Anna Elizabeth Klumpke
Anna Elizabeth Klumpke was born in San Francisco in 1856. She showed artistic talent at a young age, and she enrolled at the Académie Julian in Paris when she was 15, debuting at the Paris Salon the following year. At 33, one of her paintings won a bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle, and she painted the American suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. In 1889, Klumpke met the painter Rosa Bonheur, with whom she forged a lasting personal and professional partnership.
What emotions define adolescence?
The bright palette and dreamlike qualities of this painting suggest that Klumpke was aware of progressive contemporary art movements, such as Impressionism and Symbolism. Although lilies are a traditional symbol of youth and purity, the figure in this painting looks like she somehow has had to confront the end of her innocence. The artist painted two similar pictures of young girls in nymphlike poses and settings—all three works were shown at the Paris Salon and later reproduced as postcards.
Gift of the artist