The depiction of women artists in art history has often been mis-characterized, both intentionally and unintentially by the times; often dictated by the socio-political mores of the era. Throughout art history women and their likenesses have been important and primary subjects of the Fine Arts. Portrayals of women in sculpture, painting, photography and the other arts by artists have often been characterized and influenced by the political and social standards of the age. Throughout several centuries works by women artists were falsely described as having been created anonymously, or under assumed identities, or by men, and until the 20th century female artists were often depicted falsely as having a secondary importance to male artists.
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