1st Edition
History's Beauties Women and the National Portrait Gallery, 1856-1900
By Lara Perry
Copyright 2006
220 Pages
by
Routledge
220 Pages
by
Routledge
The 'beauties' - women of note - who were welcomed to the National Portrait Gallery's early collection were those whose lives and portraits were recognized as significant to the 'civil, ecclesiastical and literary history of the nation'. This brief was interpreted to include figures as diverse as the devout Lady Margaret Beaufort, and the entertaining Lady Emma Hamilton. History's Beauties, the... Read more
Contents: Introduction: The nation's beauties: women in the nineteenth-century museum; Women, the National, and the Portrait Gallery; Victoria and her predecessors; Sentimental histories; Beauty; The arts of women; Conclusion: The varieties of the public woman; Appendix 1: The trustees of the National Portrait Gallery; Appendix 2: List of women's portraits acquired by the National Portrait Gallery between 1856 and 1900; Notes; Bibliography, Index.
Biography
Lara Perry, Lecturer in Visual Culture, School of Historical and Critical Studies, University of Brighton, UK
'Lara Perry's interdisciplinary approach weaves together in a complex pattern many ideas, topics, and strands of thought. ... This is a stimulating book, offering much to provoke further studies.’ Reviews in History
’... provides readers with a renewed glimpse into the relationship between gender and culture in the Victorian era.’ Victorian Studies
’... [a] fascinating and thoughtful book...’ Museum and Society
’... a refreshing addition to the literature of museum studies.’ The Art Book
