Focus on God Giving Birth and discuss the Provenance.
God Giving Birth was first exhibited in 1970 at an art festival in St. Ives in Cornwall sponsored by the Arts Council of Great Britain. It was shown at the Swiss Cottage Library in London in 1973 as part of the show 5 Women Artists – images and Womanpower. Christian groups accused it of blasphemy during these exhibitions. It was reported for breaking the British blasphemy law, but the case was not taken up by the court. In 1993, Sjöö and the Bristol political-religious feminist group Ama Mawu carried a poster of God Giving Birth into the Bristol Cathedral during a Sunday mass, intended as an accusation against the Christian church for blaspheming the Mother Goddess.The Museum Anna Nordlander in Skellefteå, Sweden, purchased God Giving Birth in 1994. The museum, which opened in 1995 and focuses on art by women, held a large retrospective of Sjöö's works to go along with the purchase. Sjöö donated more than 20 of her paintings to the museum over the next few years.
Swiss Cottage Library Museum Anna Nordlander Bristol Cathedral mass Bristol Arts Council of Great Britain Cornwall Skellefteå St. Ives feminist blasphemy British blasphemy law