In 19th Century England, there was a period of tremendous activity for women artists, primarily because of the patronage of Queen Victoria. Roadblocks still remained, however. For example, although two female painters had helped found the British Royal Academy, women were not eligible to become Academy members during the 19th Century.
Rolinda Sharples had an English itinerant painter father who took his wife, a former pupil and assistant, as well as his daughter and son to live in Philadelphia and New York. When the father, James, died, they returned to England and all three family members became established as painters. Her mother founded the Bristol Fine Arts Academy encouraged Rolinda’s talents. At the age of 13, she produced her first commissioned painting. As her artistry developed, she expanded her repertoire to include historic and genre subjects as well as watercolor, pastel and oil portraits. In 1827, she was made an honorary member of the Society of British Artists.
Eva Gonsales was a contemporary of Mary Cassatt and pupil of Edouard Manet whose most well-known painting is entitled, “The Gaze.” Both Cassatt and Gonsales painted women observing and being observed at the opera, a common upper-class setting used by many women artists at the time. “They were both expressing the idea that a woman could never feel she was not under observation and it was anything but a matter of course for a woman to meet the world around her with an open, self-confident me. Nightclubs and dancehall scenarios painted by men were off limits to respectable women.”
Sophie Anderson, a little-known Victorian painter, has a current reputation based almost entirely on a single painting, her beautifully portrayed child with a woebegone face entitled, “No Walk Today.” Her skills show up in the details of the little girl’s costume and the nearby leaves. (This is a woman artist’s story that I would like to know more about. What happened to her? Why was she so little known?)
Emily Mary Osborn, a clergyman’s daughter, moved to London in 1848 where she began to seriously study art. By the age 17, she was exhibiting and attained considerable success for the next 30 years. She was able to comfortably support herself with her portraits, but she also won several medals for her representation of poor women. The best known of these was her strong statement of the perils of poverty entitled, “Nameless and Friendless.”
Mary Moser, born in 1744, “became the pre-eminent flower painter of her age… She was gifted, her work was popular--and she played a crucial role in the story of British art.” It was Mary Moser and Angelica Kauffman who were the only two artists admitted to the Royal Academy’s exclusive membership for over a century. Even then their membership was only partial and their engagements there were limited apparently for reasons of propriety. This humorous (not so much) story of their inclusion in this august body was written about in 2018 by Shahidha Barie at frieze.com. (See P.S. note on the last page.)
With each century, more women were able to join the ranks of recognized professional artists. Previously I looked at European artists and now I want to highlight just a partial list of 19th century American artists who were particularly gifted at painting still-lives, portraits and genres.
Members of a Philadelphia dynasty of artists began with the family of Charles Wilson Peale. He had 17 children and the girls were all named after European artists: Sofanisba, Angelica, Rosabella etc. His brother James, the father of Margarette and Sarah Peale, were the two most famous painters of four in that family.
Marguerita was a founding member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine arts that was established by her uncle James. Her talent was in portraying still-lives.
Sarah Miriam Peale was Margaretta’s younger sister and the most successful painter of still-lives and portraits in the Peale family. She resided in Baltimore and became the city’s leading portraitist of such notables as Daniel Webster and Marquis de Lafayette.
Edmonia Stebbins was born to a Native American Chippewa tribe mother and a black father. Lewis was confronted by racial prejudice along with all of the other stumbling blocks that 19th Century American women without resources encountered. Her brother was a successful gold miner and was able to finance her college career at Oberlin College that ended tragically in a racially motivated incident, yet her work thrived beginning with her portrait bust of Robert Gould Shaw, leader of a black Civil War regiment.
Vinnie Ream Hoxie at 15 was commissioned to make a full-length statue of Abraham Lincoln that still stands in the US Capitol Rotunda today.
Lilly Martin Spencer was born to French parents who emigrated to the United States. Her genre paintings resemble the genre paintings of the previously mentioned Victorian women artists. Her parents supported abolition and women’s suffrage. She was largely self-taught but turned down an offer from an art patron to send her to Europe for further schooling. She ultimately married Benjamin Rush Spencer, an English painter, “who devoted himself to managing her career and taking care of their seven surviving children” while she struggled to support their family monetarily.
Ann Hall was particularly skilled at painting miniatures and was the first woman admitted to the National Academy of design.
Women Sculptors also entered the American 19th Century art scene and achieved notoriety in greater numbers than the previous century. They include:
Elizabet Ney was a German woman sculptor but ended her career in the United States. She is recognized for her portrait busts of King George, Bismarck and philosopher Schopenhauer. Her work can be seen at The Ney Museum in Austin, Texas.
Anne Whitney was one of the youngest members of a growing group of women sculptors. She was a liberal and sculpted such people as abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison, and suffragist Lucy Stone. Her last major piece was a bronze of abolitionist senator, Charles Schumer, is found in Harvard Square in Boston. She completed it “27 years after she won the competition for the commission and then lost it when the Boston Art Committee discovered that she was a woman.”
Harriet Hosmer was an unconventional woman who enrolled in a medical school to study anatomy. Her most popular work was “Puck,” made in a
In conclusion, all of these women artists and more are worthy of greater in-depth study.
Why should we care? It is essential for women to claim their artistic heritage through the centuries in order to have women’s artistry supported now and into the future. In 1990, I was fortunate to take a Women’s Artist’s Tour in France sponsored by the National Museum of Women’s Art in Washington DC. On this trip, I traveled with a Madison Artist, Karen Foget who designed our In-Sight logo page. Under her leadership and with her enthusiasm and knowledge of women’s art, we taught two classes together entitled “Womanspirit” in Art. We used the list included below and brought them forward into our consciousness through slides and experiential exercises; learning about ourselves as well as the artists. Because of these experiences, I have acquired an enthusiastic appreciation of women’s art that has greatly influenced my art gallery visits ever since.
The two primary resources I have used both have at least one wonderful large color photograph reproduction of the women artists they write about:
Heller, Nancy G. Women Artists: An Illustrated History
Bucholtz, Elke Linda, Women Artists
Both are well worth checking out! I got very caught up in this topic and have thoroughly enjoyed learning details of the lives. Writing about these talented artists gives me great pride in their accomplishments in difficult times for women. Yet another way of having our voices heard and bringing forward the grandmothers. “We’ve always been here!” If there are any artists in the audience who would like to share their thoughts or stories, send them to Pat! We’re all artists in our own way and we need to put our voices out there!
P.S./ A Podcast about significant women artists from the past who deserve our attention can be found at frieze .com Frieze is a contemporary art magazine. Look for the Nov. 9th Podcast by Jennifer Higgie entitled, “BOWDOWN.”