The National Gallery

Mary Richardson was a Canadian Suffragette known for her friendship with Emily Davidson as well as her famous actions at the National Gallery. Enraged with the lack of government action for the women's suffrage, Richardson took to the famous Velasquez painting with an axe that she used to slash the artwork seven times. She was very dedicated to the cause and was willing to go to jail for her actions. Richardson particularly despised the 'Rokeby Venus' masterpiece by Velasquez with its very nude depiction of feminine beauty. 

This painting now holds a new significance as it represents the struggles and lengths many women were willing to go through for the feminist movement. Without these many dedicated individuals, there may not have been such great coverage and attention brought to the cause and perhaps the movement would not have been as great or significant.

During our visit to the National Gallery we found many pictures depicting different stories and a couple of painting stood out to us as we believed such paintings would surely be loved by feminists to destroy.