Today, fishing is generally thought of as a manly activity. A picture of a young man proudly donning an impressive catch is the staple of any online dating profile, and any respectable man is sure to have a Bass Pro Shops stop planned into his vacation itinerary. Musical endeavors, often country songs, further echo this sentiment. As women enjoy (arguably) all of the same rights men do today, there is nothing stopping them from partaking in or enjoying the same activity. However, there is sometimes a stigma against it, as men seek to preserve their hobby and are wary of women with ulterior motives. For men, fishing is a rite of passage. For women, it is either for survival or a sly way to be involved in a “man” activity.
This is the supporting mindset that provided resistance when faced with images of women fishing from as far back as ancient Egyptian times. Either art depicting that subject is trying to make a countercultural statement, or it is simply depicting an unproblematic truth, right? Throughout various engravings, etchings, paintings, and prints from the ancient Egyptian times to the late 19th century, a narrative surrounding the topic of women fishing is unraveled.
Menna and Family Hunting in the Marshes, Tomb of Menna, Nina de Garis Davies, A.D. 1924; original ca. 1400–1352 B.C., Tempera on paper, 30.4.48
In this tempera painting, copied from an earlier plaster piece from ancient Egypt, both men and women are depicted together fishing, or “hunting in the marshes”. While the men stand, donning spears and other tools and weapons, the women stand behind in evident support, holding additional tools or literally supporting the men by their ankles. There are also other men, probably slaves, depicted as smaller, who also seem to be helping rather than doing the hunting themselves. At this time, fishing was for survival and seems to also show status. The use of hieratic scale indicates that the men, the more important leaders, were able to enjoy fishing to its full extent, while others were invited to participate passively in the ritual.
Cormorant Fishing, Gabriel Huquier, ca. 1742, etching and engraving, 53.600.1019(5)
This Chinese etching from a series on everyday life depicts a woman peacefully fishing while a small person sits in the boat with her. No part of this image seems to be emphasized above the rest, and it feels like a relatively uneventful, yet peaceful, depiction of a chore. The woman seems content and uncomplaining, with delicately pursed lips, and the boy seems content to have a minor role in the affair.
Fishing, Kitagawa Utamaro, late 18th century, Woodblock
print; ink and color on paper, JP1095c
This Japanese print from just a few decades later is similar in subject. This time, three women sit atop a boat, two of them with fishing poles. The artist’s use of color emphasizes the background figure, wearing a bright purple flowered kimono, who does not hold a rod. The two figures in the foreground both wear dull gray prints with a repeated pink sash, and use of hieratic scale makes one of them disproportionately small. Here, it seems that fishing is something of a mundane chore, untouched by those with more privilege, regardless of gender.
The Fishing Party (from "Appleton's Journal," Vol. II), Winslow Homer and John Filmer, October 2, 1869, wood engraving, 33.21.2(2)
It is here, in an American engraving from a century after the eastern ones, where fishing is seen as a leisure activity. A small party of both men and women camp out around a lake with picnic baskets and blankets strewn across the uneven grass. The characters in the background recline lazily on their elbows, while a handful of young girls in the foreground absentmindedly hold fishing rods. During a picnic, it is assumed that food to eat has already been brought in the baskets, and even if fish were caught, they do not have the means to prepare them there. This, combined with the overall mood of the engraving, makes fishing out to be a leisure activity for this group of people.
A Woman Fishing, Georges Seurat, 1884, Conté crayon drawing, 55.21.4
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat, 1884-86, oil on canvas, Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago
This conte crayon drawing, which served as a small feature in a study dedicated to this larger painting by Georges Seurat, is a famous example of the impressionistic focus on leisure. Many upper-class characters, all at leisure and with various whimsical prizes at their disposal, meander aimlessly in the park on the island of La Grande Jatte. French Impressionism selectively depicts mostly upper class people who have the ability to spend time at leisure. This is what is seen here, including the woman in the background who is fishing. The statement made here has less to do with gender and more to do with status.
Fisherman, from the Occupations of Women series (N502) for Frishmuth's Tobacco Company, Issued by Frishmuth's Tobacco Company (American) , Philadelphia, 1889, Commercial color lithograph, 63.350.226.502.7
This American lithograph from only a few years after Georges Seurat’s famous painting, shows the beginning of a trend of women being used to market fishing attractively to men. Prints on Tobacco products show a sexualized female figure displaying the fishing rod while in an impractical bustle, bloomers, and statement earrings. She is not actively fishing in the image, but has already caught the fish, and is posed with her knee popped and one hip out. The act of fishing for women has become an accessory and a joke, while it remains an attractive pastime for men, who it is increasingly marketed towards.
Another example of this is a photograph which cannot be taken from the Met’s site due to copyright restriction, but the information for it is here:
Actress holding fishing pole (W423), ca. 1920–40, Commercial color photolithograph, 63.350.618.423.104
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