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The Arts Society Ashdown Forest lecture by Dr Lois Oliver
Rosa de Bonheur (1822-1899) was one of the most celebrated artists of her time. She had an extraordinary gift for painting animals that brought her international fame and recognition. Her works fetched exceptionally high prices on both sides of the Atlantic, and in 1865 she became the first woman to be awarded the légion d’honneur, France’s highest of merit.
Defying convention, Bonheur obtained official police permission to wear men’s clothing, so that she could study animal anatomy in the male-only spaces of livestock sales. Her most famous work ‘The Horse Fair’ displays such dynamism that when it was exhibited at the 1853 Paris Salon, one critic wrote that he had to suppress the urge to jump out of the way of the galloping horses. Such was its fame, that Queen Victoria requested a private viewing at Buckingham Palace.
Bonheur’s commercial success enabled her to buy the Chateau de By, near Fontainebleau, where she lived with her lifelong companion Nathalie Micas, establishing a studio and menagerie that included sheep, gazelles, monkeys, and three lions. This lecture offers an in-depth account of her extraordinary life and work.
Lois Oliver studied English Literature at Cambridge University, and History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, completing an MA in Venetian Renaissance Art and a PhD on The Image of the Artist, Paris 1815-1855. She worked at the Harvard Art Museums before joining the curatorial team at the V&A and then the National Gallery. Currently Curator of Paintings and Sculpture at the Royal Academy, Associate Professor in History of Art at the University of Notre Dame in London, and a Visiting Lecturer at the Courtauld Institute, Lois also writes audio and multimedia tours for clients including the National Gallery, Royal Academy, Royal Collection, and Tate, and has appeared on BBC Radio and TV.
Defying convention, Bonheur obtained official police permission to wear men’s clothing, so that she could study animal anatomy in the male-only spaces of livestock sales. Her most famous work ‘The Horse Fair’ displays such dynamism that when it was exhibited at the 1853 Paris Salon, one critic wrote that he had to suppress the urge to jump out of the way of the galloping horses. Such was its fame, that Queen Victoria requested a private viewing at Buckingham Palace.
Bonheur’s commercial success enabled her to buy the Chateau de By, near Fontainebleau, where she lived with her lifelong companion Nathalie Micas, establishing a studio and menagerie that included sheep, gazelles, monkeys, and three lions. This lecture offers an in-depth account of her extraordinary life and work.
Lois Oliver studied English Literature at Cambridge University, and History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, completing an MA in Venetian Renaissance Art and a PhD on The Image of the Artist, Paris 1815-1855. She worked at the Harvard Art Museums before joining the curatorial team at the V&A and then the National Gallery. Currently Curator of Paintings and Sculpture at the Royal Academy, Associate Professor in History of Art at the University of Notre Dame in London, and a Visiting Lecturer at the Courtauld Institute, Lois also writes audio and multimedia tours for clients including the National Gallery, Royal Academy, Royal Collection, and Tate, and has appeared on BBC Radio and TV.
2pm
Members free visitors £6
Members free visitors £6
Crowborough Community Centre
Pine Grove East Sussex TN6 1FE
Thu 8 Jun 2023
Website:
www.tasaf.org.uk
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The Arts Society Ashdown Forest