Ashton-Warner’s fiction was autobiographical and her autobiographies often fictional. Her educational theory was expressed in the form of novels (Spinster, Bell call) or as autobiography (Teacher, Spearpoint: ‘teacher’ in America).
From the late 1890s Niniwa-i-te-rangi carved out a unique position for herself. She was considered a leader of Māori affairs and was the only woman whose views were sought when the Native Affairs Committee inquired into the Native Lands Settlement and Administration Bill of 1898. She regularly spoke on the marae in a district in which this was not a common practice. She became known around the country, beginning in the days when Tamahau sent her out as Pāpāwai’s ambassador to solicit attendance at the Māori parliaments. Her knowledge of whakapapa and tradition was extensive and contributed to the work of the Tāne-nui-a-rangi committee.
It was ‘while working at Jurisprudence and Constitutional History’, she said, ‘that the idea first occurred to me of taking a law degree.…I did not know then that the profession was not open to women.’ In the 1890s Stella Henderson began to study law.
Rosalyn Drexler is an ex-professional wrestler whose experience as ‘Rosa the Mexican Spitfire’ influenced her subsequent work as a visual artist and writer, and who is now becoming recognized as a key feminist voice in the Pop Art movement.
Kay Sage is among the few Americans associated with early Surrealism. She fully integrated the language of the movement within her own practice and achieved notable success during her lifetime.
Matter’s life’s work incorporates elements of Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Hofmann’s principles of spatial composition with pure color, automatist compositions of the early New York School, and the innovations of her Abstract Expressionists peers.
In 1925 Pérrine wrote New Zealand birds and how to identify them. Although she intended her book for the untrained bird-lover, it influenced scientists as well as lay people and ran to five editions.
Although Rozanova was an important figure in the Russian avant-garde – one of the “Amazons” of early-twentieth-century Russian art – her work has received little sustained critical attention except in Russian-language publications.
Tanning’s entire oeuvre – from painting to poetry – has had a profound influence on subsequent generations of artists. Her continued exploration of the female form has led to her association with the Feminist movement.
Part of Colquhoun’s legacy in the art world lies in her use of automatism. While she did not invent many of the styles (she did invent some), she became a leader in all of these using many different approaches.