Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.Waters, Clara Erskine Clement
History
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.
Waters, Clara Erskine Clement
Women artists -- Biography
<b>SERRANO Y BARTOLOMÉ, JOAQUINA.</b> Born in Fermoselle. Pupil in Madrid
of Juan Espalter, of the School of Arts and Crafts, and of the School of
Painting. She sent four pictures to the Exposition of 1876 in Madrid: the
portrait of a young woman, a still-life subject, a bunch of grapes, and a
"Peasant Girl"--the last two are in the Museum of Murcia. In 1878 she
sent "A Kitchen Maid on Saturday," a study, a flower piece, and two
still-life pictures; and in 1881 two portraits and some landscapes. Her
portrait of the painter Fortuny, which belongs to the Society of Authors
and Artists, gained her a membership in that Society. Two other excellent
portraits are those of her teacher, Espalter, and General Trillo.
<b>SEWELL, AMANDA BREWSTER.</b> Bronze medal, Chicago, 1893; bronze medal,
Buffalo, 1901; silver medal, Charleston; Clarke prize, Academy of
Design, 1903. Member of the Woman's Art Club and an associate of National
Academy of Design. Born in Northern New York. Pupil at Cooper Union under
Douglas Volk and R. Swain Gifford, and of Art Students' League under
William Chase and William Sartain; also of Julian's Academy under Tony
Robert Fleury and Bouguereau, and of Carolus Duran.
Mrs. Sewell's "A Village Incident" is owned by the Philadelphia Social
Art Club; "Where Roses Bloom" is in the Boston Art Club; portrait of
Professor William R. Ware is in the Library of Columbia University. Her
portrait of Amalia Küssner will be exhibited and published.
Mrs. Sewell is the first woman to take the Clarke prize. She has been a
careful student in the arrangement of portraits in order to make
attractive pictures as well as satisfactory likenesses. Of the pictures
she exhibited at the Academy of Design, winter of 1903, Charles H. Caffin
writes:
"The portrait of Mrs. Charles S. Dodge, by Mrs. A. Brewster Sewell, is
the finest example in the exhibition of pictorial treatment, the lady
being wrapped in a brown velvet cloak with broad edges of brown fur, and
seated before a background of dark foliage. It is a most distinguished
canvas, though one may object to the too obvious affectation of the
arrangement of the hands and of the gesture of the head--features which
will jar upon many eyes and detract from the general handsomeness. The
same lady sends a large classical subject, the 'Sacred Hecatomb,' to
which the Clarke prize was awarded. It represents a forest scene lit by
slanting sunlight, through which winds a string of bulls, the foremost
accompanied by a band of youths and maidens with dance and song. The
light effects are managed very skilfully and with convincing truth, and
the figures are free and animated in movement, though the flesh tints are
scarcely agreeable. It is a decorative composition that might be fitly
placed in a large hall in some country house."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account