Ellen Thesleff (Finnish, 1869–1954), Echo, 1891. Oil on canvas, 24 x 17 1/8 in. Anders Wiklöf Collection, Andersudde, Åland Islands. Photo: Kjell Söderlund. Courtesy American Federation of Arts

Ellen Thesleff enrolled at the Académie Colarossi in Paris in 1891 to further an art education that began in private painting academies in Finland. Following Paris, she traveled to Italy to study Renaissance art. Influenced by Impressionism and Symbolism—movements she encountered in Paris—she helped found the group Septem, which introduced Impressionism to Finland. Thesleff painted throughout her life, and in 1951, she received the Pro Finlandia medal, awarded by Finland’s president to artists of merit.

A fully illustrated catalogue, Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900, has been published by the American Federation of Arts and Yale University Press. Along with an art-historical overview by curator Laurence Madeline, the catalogue includes essays by Jane R. Becker, collections management associate, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Richard Kendall, former curator at large, Clark Art Institute; Bridget Alsdorf, associate professor, History of Art, Princeton University; and Vibeke Hansen, curator, Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo.