Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery has acquired a painting by Marie Bracquemond through the generous support of The Rick Mather David Scrase Foundation.
La peche aux ecrevisses (Crayfish fishing), painted about 1870-1880, represents the first painting by Marie Bracquemond to enter a public collection in the UK.
Marie Bracquemond was one of only three women who participated in the original Impressionist exhibitions, alongside Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot.
Art critic Gustave Geffroy famously described these artists as “les trois grandes dames” (the three great ladies) of Impressionism in 1894.
The acquisition reinforces the Walker’s reputation as a gallery which has historically celebrated women artists and ensures that the stories of pioneering women artists continue to be told.
In her early career, Bracquemond exhibited at the prestigious Paris Salon and studied art under the Neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.
She later became a copyist at the Louvre where she met Felix Bracquemond, a painter and engraver, whom she married in 1869.
Between 1877 and 1880, under the influence of Impressionism, Marie Bracquemond’s style shifted from traditional, academic painting.
La peche aux ecrevisses demonstrates Bracquemond’s delicate and skilful handling of paint.
The charming subject matter shows a young woman fishing for a crayfish, with children playing in the background.
Kate O’Donoghue, curator of International Fine Art at National Museums Liverpool, said: “This acquisition represents a significant moment for Walker Art Gallery and for the recognition of women artists associated with the Impressionist movement.
“Marie Bracquemond was one of only three women who exhibited in the original Impressionist exhibitions, yet her promising career was cut short due to her husband’s disapproval.
“We are proud to bring Bracquemond’s work to our visitors as the first UK public collection to acquire one of her paintings.
“We are extremely grateful to the Rick Mather David Scrase Foundation for their generosity and for helping to continue the Walker’s tradition of championing women artists whose stories deserve to be told.”
La peche aux ecrevisses is now on display in Room 9 at Walker Art Gallery. Admission is free, with donations welcome.