Artist:
Lilly Martin Spencer
(American, 1822 - 1902)
Raspberries
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1858-1859
Dimensions:
15 1/2 × 19 3/4 in. (39.4 × 50.2 cm)
Accession number: 2016.11.28
Label Copy:
Lilly Martin Spencer managed a career as a well-respected painter at a time when women rarely rose to the level of professional artist. Her popular imagery of home and family garnered a wide audience when her paintings were reproduced as inexpensive prints. She was the primary breadwinner in her family, with her husband taking care of their thirteen children; and although they struggled financially for years, she remained an active painter through the end of her life. In 1858, the Spencers moved to rural New Jersey, which prompted her to try still-life painting of the fruits and plants surrounding her there.
Lilly Martin Spencer managed a career as a well-respected painter at a time when women rarely rose to the level of professional artist. Her popular imagery of home and family garnered a wide audience when her paintings were reproduced as inexpensive prints. She was the primary breadwinner in her family, with her husband taking care of their thirteen children; and although they struggled financially for years, she remained an active painter through the end of her life. In 1858, the Spencers moved to rural New Jersey, which prompted her to try still-life painting of the fruits and plants surrounding her there.
Curatorial Remarks
Lilly Martin Spencer managed a career as a well-respected painter and the mother of thirteen children at a time when women rarely rose to the level of professional artist. Many of her works are known for the message of moral improvement they carried, but she was also well aware of the business aspects of the art world. Her popular imagery of home and family garnered a wide audience when her paintings were reproduced as inexpensive prints, often sold by subscription.
Spencer was born in England to French parents who raised her in a particularly progressive environment in which women were considered equal to men. Her mother, Angelique Perrine Le Petit Martin, was a leading abolitionist and feminist when the family moved to Ohio in 1833.
Spencer was the primary breadwinner in her own family, with her husband taking care of their children and, though they struggled financially for years, she remained an active painter through the end of her life. In 1858, the Spencers moved to Newark, New Jersey, after spending a decade in New York. The move to more rural surroundings appears to have prompted her to try still-life painting of fruits and plants such as seen here in Raspberries.
Lilly Martin Spencer managed a career as a well-respected painter and the mother of thirteen children at a time when women rarely rose to the level of professional artist. Many of her works are known for the message of moral improvement they carried, but she was also well aware of the business aspects of the art world. Her popular imagery of home and family garnered a wide audience when her paintings were reproduced as inexpensive prints, often sold by subscription.
Spencer was born in England to French parents who raised her in a particularly progressive environment in which women were considered equal to men. Her mother, Angelique Perrine Le Petit Martin, was a leading abolitionist and feminist when the family moved to Ohio in 1833.
Spencer was the primary breadwinner in her own family, with her husband taking care of their children and, though they struggled financially for years, she remained an active painter through the end of her life. In 1858, the Spencers moved to Newark, New Jersey, after spending a decade in New York. The move to more rural surroundings appears to have prompted her to try still-life painting of fruits and plants such as seen here in Raspberries.
On view