Women and the Collaborative Art of Gardens: From Antiquity to the Present

Women and the Collaborative Art of Gardens explores the garden's agency in the history of built and natural environments, highlighting women's roles as gardeners, designers, owners, writers, illustrators, photographers, filmmakers, and subjects. It reveals the power of gardens to shape human existence and showcases the collaborative nature of their creation in various media.

Format: Hardback
Length: 182 pages
Publication date: 30 November 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Women and the Collaborative Art of Gardens delves into the profound relationship between gardens and the built and natural environments, spanning a wide range of artistic mediums such as landscape architecture, literature, art, archaeology, history, photography, and film. Throughout the book, each chapter focuses on the collaborative aspect of gardens, exploring the various forms it takes, from early twentieth-century garden clubs that served as powerful examples of women's leadership to intimate partnerships between family members and the delicate interplay between artists and their subjects. Women play central roles in every chapter, whether they are actively engaged as gardeners, designers, owners, writers, illustrators, photographers, filmmakers, or subjects. The contributors to this dynamic collection challenge prevailing notions about the role of women in gardens, highlighting their significant contributions to the field of garden design, practice, and history.

The book unveils the transformative power of gardens in shaping human existence, while also acknowledging the reciprocal influence of humans on gardens and their representations through various media, including illuminated manuscripts, intricately carved architectural spaces, wall paintings, black-and-white photographs, and woodcuts. Ultimately, the volume emphasizes that gardens are best understood when viewed as collaborative creations.

This book will appeal to scholars and students interested in gardens and culture, ancient Rome, art history, British literature, medieval France, film studies, women's studies, photography, African American Studies, and landscape architecture. It offers a rich and multifaceted perspective on the multifaceted role of women in gardens and their enduring impact on the world around us.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032464077