One Woman's Work: The Visual Art of Celia Laighton Thaxter

by Sharon Paiva Stephan

Author, independent researcher, and Thaxter enthusiast Sharon Paiva Stephan presents a visual feast of full-color images highlighting the art of Celia Thaxter. Much attention has been focused on this celebrated author's poetry and on her life as a literary figures and artist whose family maintained a resort hotel on the Isles of Shoals. One Woman's Work focuses on a relatively unexplored facet of Thaxter's her hand-illustrated books, watercolors, and painted china.

The Appledore Island hotel became an artists' retreat in the summer. Celia's own artistic inspiration was drawn from the natural objects that surrounded her on the remote islands off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her hand-painted china, illustrated poems, and paintings helped earn much-needed financial support for her family, and also provide the backdrop for Stephan's theory that "art was Celia's passion." This impressive collection of 188 previously unpublished full-color photographs of Celia's art, and new scholarly essays by Norma Mandel, Dennis Robinson, Jane Valiier, and Nancy Wetzel introduce readers to a more wholistic side of this noted woman.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Kate Atonic]

At age 16, Celia was married to her 27 year old tutor. He had the chin whiskers of an unkempt hermit, poor health, was jealous of her talent, couldn’t handle their child with mild retardation, and refused to let her hire a housekeeper - even though she was earning money of her own with her various enterprises. They had an on-again, off-again relationship, mostly living apart, but she nursed him when he was ill. She contributed to the running of the family business and handled elder care, but also ran an artist retreat and salon attracting the greatest minds of the day.

Imagine what her life would have been, as a poet and author, as a naturalist, as a horticulturalist, as a visual artist, as a businesswoman - had she had access to education, not been groomed by a miserable old fuss budget, had not become a mother before her prefrontal cortex had developed, enjoyed the same sort of emotional and physical support that was expected of her.

[Gail DiVico]

This books has exquisite pictures of Celia Thaxter's art work with detailed information about each. It also chronicles her life on the Isle of Shoals between the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire from the time she was a child through her later years. She came to Appledore Island when her father became the lighthouse keeper and fell in love with the ocean and all the various island plants, flowers and seaweed. She was a multi-talented individual using writing and then painting to create her various pieces of work. She was visited and adored by many famous writers/artists of the day. I highly recommend this book if you have an affinity for New England female artists during the nineteenth century.