Dr. Meghan Callahan

In 1768, 36 artists and architects founded the Royal Academy to promote and teach art. Two women, Mary Moser and Angelica Kauffman, were among the founding group. Moser was primarily known for flower paintings – at mural size -- and Kauffman was a portraitist and history painter. While the Academy flourished, it also met with resistance and the pre-Raphaelites were the most vocal rebels. Among them was Lizzie Siddal. Despite her position as Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s muse and model, Siddal was also an artist and poet, which is often overlooked. Jane Morris, always described as the wife, model and muse of William Morris, was a highly skilled embroiderer who changed the way we look at art and interior design.
In this three-part class we’ll examine the various roles and influences women had in 18th and 19th century British art, and the lasting impact of their lives on contemporary British art.