English Female Artists, in two volumes, assembled and edited by Ellen Creathorne Clayton, lists an overview of prominent English women painters up to 1876, the year of publication.
The purpose of the book was to provide "a roll call of honorable names."[1] The book is a useful reference work for anyone studying British women's art.
Brief Overview
The untitled review[2] by Pamela Gerrish Nun, describes English Female artists as, “not the work of an art historian nor of a feminist, and is ultimately an unsatisfying and unsatisfactory work.” This is in reference to the story-like style within English Female Artists. The work of English Female Artists was published by the now extinct printing firm of the Tinsley Brothers. However, in the review by María Begoña Lasa Álvarez[3] she states that the work is a celebration of the women mentioned and all their lifelong work, the biographical and social descriptions of them within the Novel, is to illustrate all the hardships that these women overcame as an artist in a male dominated era. The novel has overall sentiments of the fight for women's rights and recognition. As well as a critique for her home country of Ireland, as she emphasizes the way English society regards its women artists in a higher light versus how Irish society regards women artists. This critique alone shows Ms. Clayton’s steps for early feminism. It is noted that in her novel, English Female Artists Ellen Creathorne Clayton refers to some of the women highlighted as “sisters.'' This shows a deeper connection between the author and her muses and can be inferred that they are a sisterhood fighting for women's rights. Overall, the novel English Female Artists is not only an ode to women artists but an early feminist novel as well.
About the Author
Ellen Creathorne Clayton, was a female author who lived from 1834 to 1900. She was born in Dublin, Ireland and comes from a long family of engravers and artists. Ellen was a natural artist herself and had a talent for writing; she was publishing articles at the age of just fourteen. She went on to write seven books and English Female artists was her most notable novel out of the seven. Ellen Creathorne Clayton also was a prominent worker in London hence her ode to English female artists as well as she lived in London since she was just seven years old. Ellen Creathorne Clayton kept publishing under her maiden name even after her marriage to James Henry Needham. Ellen Creathorne Clayton passed away in London on July 19th, 1900.[4]
The second volume is a list of biographies of women active in the 19th century, most of whom were contemporaries whose works were known to the author. It is grouped by painting genre and includes an appendix of amateurs and women who were "Honorary Members" of the "Society of Lady Artists". The second volume also includes the index for both volumes.
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Ellen Creathorne Clayton, Mrs Needham; 15 February 1834 – 19 July 1900), born Eleanor Creathorne Clayton, was an author and artist.
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