Art Appreciation: Women Artists in Victorian London

This session on women Victorian artists is divided in three parts, with two short comfort breaks. We will first explore the issue of training and art schools for women in 19th century-London. As we learn about places where women could learn the codes of painting, we will discuss the issue of the life class and the study and representation of the nude. Why was it so difficult to let women paint female and male nudes? How did women artists circumvent such a ban? In the second part, we will focus on the life and art of Elizabeth Thompson, also known as Lady Butler. She was a Victorian painter, who specialised in battle paintings. As we will see, this choice of subject matter was rather unusual for a woman, far from flower paintings and the landscape. Yet, Lady Butler made a name for herself and gained the respect of many. She also brought a singular note to these historical scenes. In the third and last part, you will discover and discuss the works of several other contemporary women artists, such as Emily Mary Osborn, Louise Jopling, Anna Lea Merritt, Emily Sargent, Evelyn De Morgan, and many more.