An Education: Women as Educators at Crucial Times (Argentina, 1910s-1950s)

GLUZMAN, GEORGINA

Conferencia; Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC); 2020

Virginia Commonwealth University

In Argentina, there was not a national art academy for training artists until the early years of the 20th century, when in 1905 the academy founded in 1878 by a group of artists and supporters of the arts at the Sociedad Estímulo de Bellas Artes (Society for the promotion of Fine Arts) was finally given official status. It could be argued that Buenos Aires? modernity was, up to a certain degree, a feminine modernity, where women were regarded as key factors in the advancing of culture and fine arts. Both as ?Republican mothers? and as practicing artists, women were deemed capable of making significant contributions to the country?s culture. However, their role as art teachers is little known. The national academy seldom hired them as tutors, but women found other ways to engage with their communities: from private lessons (as in the case of Cecilia Marcovich to Andrée Moch) to schools focused on crafts (such as the Escuela Profesional de Artes Decorativas Fernando Fader), they left an enduring mark in several generations. This paper will shed light on the career of some of the women artists who, coming from different backgrounds and having different artistic interests, bet heavily on their role as educators.