What is the gender distribution in the collections of Swedish art museums? Is it affected by local and regional conditions and assignments? How is it affected by the different self-images of the museums? Starting from comprehensive statistical data, this report sought answers to these questions in regard to 20th century art at the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the Malmö Museum of Art, the Norrköping Museum of Art and Moderna Museet in Stockholm.
Thus, four important museums with varying orientations and regional identities took part in the study. A central question for the investigation was if the differences between the museums affected the representation of women artists. Do all four museums highlight the same artists? The report continues the discussion about gender structure at the museums that were studied, at other Swedish museums and in society in general.
The editors are Anna Tellgren, curator at Moderna Museet, and Jeff Werner, Professor at the University of Stockholm and former Head of Research at the Gothenburg Museum of Art. The project, which is financed by the Swedish Arts Council, is a collaboration between the four museums, initiated by the research department of the Gothenburg Museum of Art. The book is part of the Swedish Art Council’s report series Research in Culture Politics.