KITTY KIELLAND

Kitty Kielland (Norwegian, 1843–1914), Evening Landscape at Stokkavannet, 1890. Oil on canvas, 45 1/4 x 78 3/4 in. The Royal Collections, Oslo, DKS.001128. Photo: Jan Haug, Courtesy American Federation of Arts

Kitty Kielland was known primarily for her landscape paintings. After preliminary training in Norway, she moved to Germany to undertake formal study. She moved to Paris in 1879, exhibiting regularly at the Salon during the decade she lived there. Four of her paintings were included in the 1889 Exposition Universelle, where she earned a silver medal. Considered one of the most successful women artists in her native Norway, Kielland changed the face of Norwegian art by contributing to the development of Realism. She also paved the way for successive female artists, both through her paintings and by her active participation in the fight for women’s rights in the art world.

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.