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Women in the 19th Century - Whitney Chadwick (Essay Date 1990)

WHITNEY CHADWICK (ESSAY DATE 1990)

SOURCE: Chadwick, Whitney. "Separate But Unequal: Woman's Sphere and the New Art." In Women, Art, and Society, pp. 210-35. London, England: Thames and Hudson, 1990.

In the following essay, Chadwick describes how late-nineteenth century art by American women, often influenced by French art and society, reflected changes in women's perceptions of how their social roles should be defined.

The Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 represented a milestone in women's struggles to achieve public visibility in American cultural life. Approximately one tenth of the works of art in the United States section were by women, more than in any other country's display. Emily Sartain of Philadelphia received a Centennial gold medal, the only one awarded to a woman, for a painting called The Reproof (now lost). Sartain's painting was displayed in the United States section, but...

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