Anita Selzer’s third Female Gaze book highlights three pioneering Australian women artists – including Josephine Muntz Adams – who reshaped the nation’s art legacy.
Women artists have always played a vital role in shaping how stories are told and remembered. For Australian award-winning author Anita Selzer, that belief continues to shape her acclaimed Female Gaze series, which centers women artists and the overlooked stories they bring attention to.
Due for release in October, the third instalment turns its focus to Australia, exploring the lives of Jane Sutherland, Emma Minnie Boyd and, completing the trio, Josephine Muntz Adams – three pioneering artists whose work challenged convention, expanded opportunities for women, and left a lasting mark on the nation’s artistic identity.
“When we leave women artists out of the story, we don’t just lose individual lives – we lose a fuller understanding of how culture was built,” says Selzer. “These women were working, exhibiting and pushing boundaries at a time when they were rarely taken seriously. They deserve to be seen in the same frame as the artists history tends to celebrate.”
“Each book in the award-winning Female Gaze series focuses on women whose contributions have been under-recognized in mainstream history. This latest volume highlights how Sutherland, Boyd and Muntz Adams reframed what was possible for women in Australian art at a time when professional opportunities were limited, and recognition was even harder to earn.”
Sutherland became one of Australia’s leading Impressionist painters and painted alongside the iconically acclaimed professional male impressionists but was historically placed in their shadows. Boyd built a respected artistic career while raising a family, leaving behind a creative legacy that would influence one of Australia’s most recognised artistic dynasties. Muntz Adams achieved something rare for her time – supporting herself through her artwork after studying in Melbourne, Paris and England, proving that women could succeed professionally on their own terms.
For Selzer, their importance goes beyond their individual achievements.
“These remarkable women were more than gifted artists; they were working against the expectations of their time and still managed to build real careers,” she says. “That resilience is just as important as the artwork itself.”
Together, the three artists helped shape Australia’s cultural landscape in ways that are still being fully understood today. Their influence extended beyond their own work, opening doors for generations of women who followed.
Through meticulous historical research, Selzer brings their stories back into focus, returning three pioneering women to the center of Australia’s artistic history.
The third instalment of the Female Gaze series will be released in October 2026 through Hardie Grant.
About Anita Selzer
Anita Selzer is a biographer and award-winning author dedicated to uncovering the lives of remarkable women whose achievements have been under-recognised in history. Through her Female Gaze series and other historical works, she brings forgotten pioneers back into the conversation, ensuring their stories continue to educate and inspire future generations.
