Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900

Exhibition Website

Jun 9 2018 - Sep 3 2018

Clark Art Institute

Williamstown, MA












Remarkable works created by women in Paris from 1850 to 1900, a time of great social, cultural, and artistic change. Her Paris: Women Artists in the Age of Impressionism features more than 80 paintings by 37 women artists from across Europe and America, who had migrated to this epicenter of art to further their careers. They range from well-known artists such as Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, and Rosa Bonheur, to painters who are lesser-known in the United States, including Anna Ancher and Paula Modersohn-Becker.

Even though Paris was known as a cosmopolitan city, Parisian society was still very restrictive for women. They were not allowed to attend to the École des Beaux-Arts (Academy of Fine Arts)—the country’s most important art academy—until 1897, and it was not socially acceptable to frequent public spaces, such as cafes, to work on their art and mingle with their peers without a male companion. The exhibition will trace how, despite societal challenges, women embraced their artistic aspirations and helped create an alternative system that included attending private academies, exhibiting independently, and forming their own organizations, such as the influential Union des Femmes Peintres et Sculpteurs.

Her Paris is guest curated by Laurence Madeline, chief curator of Fine Arts at the Musée d’art et d’histoire in Geneva, and curated locally by Angelica Daneo, curator of painting and sculpture at the DAM. It is a traveling exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts (AFA). Following its run at the DAM, it will travel to The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts.


Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website
IMAGE: Cecilia Beaux (American, 1855-1942), Ernesta (Child with Nurse), 1894. Oil on canvas; 50-1/2x 38 - 1/8 in.The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Maria DeWitt Jesup Fund, 1965, 65.49. Courtesy American Federation of Arts


Whether you go or not, you can bring the exhibition home. The exhibition catalog, Women Artists in Paris, 1850-1900, is a celebration of the work and lives of women artists who shaped the art world of late 19th-century Paris, featuring thirty-six artists from eleven countries.  In the second half of the 19th century, Paris attracted an international women artists, drawn to the French capital by its academies and museums, studios and salons. This beautifully illustrated book explores the strength of these women’s creative achievements, through paintings by acclaimed Impressionists such as Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot, and extraordinary lesser-known artists. 

It examines their work against the socio-political background of the period, when women were mostly barred from formal artistic education but cleverly navigated the city’s network of ateliers, salons, and galleries. Essays consider the powerfully influential work of women Impressionists, representations of the female artist in portraiture, the unique experiences of Nordic women artists, and the significant presence of women artists throughout the history of the Paris Salon. By addressing the long-undervalued contributions of women to the art of the later 19th century, Women Artists in Paris, 1850-1900 pays tribute to pioneers who not only created remarkable paintings but also generated momentum toward a more egalitarian art world.

Tap Women Artists in Paris, 1850-1900 to learn more, or place the exhibition catalog in your Amazon shopping cart.

  • Painting
  • International
  • 19th Century
  • Berthe Morisot
  • Mary Cassatt
  • Rosa Bonheur
  • Anna Ancher
  • Paula Modersohn-Becker
  • Marie Bashkirtseff
  • Louise-Catherine Breslau
  • and others

Exhibition Venues & Dates