PROCEEDINGS OF THE LATVIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Latvian women in the social and public life and art (1860–1944)

Keywords: Latvian women, time of Tzarist Russia, independent Latvia, painting, graphic arts, sculpture, applied art
Language: In Latvian

Dr. sc. ing. Ilgars Grosvalds (1927–2019) was a chemist, scientist and pedagogue, he worked in the area of construction and was a lecturer and teacher of chemistry, physics and astronomy. An integral part of his life was popularisation of science which was based on studies of history of science. In the last years of his life he intensively gathered and published data about the role of the Latvian woman in various spheres — education, society and public life, in arts. In 2013, a small publication by I. Grosvalds appeared, Women of the University of Latvia in Higher Education and Science in the First Part of the 20th Century (32 pp.).

The author’s intention was to expand on this theme in publications of Latvijas Zinātņu Akadēmijas Vēstis, Section A. In 2014, in issue 5/6 of the journal, in co-authorship with Ivans Griņevičs, scientific collaborator of the Latvian Museum of History of Chemistry, the article was published, “Latvian women on the way to higher education and science” Another article on this theme, “Latvian women in education and science (1860−1944)” was published in 2017, Issue 2. Recently the Editorial office of LZA Vēstis, Section A, received two more articles by I. Grosvalds: “Latvian woman in social and public life (1860−1944)” and “Latvian woman in painting and sculpture (1860−1944)”. The intention of the author of the articles was to summarise in one edition the life stories and contribution of the most outstanding Latvian women of the early 20th century. The journal did not manage to publish the last two articles during the time of Ilgars Grosvalds’ life, and moreover, the article about Latvian women in art was not completed, but in honour of author’s memory, we have decided to publish a summarisation of these articles.