Book excerpt: A rich and focused collection of works by over fifty outstanding Australian women artists who worked in Australia and abroad between 1880 and 1960. This book also provides great insights into women's professional and economic strategies of the time, in a predominately male environment and how women played a crucial role in the development of impressionism and modern art in Australia in the first decades of the 20th century. Some of Australia's most important women artists represented here include Margaret Preston, Grace Cossington Smith, Ethel Carrick Fox, Clarice Beckett and Hilda Rix Nicholas. An impressive selection of prints from Australia's most influential print makers, including Thea Proctor, Dorrit Black and Ethel Spowers. Also included are rarely or never before displayed works by artists including paintings by Dora Meeson, Florence Rodway, Grace Cossington Smith and Hilda Rix Nicholas. This important book brings much deserved attention to a group of talented, dedicated and determined women artists for whom the desire to create was paramount.