Introduction

This module opens with the Victorian Era, a period of much social change. Women artists played significant roles in a variety of ways and there were many of them by this time. The most famous female artist in the nineteenth century was Rosa Bonheur. This was author George Sand's era as well. Her real name was Amandine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin. These two French women were highly celebrated and took to wearing men’s clothes, which then was considered outrageous. Other women in the arts took a more conservative approach. In contrast with Europe, it appears that American women had more rights in the nineteenth century. However, needlecraft and textiles, still typically thought of as women’s work, remained the dominant mediums especially during the first half of the 1800s.

Topics

• moral reform
• American art in the nineteenth century
• Women in photography–Clementina, Lady Hawarden, Emily Osborn, Rebecca Solomon
• Rosa Bonheur–painter of animals
• Elizabeth Thompson (Lady Butler)--Depictions of war
• the symbolism of Black Beauty
• book illustrations
• abolition and the suffrage movement
• sculpture–Harriet Hosmer, Anne Whitney, Edmonia Lewis, Vinnie Hoxie
• public and private spheres
• sex, class, and power in Victorian England

Outcomes

By end of this module, you should able to

• discuss women’s positions concerning gender and race during this period, and the political and social movements toward change at this time
• list women painters, photographers, sculptors, and textile artists of the era
• determine the differences between the European and American women artists’ works and their unique influences and experiences
• recognize the styles of the era

Women artists in nineteenth-century France

This Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History site features several Women Artists in Nineteenth–Century France. It includes an extensive thematic essay with supportive links plus a slideshow of several paintings.

Women Artists: 19th Century

Women Artists: Sculptors beginning with the 19th Century

Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)

Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)

• Met Museum Essay

Julia Margaret Cameron(1815-1879)

Discussions

For this week, select 1 artist from our Resources and briefly (1-2 paragraphs) discuss: 

• Social movements and/or home life that influenced her art. 

• How she became a professional artist.

• For interest, please select a different artist from those already posted. Place the name of your artist in the Subject field.