Ellen Emmet Rand
Ellen Emmet Rand worked mainly as a portraitist. Her Woman Before the Mirror is a dynamic figure study, showcasing her assured brushwork and vibrant palette. Executed in 1925, the painting demonstrates the artist’s interest in elements both old and new: The figure wears a 19th-century dress, which Rand rendered in a painterly realism inspired by Spanish Baroque artist Diego Velázquez. The woman’s intense gaze in reflection, however, suggests an assertive self-presentation that is decidedly modern. A trailblazer herself, Rand trained at the Art Students League in New York and then with American sculptor and painter Frederick MacMonnies in Paris in the 1890s. She supported her family with her art from her student years onward, receiving considerable acclaim in her day as a female professional.
If you would like to learn more about great women artists, please check out our Women Artists 50 Postcards Set! :)
P.S. We love women artists, including these 10 female artists forgotten by art history that you definitely should know!