leisure and sporting activities.

Discover the stories of pioneering female archaeologists from across Europe

The famous scientist is remembered for her discoveries and pioneering research on radioactivity.

Aletta Jacobs was one of the women involved in fighting for suffrage who had a profound impact on Dutch society.

Born Elisa Leonida in 1887, this pioneer had engineering in her blood.

Learn how small paper flowers were used to raised funds for those with tuberculosis.

How Charles stole Lizzie’s idea and made his fortune

From earth goddess festival to family feast - did you know that Mother’s Day has its roots in ancient traditions?

Discover the history of the Singer company and their world-changing sewing machines.

Christina of Sweden was one of the most learned women and benefactors in Rome.

The Fàbrica Gròber textile factory is a landmark of Girona history even today, 40 years after its closure.

It is hard to imagine that a little over a century ago, women were discouraged from riding their bicycles.

The Women's Peace Party was founded in 1915 as a reaction to the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914.

As long as there have been babies, there has been breastfeeding

From Folies Bergère to Order of Saint Dominic - the incredible story of one woman: a courtesan, a princess and a saint