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Although born in Ohio, Elizabeth Nourse spent most of her
life in France where she was a successful painter of still life,
portraits, genre, and landscapes. Not only were her paintings
regularly exhibited at the Paris Salon, she managed to support
herself and her sister through the sale of her work.
Nourse’s talent was recognized early and from the ages
of 15 to 22 she studied at the McMicklin School of Design, later
named The Art Academy of the Cincinnati Art Museum. In 1882,
after the marriage of her twin sister and the death of her parents,
Nourse traveled to NYC to study with William Sartain. Upon her
return to Cincinnati she began to support herself and her sister
with the sale of her artwork. Throughout her career, Elizabeth
Nourse was assisted by her sister, Louise, who ran their household,
corresponded with clients, organized their extensive travel,
and even made the frames for Elizabeth’s paintings.
In 1887, Nourse, accompanied by Louise, left for Paris to
study at the Academie Julian with Gustave Boulanger and Jules
Lefebvre. Within a year her painting, “La Mere,” was
selected to hang at the Paris Salon. In 1893, the sisters made
their only return trip to the States where Elizabeth received
the only solo show of her career at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Her work was seen, however, in numerous group shows at the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts and The National Academy of Design,
among other places. Her principle client was The V.G. Fischer
Gallery in Washington, D.C. Many of her paintings were purchased
by Cincinnati collectors as well as through friends in Seattle
and Montana. Many American friends visited her in Paris and promoted
her reputation at home. She became a member of the Societe Nationale
des Beaux-Arts in 1901.
This elegant bouquet of flowers in a gleaming turquoise teapot
is an exquisite example of Nourse’s bravura painting technique.
The flowers seem to float in space, anchored solely by the stems
and petals that fall beneath the vessel.
Until 1891, Nourse signed her paintings E. Nourse, apparently
because she feared that to identify herself as a woman would
compromise her career.
The authorship of this picture has been confirmed by Mary
Burke who wrote the catalogue raisonnee of the artist’s
work, Elizabeth Nourse, 1859-1938: A Salon Career.
Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983. |
