'Tis a Long Path Which Wonders to Desire is the title of the above work by Frances Macdonald McNair.It depicts a figure of a woman weighed down by her hair which also becomes two paths from which she must choose. She looks ambivalent about her prospects. A concept not too far off from what many of us experience today.
A century ago was a major period of transition. It was a time of disruption from previous held attitudes. And while many women were improving their position in society, many others were tearing them down. Scientists were using the Darwin theory to lay the foundation that women were weak, stupid and evil. That they needed to stay home, conserve their energy for reproduction and putter about the house. Many women were publicly smoking cigarettes, riding bicycles and attending universities. Writers, artists and commercial illustrators were portraying the female figure as a succubus and a whore. Images of women were loaded with connotations, misrepresentation and fear.
The “New Woman” critics proclaimed with their increase of power would bring social order to a crumbling mess. Education would destroy the chances of women’s ability to have children and cause nervous disorders. Women were to care for their families. They were to be submissive and languid. Conflicting beliefs existed that they biologically and innately had no sexual desire, or conversely, a voracious and destructive appetite than must be harnessed. Their role as mothers was of the utmost social importance. They were nothing beyond that. They were not to stand alone.
Although Frances Macdonald was called one of these “New Women,” she never rallied for women’s rights. But her images were unique and depicted women in search for identity. Her women show the struggles to make their mark on society. She shows them in the gripping moments of making decisions alone.
Frances was the sister of better-known Margaret Macdonald who was the wife and co-collaborator of Charles Rennie Macintosh. Frances’ work was less gentle than her older sister’s. Her use of line was more severe, stringent and elongated. The female form was without any languid or frenetic sexualized energy, typical imagery by many fin-de-siècle male artists of the time. Her females were often androgynous. Not defined by the patriarchal code. Her message was not predictable and that set her apart. Her work was labeled as mysterious or fairylike, and largely unlikable. Other times, it was horribly criticized. She has not been able to be properly categorized other than a Symbolist; and for that, largely been left out of the history books.
Daughters of an engineer and with family means, Margaret and Frances were educated as upper class girls attending the Glasgow School of Art where both met their future husbands. Although the sisters were educated in the arts, they were not expected to work in the market economy. Many late 19th century women were talented artists producing art and objects for their family and friends. Some sold their works to support their families when the family fortunes began to decline. Educated ones were expected to do nothing more than beautify their environments and of their loved ones.
Words such as delicate, pleasant, pretty, picturesque were used to describe their works. And when women strayed from conventional representation, such as Frances, they were chastised by their critics. Artistic output was to be blanketed by puritanical morality, not bring existing concepts into question.
Girl in the East Wind (1893)
pencil and watercolor on paper
Hunterian Art Gallery
When exhibited in 1896, a critic called it “Yellow Book Madness” created by a “decadent” artist.
A Pond (1894)
Pencil and watercolor on grey paper created as a student
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool Museum
Her flattened, androgynous figures nearly meet at their chins. Their features are harsh their body parts sharp and pointed. People wrote hostile letters after this work was published. One appalled viewer wrote the figures resembled gas pipes… “arms, legs and bodies all of the same skinny pattern… floating about in an objectless manner in a sea of green mud..” Painting nude female figures has always been a titillating subject matter for artists and viewers alike. But many other critics called this work “weird… impossible… and lurid.” “Hideous and lean” cried another. And lastly, the most viscous critic called the picture of the “new woman” “hags.”
Yet there is something soothing, languid and painful about her female forms. Something one hundred years later many of us can identify with. She has captured the emotional resonance many of us feel when conflicted with the need to create is compromised with the duties of care.
“Resistant resignation” has been classified as Frances later works.
Prudence and Desire (1912-1915)
The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow
Two male figures look toward the female figure whose eyes are closed. Her abdomen is thrust forward and her head leaned back in thought. Her hands rigid in defiance as if to say ‘stay away’. He message is that she is and can be alone. If ‘Tis a Long Path Which Wonders to Desire is in a state of ambivalence, in this one she has decided.
Man Makes the Beads of Life but Woman Must Thread Them (1912-15)
The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow
The above work makes it clear the expected role of women and their inability to change it. The nude male offers an egg containing a child to the woman. She holds a similar one to cover herself. Some contemporary critics have deemed this as a powerful allegory for the burden of motherhood. An image contrary to the prevalent middle-class ideology believing women joyfully accepted children into their lives. Perhaps it was her statement claiming women were more than caretakers. Something more than a wife and baby maker. That they must be recognized and valued beyond those expected roles. Women have much more to give, more to contribute. The value of women should not be measured by her reproduction capabilities. That they can stand alone.
Unfortunately the existence of her body of work is limited. Her husband destroyed many of her works after her death.