WHEN Scots artist Joan Eardley submitted a painting of a male nude to the Royal Academy it stirred up a controversy.

“It’s a cracking painting but even though it was not that long ago it was seen as immodest for a woman to paint a nude man,” said Christina Jansen, director of The Scottish Gallery, which this summer is celebrating the work of major female Scots artists from the past 125 years.

Eardley submitted her Sleeping Nude in 1955 and the controversy illustrates the kind of obstacles women artists have had to overcome to be recognised.

Despite women having played an integral role throughout art history, many female artists have struggled to find recognition and acceptance, according to Jansen.

Often women were regarded merely as models, mistresses and muses and the forthcoming exhibition at The Scottish Gallery includes contributions made in an era when sexism was routine.

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“It was not easy and these women were pioneers,” said Jansen. “Today’s current artists have a lot to be grateful for as centuries of women’s art was just written out of history. It wasn’t balanced, yet if you put two paintings side by side you don’t know if it is by a man or woman. It is all about perception.

“Female artists have always been there making fantastic art but were just sidelined, depending on what the fashion was or the social constraints of the time.”

She pointed out that far more obstacles, such as the pressure on women to be wives and mothers, hampered women’s attempts to be successful artists.

“With the rise of education and so on those pressures fell away,” said Jansen. “Now the contemporary art world is much more equal, although it is not completely equal and institutions and public galleries still have some way to go to address that balance.”

Unusually The Scottish Gallery has shown women artists solidly for decades, one of the few private galleries to do so, a fact that has been pointed out by Alice Strang, curator at the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art.

“Where we have been unique and very helpful for women is that you are shown amongst your peers and within the cut and thrust of the commercial world,” said Jansen. “You are testing yourself, putting yourself out there and doing exactly the same as a man so it is completely equal.”

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The exhibition includes “remarkable” individuals from the past, current established artists and emerging talent.

“We are covering the past and bringing it bang up to date,” said Jansen. “We’re covering a lot of the regions of Scotland and we’re very fortunate to be able to show some of the greats.”

Scottish artist Kate Downie, who is known for her visceral depictions of Scottish urban and rural landscapes which give an alternative perspective on everyday life, said she was delighted to be part of the exhibition.

“It is pretty tough out there and some institutions move with the times very well and others don’t, so this exhibition is a great one to be part of,” she said.

“The recognition of the female contribution in the individual arts in Scotland is very lagging behind. It has been a difficult environment to work in and even to succeed in because success is always tempered by a kind of underlying resentment – the ‘who do you think you are’ sort of thing.

“People are always very happy to look at this generation and think it is okay now, but I am 40 years in the art world and the women that do well and make a living work their socks off and are usually very, very good because they have had to be that much better. They are also very determined.”

Downie pointed out that the proportion of women in the top echelons of art who are making a living from it, bear no relation to the great number of women that go through art college and gain degrees.

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She said that although there had been improvements, women were still generally under-represented in the major survey exhibitions of Scottish art and the under-representation of women in the permanent collections needed addressing.

“There should be a 50-50 split. When you ask why there is not, there is no real answer to it apart from institutional sexism. It is only when you examine the data that you see the discrepancies.”

Downie said she had huge admiration for The Scottish Gallery as she said they seemed to be presenting Scottish art during the pandemic with a “greater drive” than a lot of public institutions.

“They are a really interesting gallery in Scotland because they fill in that gap between a commercial gallery and a public institution,” she said.

“They take the reputation and dissemination of Scottish art very seriously. It could be seen as a place of privilege but anyone can walk in and everyone is welcome.

‘‘It is hugely historical and the fact that it continues to exist and thrive means it is doing something right and always has done.”

As the gallery is a retail premise it is expecting to open soon, but although people will be able to visit the physical exhibition when it begins on July 30, audience numbers may be restricted because of social distancing, so an online event is also planned.

This will consist of a virtual exhibition and a mini lecture series from experts in the art world.

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“You can be anywhere in the world and join these events celebrating women’s art,” said Jansen.

“We are very aware that some people will want to come back into the gallery and others will take a longer time so that is why the online support event is really important.

“One way or another we are going to try to get over the power of these women we are showing.”

She added that even though the Edinburgh Festival had been cancelled this year, the gallery had wanted to stage an exhibition worthy of the event.

“We can still do something really special,” she said.

The free Women Modern Masters exhibition will run until August 29.