This book accompanies the largest ever overview exhibition of women artists’ oeuvre in Estonia, Creating the Self: Emancipating Woman in Estonian and Finnish Art, in the Kumu Art Museum (06.12.2019–26.04.2020). The collaborative exhibition project of the Kumu Art Museum and the Ateneum Art Museum compares Estonian and Finnish art from the mid-19th century to the 1950s.

Beginning in the second half of the 20th century, women artists, who used to be forced into the background in art historical treatments, have increasingly been brought into the spotlight all over the world. The book offers insights into the social and intellectual environments in which women artists worked, with a focus on their education, travel opportunities, social views, creative interests and social positions throughout the various eras in the covered period. The exhibition also unearthed works of art by several lesser known Estonian artists.

The book is also available in Estonian as „Eneseloomine“.