31 Heroines for Women’s History Month 2026

Hannah Wilke was a multidisciplinary artist, born to Hungarian Jewish parents in New York City on March 7th, 1940, growing up in the shadow of the holocaust. Through drawing, sculpture, performance, photography and video, Wilke explored themes of femininity and gender. She used her body as a medium to drive conversation on female agency, describing this dialogue between her body and process saying “I become my art, my art becomes me. My heart is hard to handle, my art is too”. Her practice emerged in the period of second wave feminism, a time in which the slogan ‘the personal is political’ was popularized. A fundamental theme that runs throughout her own work.

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• Hannah Wilke by volunteer Hattie Alwen
• In the library: Features in some compendium volumes

Berenice Abbott undertook her best-known work in New York, documenting the city’s changing face during the New Deal. Shot independently using a large format camera from 1929 – 35, and later funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), she captured dizzying bird’s-eye and worm’s eye views of the city. Thrusting skyscrapers, soaring stations and bridges, sharp angles and modernist composition contrast the old and new to document this dynamic period.

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• Berenice Abbott by volunteer Paula Vellet
• Virtual Gallery
• Ralph Harrington at the Anemoia Symposium
• In the collection: Books and postcards

Maud Sulter was a contemporary photographer and writer whose works primarily focused on the representation and histories of Black women. Working in many mediums including photography, collage, video and poetry, Maud used her art as a way of depicting the history and reality of the Black Diaspora in Europe. 

Born on the 19th of September 1960 to a Ghanaian father and Scottish mother, Maud Sulter received her Master’s degree from the University of Derby. She began to work as a writer, publishing numerous poems and plays in which she continuously explored her Scots and Ghanaian heritage, including the poem titled As a Black Woman (1985), for which she won the Vera Bell Prize for poetry. Some of her poems are in Scots/Glaswegian dialect, as she was very interested in the overlaps between the two cultures.

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• Maud Sulter, by volunteer Verena Thomson

Died on this day 1949.

Lena Connell, also known professionally as Beatrice Cundy, was a British photographer who left her mark on both the fight for women’s suffrage and the art of portraiture. Born Adelin Beatrice Connell in 1875, her life and career intertwined with the feminist movement of the early 20th century.

 Lena’s life and work offer a fascinating glimpse into the early 20th century. She was a woman who defied convention, using her camera to advocate for change while establishing herself as a successful photographer.

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• Lena Connell – An Introduction, by volunteer Harper Black

In the Collection: A number of Lena’s images

Born on this day in 1856.

The work of Amélie Galup is a significant example of the rise in popularity of amateur photography during the late 19th century.  She documented life in a small rural community in South West France photographing rural life, fairs, markets and landscapes. This was a rapidly vanishing way of life and thanks to her work a valuable, comprehensive record of that era remains. 

We have a series of her postcards in the Collection.

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• Amélie Galup – An Introduction, by volunteer Sarah Grant
• Amélie’s archive is held by Médiathèque du patrimoine et de la photographie

In the Collection: A series of Amélie’s postcards

Lady Clementina Hawarden was a pioneer because of her photography of  her daughters. As an aristocrat, she wasn’t allowed to go out wandering with her camera, so instead, she encourage her daughters to stage scenes wearing theatrical costumes. Although the images look quite tame today, in Victorian times, they were considered provocative and risqué. Clementina shattered the stereotype of how women should be portrayed.

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Lady Clementina – overview by volunteer Shyama Laxman

In the library: Lady Hawarden: Studies from Life, 1857-64, by Virginia Dodier

Our first pioneer is Claire Aho, whose work we’re showing in our next exhibition Colour Me Modern: Claire Aho and the New Woman. Known as ‘the Grand Old Lady of Finnish Photography’, Claire was a pioneer of editorial photography recognised for her innovative use of colour techniques. Her vibrant images showcase her keen eye for composition and surprisingly modern aesthetic.

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• Claire Aho – overview, by volunteer Satu Lehtinen
• Capturing the Zeitgeist, by volunteer Katie Walters
• Claire’s archive is held by the Aho & Soldan Foundation

In the library: Aho & Soldan, Suomi: Finland in 1950’s Colour, featuring Claire’s work