Take a video tour of art history's female protagonists

In celebration of International Women's Day, Fiona Alderton chooses some highlights in our collection

From teenage prodigies to a botanical expert commanding higher prices in her day than Rembrandt, find out more about some of the women artists in the collection and their pioneering paintings and careers.

Fiona's selection for the video includes:

Messengers by Bridget Riley

Portrait of a Man by Catharina van Hemessen

Alexandrine-Emilie Brongniart by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel by Judith Leyster

Flowers in a Glass Vase by Rachel Ruysch

Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Artemisia Gentileschi

Portrait of a Woman by Catharina van Hemessen

Self Portrait in a Straw Hat by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

The Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur

Summer's Day by Berthe Morisot

Four women who helped shape art history

Maria Alambritis and Imogen Tedbury shine a light on some of the lesser-known women who played a crucial role in Renaissance and Early Modern artists’ studios

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Women artists and sitters

Paintings and portraits by women artists as well as portraits of women artists reveal details of their experiences and their attitudes, and tell us about the sorts of opportunities they had access to in their own time

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