Although often overlooked, women have played a significant role in the printing trade since its earliest days. To celebrate this long and frequently underestimated heritage, the V&A has brought together 25 remarkable printmakers whose work spans the past 125 years.
Freed from any thematic or stylistic constraints — beyond gender and timeframe — the exhibition presents a wildly diverse range of printed works. The result is a broad and engaging survey, from art used as ammunition in political struggle to pieces created for beauty, storytelling, or personal expression.
Among the most pointed exhibits is a protest banner by the Guerrilla Girls, who expose inequality within the art world: despite women accounting for 85% of the nudes in the Met Museum’s Modern Art collection, only 5% of the artists represented are women. It is an especially fitting inclusion for a museum display interrogating artistic history.
Elsewhere, a 1932 lithograph by Pearl Binder depicting theatrical costumiers feels unexpectedly contemporary. At first glance, the central figure appears to be engrossed in her smartphone– until you remember the era and realise she is more likely reading her newspaper or learning her lines.
The exhibition champions the women artists who were commissioned by London Transport’s Frank Pick – with some examples of posters to promote travel designed by Dora Batty. At a time when female artists were still looked down on, over a quarter of London Underground posters came from the female hand.
The exhibition also embraces the form in unexpected ways, including Lynne Allen’s sculptural 3D printed moccasins, which blur the boundary between object, craft, and print.
Overall, it’s a wide-ranging display and well worth seeking out on your next visit to the V&A.
The exhibition, Lasting Impressions: Women Printmakers 1900 – Now, is open until September 2026 and is free to visit. It can be found on the second floor, in the corridor between the jewellery and theatre galleries.
