Lady Elizabeth Eastlake 1809 – 1893
(née Rigby)
Art Critic, writer, feminist.
17 November 1809 – 2 October 1893
Elizabeth Rigby (later Elizabeth, Lady Eastlake), taken about 1847 by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson,Hill & Adamson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Education
Homeschooled in French, geography, Italian, arithmetic and drawing.
Later taught herself German when in abroad recuperating from typhoid.
1832 Moved to London and studied literature and art in the British Museum and National Gallery.
Studied at Henry Sass’s art classes for ladies in Bloomsbury.
Some Key Achievements and Interests
1841 Letters home during her time in Russia published by John Murray.
1842 Started to contribute regularly to the Quarterly Review, the first woman to do so.
Became a prominent art critic and writer who contributed to discussions on contemporary art and culture. She condemned Ruskin’s view of art and criticised Charlotte Bronte for her immoral and vulgar novel Jane Eyre.
Built a reputation translating texts on old master art, editing and correcting information as she considered appropriate.
1836 Translated J D Passavant’s Tour of a German Artist in England.
1851 & 1855 translated Franz Kugler’s Handbook of Painting: The Italian Schools.
1854-57 Translated Gustav Waagen’s Treasures of Art in Great Britain and 1857 Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain.
1857 Published article Photography in the Quarterly Review, as an early proponent of photography as art.
Advocated for gender equality and access to education, particularly in the arts. Highlighted the importance of women’s contributions to the arts and their often overlooked role in art history
Issues
Wrote anonymously until her marriage. However, her reviews remained uncredited according to the convention of the time.
When known as Lady Eastlake, wife or later the widow of Sr Charles Eastlake, was recognised for her social position rather than her writing.
Connection to Bloomsbury
Frequented the British Museum. With Harriet Grote wrote an article about reform of the British Museum.
Pupil of Henry Sass in Bloomsbury.
Female Networks
Ada Lovelace (Byron’s daughter), Lady Augusta Stanley, Angela Burdett-Coutts, Caroline Norton, Effie Ruskin, Eleanor Vere Boyle, George Eliot, Harriet Grote, Harriet Martineau, Lady Marion Alford, Margaret Sandbach, Mary and Agnes Berry, Mary Elizabeth Mohl.
Writing/Publications/Work (excluding the translations referenced above)
Published a short story for Fraser’s Magazine, ‘My Aunt in a Salt Mine’,
1864 The History of Our Lord, co-written with Anna Jameson
1868 Fellowship: Letters Addressed to my Sister Mourners
1870 Compiled a memoir for Charles Eastlake’s Contributions to the Literature of the Fine Arts,
1880 revised the 1874 edition of Kugler’s Handbook of Painting, and edited Dr Rigby’s Letters from France
1883 Five Great Painters, a collection of reviews of works onLeonardo, Michelangelo, Titian, Raphael, and Dürer originally written for the Edinburgh Review.
Further Reading
https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/104EAE
Elizabeth Eastlake | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Elizabeth Eastlake – Wikipedia
https://daily.jstor.org/the-contrary-journalist-lady-elizabeth-rigby-eastlake/
The Contrary Journalist: Lady Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake – JSTOR Daily