ABSTRACT
Nineteenth-century artists in Scotland worked to exhibit in numbers of British and Continental venues while, at the same time, recognizing the importance of establishing themselves in their own communities. The ‘Glasgow Girls’ exhibition recognized the problems associated with the designations private and public and attempted to present an integrated view of women’s art, one that accepted a blurring of the categories between fine art and applied art. In Glasgow, women artists received endorsement for their endeavors from leading figures in art education in the city and, in addition, the Glasgow School of Art was more successful than the Edinburgh School of Art in the annual Science and Art Department competitions in London. Ann Macbeth began working as Jessie Newbery’s assistant in the classroom before she had completed her course at the Glasgow School of Art and she stayed on to become Head of Department when Newbery retired.
