The legacy of Anna Mary Howitt (1824-1884)

In her day, Anna Mary Howitt was an artist, author and activist who was fully immersed in her cultural and social milieu. Identified by Marsh and Nunn as ‘the nearest thing to a female Pre-Raphaelite, tout court', Howitt established herself as among the great artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. As a campaigner, Howitt actively fought for women’s rights and education and became a part of the first organised feminist network in Britain. As a writer, she documented her memoirs from her unchaperoned travels and even published works of fictions – all of which were critically acclaimed. Despite this, the main thing that Howitt is remembered for (if at all) is her apparent mental ‘breakdown’ and withdrawal from the professional art world. This talk will unravel the mysteries surrounding Howitt’s professional and historical erasure and she light on the fact that Howitt never actually ceased from working. As Susan Tallman also observes, ‘although Howitt’s story is seductive… it is full of holes’.

Alex is currently an AHRC funded PhD student at Birmingham City University and elected trustee of the BMI. She is the 2023 recipient of the Rose Sidgwick Award, which was awarded by the British Federation of Women Graduates, and a recipient of the 2023 Dahesh Museum of Art Prize. She is also a Visiting Lecturer, having taught at BCU and at Warwick.

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