Description Helen Maria Turner
(American/Louisiana, 1858-1958)
"The Artist"
oil on canvas
signed lower right.
Framed.
16" x 12", framed 22-3/4" x 18-3/4"
Notes: Initially exhibiting in 1890 at the Artists' Association of New Orleans, the accomplished artist Helen Maria Turner went on to earn national acclaim by exhibiting at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Corcoran Gallery, and American Society of Miniature Painters at the National Academy of Design. Turner was the first woman from the south to be elected to full membership in the National Academy of Design, and the third woman nationally. A highlight of her career was included in the "Six American Women" exhibition organized by the St. Louis City Museum; which, in addition to Turner, featured Mary Cassatt, Jane Peterson, Johanna Hailman, Martha Walter and Alice Schille.
At a time when few women achieved success as professional artists, Turner became well acquainted and friends with her female contemporaries. Although she occasionally accepted a commissioned portrait assignment, Turner largely asked her friends and family to be subjects of her paintings. The portrait of "The Artist" was likely a friend of Turner's; painted with her brushes in hand and typically pensive glaze favored by Turner.