LADY ELIZABETH BUTLER

Lady Elizabeth Butler (British, 1846–1933), Balaclava, 1876. Oil on canvas, 40 5/8 x 73 5/8 in. Manchester Art Gallery. Gift from Robert Whitehead, 1898, 1898.13. Courtesy American Federation of Arts

Lady Elizabeth Butler was one of the few women artists in the nineteenth century to specialize in history painting. She began her studies at the South Kensington Art School, but became frustrated by the restricted access to models. In 1869 she traveled to Florence, enrolling in the Accademia di Belle Arti. She frequently traveled to Paris, where she became familiar with military painting. She made battle scenes the focus of her paintings, undertaking extensive research into historical accounts and even purchasing soldiers’ uniforms and equipment.

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.