Home, School, and Studio: Women Artists and New Hampshire

In 1888, at the height of her career, Adelaide C. Palmer (1851–1928) painted this pastoral scene in Piermont titled After the Rain. Palmer grew up in Piermont and had a long career as an artist and teacher. New Hampshire Historical Society collection, gift of the New Hampshire Savings Bank.

Home, School, and Studio: Women Artists and New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Historical Society’s newest exhibition recognizes and celebrates women artists. Home, School, and Studio: Women Artists and New Hampshire features paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture created by women from the early 1800s through the mid-1900s. All of the 55 works included in the exhibition were collected by the New Hampshire Historical Society over the past 150 years.

Some of the oldest items on display are early 19th-century watercolor drawings and needlework pictures made by young women like Margaret Mitchell (1784–1867) of Peterborough, who received useful educations in local schools and academies, training them for motherhood and life. By the mid-19th century women began to play an important role in the development of American art and, after the Civil War, ambitious young women began to gradually take a more prominent role in the art world exhibiting paintings at venues such as the Boston Art Club and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Among them, women such as Edith B. Robinson (1874–1964) of Epsom also exhibited their work in commercial galleries, building successful careers. Other women, like Maria G. Becket (1839–1904), joined men as tourists in the White Mountains, seeking inspiration from the grandeur of nature and God.

This hand-painted porcelain plate is inscribed on reverse: “H. Pearson. / 1890. / M.E.B. Miller, 1908.” During the late 19th century, china painting became a pastime, livelihood, and art for many American women. Artists Helen Pearson (1870–1949) and her aunt, Mary E. B. Miller (1841–1939), of Portsmouth, worked together decorating this and other china for sale. New Hampshire Historical Society collection, bequest of Dorothy M. Vaughan.

While producing art for growing audiences of consumers, women artists also built on their roles as educators. Artists like Adelaide C. Palmer (1851–1928) of Piermont, became teachers, bringing professional skills and keen aesthetic values to generations of American artists. Women like Alice Cosgrove (1909–71) of Concord, also brought art to everyday life, creating dramatic prints, unique ceramics, and bold sculpture for public and private use.

Autumn, New Hampshire, c. 1958, by Alice Cosgrove (1909-71) of Concord. As New Hampshire’s official state artist, Cosgrove used her talent to mold the state’s image in the years after World War II. New Hampshire Historical Society collection, gift of Mary Louise Hancock.

Home, School, and Studio: Women Artists and New Hampshire is on view through December 31, 2013. To learn more about the items in the Society's museum collection related to women artists, explore our online museum catalog.

Home, School, and Studio: Women Artists and New Hampshire is funded in part by the Robert and Dorothy Goldberg Charitable Foundation with additional support from the Robert O. Wilson, D.D.S., Historical Research Fund, Eleanor Briggs, and the Una Mason Collins Fund.