According to an article published on August 11, 2019 in The Sunday Times of London, the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) has decided to prioritize the acquisition of works by female artists. The NGI’s decision follows the realization of the stark gender imbalance in its collection of more than 16,000 artworks.
The Times reports, ‘Figures sourced under freedom of information law show that of the 390 artists on display in the gallery at the end of July, 354 were male and 25 were female. The gender of the other 11 artists on display is listed as “unknown.”’
The high ratio of male to female artists isn’t unique to the NGI’s collection—women are underrepresented in art museums the world over. But the museum in Ireland actively seeks to redress the gender balance. According to The Times, ‘Minutes of the NGI’s board meetings from last year show that steps are already being taken to correct the imbalance. In May 2018, the board revised the gallery’s acquisitions policy to “make specific efforts to address the gender imbalance in artists represented in this—as in all other—historic collections.”‘
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