Women Photographers 1853–2018

Women photographers 1853–2018 highlights the transformative impact of women artists on the history of photography.

Since its inception, the National Gallery’s photography collection has reflected the vital place of women in the medium’s history. Some of its earliest acquisitions were major works by women.

As a result, the National Gallery is uniquely placed to consider how photography has changed the worlds in which women live, and how women have changed photography. As the great modernist photographer Lucia Moholy wrote, ‘Photography has not only changed the way we see the world but also how we see ourselves.’

For women artists, making photographs has always been an act of resistance. Photography has given women access to spaces of knowledge, artistic practices and technology from which they were previously excluded.

This exhibition features work spanning more than 160 years of women working with photography.

Upcoming Events Submit an Event

November

Sydney: Until 11 April. Unfinished Business brings together the voices of 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities from remote, regional, and urban communities across Australia.

Canberra: Until 6 Sept 2026. Trent Parke’s photographic series The Christmas tree bucket 2006–09 is a tender and darkly humorous portrayal of his extended family coming together to celebrate Christmas.

Melbourne: 28 Nov 2025 – 26 May 2026. The exhibition celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975.

December

Sydney: 4 Dec – 30 Jan 2026. The project brings together around 70 images over 50 metres of wall space, profiling a wide spectrum of practical action on climate

February

Perth: 1 Feb – 1 March 2026. Head On Photo Festival is expanding its footprint to Western Australia, with an outdoor and indoor festival program running from Sunday 1 February to Sunday 1 March 2026.