The project has achieved some of its objectives and/or milestones.
During this time I achieved some aspects of my project’s objectives as follows:
O1: I undertook research into a number of overlooked women artists who produced work in France in the period 1944–1968, focusing on their artistic practice, identity, and reception (WP1)
O2: I began to develop a new interpretation of postwar art in Europe that contrasts in specific ways with the paradigmatic response by canonical artists and art writers to war and Occupation, via a critical survey of key extant secondary and primary literature on postwar art (WP2)
O3: I began to consider a new framework for my analysis by reading extensive feminist and ecocritical history and theory (WP3)
O5: this training objective was achieved partially by training and attending seminars, particularly in the Arts et Societies series as well as the CHSP 40 year anniversary conference; my training was in software such as Sinchro and Cyrtric. I also integrated into the host department and familiarized myself with financial aspects of the project, and holding regular supervisor meetings with Elissa Mailänder (WP5)
However I achieved less of O4 (WP4): expressing ideas in ways that make an impact upon international scientific communities, public understandings of art history, and cultural history (WP4). This is because there was not time to produce research-based outputs. Nonetheless I still managed to conduct a meeting with a publisher to steer my book plans.
Explanation of the work carried out
My exact activities are detailed below, covering each month working on the project:
In September, my priority was to plan a mission to the archive IMEC (Caen) and obtain authorisation to view documents in this archive as well as in the Bibliothèque Jacques Doucet – this was a lengthy process, which is still ongoing. I consulted secondary texts and primary documents at the BnF sites Richelieu, Arsenal, and Mitterand, as well as at the INHA and the Kandinsky Library (Centre Pompidou) (WPs 1 and 2). I tried to reacquaint myself with the notes on the project, which will require a change of software. I familiarised myself with the MSCA project framework and its budget, as well as with Sciences Po's systems, including how the holiday platform and Sinchro work, thanks to a few meetings/training sessions. I also sought to understand my situation regarding maternity leave. I had meetings for I also attended the Arts and Societies seminar and had a meeting with my supervisor Elissa Mailänder (WP5).
In October, I had two priorities. 1) To read a few books and articles that would establish a theoretical framework and give me crucial ideas on how to write about my artists, and 2) to plan a trip to Brittany to visit three museums in Vannes and Rennes with several crucial works (including several appointments to see works not on display), a documentation centre, and a visit to the main site of inspiration for the artist Geneviève Asse (WP1). I wrote various emails to see if I could visit and view works of art in various feasible institutions that are not on display (e.g. Centre Pompidou and the CNAP, Paris; Tate, London). I also continued to obtain authorisation to view documents in the archives - an unexpected task that took up a lot of time this month (WP1). I had meetings, training, and I attended the CHSP’s Arts and Societies seminar (WP5).
In November, I went on a mission to Caen for the IMEC and the Judit Reigl exhibition at the Musée Beaux-Arts Caen. I organised my notes and photos after the visit and began transcribing the letters, a task I have not yet completed. I also visited other archives, e.g. the Francis Ponge archive (WP1 and 2). I organised and prepared for a meeting with a publisher to discuss the draft of the book that will eventually result from the project. I also continued to consult secondary texts and primary documents at the BnF sites (WP1,2, and 3). Supervisor meetings are WP5.
In December, I undertook an extended mission to Brittany, to Vannes and Rennes for archives and museums, and to the Gulf of Morbihan. This was very fruitful for my research, and I wrote up the trip in ways that will be useful for research. My maternity leave began during the festive break, and in preparation for this I organised my notes, wrote my Data Management Plan. Supervisor meetings are WP5.
Upon returning from maternity leave, in the period September to November 2025, I am using this time in several ways. First, to return to and consolidate and organize the many notes and photographs that I took during my research trips just before I went on maternity leave. I have purchased the newly published Catalogue Raisonné of one of my artists, and I am gutting this essential several hundred page tome for essential relevant information. Having had the opportunity during leave to reflect on my project and read about non-fiction writing, I am also reading some books in the field of History to identify key ‘hallmark’ moments which I will use to structure the narrative of y eventual monograph. I’m reading more essential secondary literature. I am also revising my career plans in light of my new circumstances, and considering how the project can be reworked so that it might be the basis for an application for a UK-based Future Leaders Fellowships (UKRI).
