Pre-Raphaelite Women Artists

by Jan Marsh, Pamela Gerrish Nunn

The work of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and their followers is enduringly popular and correspondingly familiar to a wide public. Works by women artists within the Pre-Raphaelite style have, however, largely been forgotten and ignored in the history of the movement. This book, published to accompany an exhibition in Manchester, England, brings together paintings, drawings, photographs, and other works that women contributed to the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Many are reproduced and documented here for the first time. Spanning three generations from the 1840s to the early 1900s, the artists include Barbara Bodichon, Anna Howitt, Rosa Brett, Anna Blunden, Jane Benham Hay, Joanna Boyce, Elizabeth Siddal, Rebecca Solomon, Emma Sandys, Julia Margaret Cameron, Lucy and Catherine Madox Brown, Marie Spartali Stillman, Maria Zambaco, Francesca Alexander, Evelyn De Morgan, Kate Bunce, Marianne Stokes, Christina Herringham, and Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale. Their works demonstrate that Pre-Raphaelitism is a broader historical movement than has previously been recognized and that women were active in all its phases. Their re-inclusion in Pre-Raphaelite history will redefine its scope, concerns, and achievements, as well as restore a wealth of neglected works to public attention.

Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction, Pre Raphaelite, Biography, Feminism, Research

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1997

Reviews

[Roisin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant and detailed account of the lives of female, Pre-Raphaelite artists. Split into the different generations of women associated with this movement, Jan Morris gives an account of what it was like for women practitioners of art, the obstacles that they faced, prejudices and achievements of these women.

Many art schools had restrictions and limitations put on women in their attempt to practice/study art. Yet, these women still managed to create art on a wide range of topics, such as the political, social, mythical and the personal. Whether, painting, photography, or illustration, these women worked hard to produce and practice art, sometimes combining a family or supporting another relative.

Often, women who were part of this movement are talked of and only referred to in relation to the male artists of the PRB. So it was good to read the accounts of these women's lives and art practice, including their strengths and weaknesses as artists. The story of such women is an encouragement to women now.

The early Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood encouraged women in their practice of art and some were pupils of male members of the PRB. Yet the wider society would often not support them just because they were female. However, a number these artists found champions, supporters and a market for their work. Some were prolific in their output and better known in their time, now forgotten.

The book throughout features colour and black and white examples of their work and contains a bibliography, with references for further reading. Enlightening!

[Nellie Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't planning to include any women in my study of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, but this is one of the few books I found at the library so I grabbed it just in case. I started on the first page and could not stop reading about the Art Sisters. I've now adjusted my research of this period to include the founding women in art. This is a great reference!

[Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting set of snap shots of the women artists influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and Burne-Jones. Just a pity there wasn't more information about the women that have been largely been forgotten by Art history.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, after reading sections of this in 2007 for my freshman year of college, and different parts for the lead-up to my thesis in 2012, and the thesis itself in 2012 and 2013, I have read this book/catalog cover to cover! It's really THE starting point for anyone interested in women artists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and one of my favourite resources. I have however always wished that it was slightly differently/better organized. I understand why the chapters are thematic (Women and Art 1850-1900 and A Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood?) but a lot of information seems out of order and/or repetitive, especially when it comes to the catalogue of entries reflecting back on the earlier sections... But as there are so few resources, still, on this subject, this is a great place to start and make do!

[SusanA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, full-page illustrations, many of pieces new to me. The text was a bit lacking and felt like a museum exhibition catalog, which it may have been. A lot about how hard it was for the women in the movement, but we knew that, and the repeated enumerations of the wrongs done to them got a bit tiring, even to this feminist’s eyes.

All in all, well worth reading, if you only look at the pretty pictures….seriously, they are wonderful. Scan the text for the information you want.