Augustin Edouart, Hannah More, 1827. © National Portrait Gallery, London

Exhibition Preview: Brilliant Women - 18th Century Bluestockings at the National Portrait Gallery in London until June 15 2008.

A major new exhibition of 50 works seeks to explore the cultural impact and identity of the Bluestockings and their followers through a collection of oil portraits, drawings, satires and personal artefacts.

The term ‘Bluestocking’ was originally associated with a certain social group, specifically women with pronounced literary interests, but it later came to recognise creative and intellectual women more generally. Meeting in Bluestocking ‘salons’ in the 1750s, the women would come together to discuss matters of a literary nature, as well as art and politics, pushing the boundaries of the female sex.

Richard Samuel, Portraits in the Characters of the Muses in the Temple of Apollo (The Nine Living Muses of Great Britain), 1778. © National Portrait Gallery, London

Kauffman, Romney, Robert Adam and Elizabeth Vigee-LeBrun are among the artists on display, depicting women in the 18th century who became celebrated icons of national pride, and came to symbolise the progression of equality between the sexes.

Co-curators Dr Elizabeth Eger, Lecturer in 18th Century and Romantic Literature at Kings College, London and Dr Lucy Peltz, 18th Century Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, have combined a historical and biographical approach to explore the cultural impact and significance of these literary ladies.

The exhibition begins by introducing the Bluestocking Circle, and then goes on to look at celebrated Modern Muses, exploring how women with artistic and creative sensibilities pursued their vocation in a male dominated environment.

Robert Edge Pine, Catharine Macaulay, c.1775. © National Portrait Gallery, London

Accompanying the exhibition is a collection of photographs, titled Modern Muses, by Bryan Adams and commissioned by Blackberry. These feature women who work in a variety of different fields, including Annie Lennox, Darcey Bussell, and Zaha Hadid.

This is an exhibition preview. If you've been to see this show, why not let us know what you think?