'Sisters in Art': The Pre-Raphaelite Women's Network

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How significant were friendships to Pre-Raphaelite women artists and writers? How did these connections play a formative role in their work? My thesis is the first to examine the impact of friendships amongst Pre-Raphaelite women artists and writers and how they used their friendships to challenge the masculine structures of the Victorian art world. I focus on six Pre-Raphaelite women: Anna Howitt, Rebecca Solomon, Louise Jopling, Elizabeth Siddal, Bessie Parkes and Kate Bunce. This research will deconstruct the critical ideologies that have predominated in academic analyses by exploring these women and their works in depth, the friendships they formed and their creative agency, distinct from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.Despite growing publicity following their first exhibition in 1848, the female Pre-Raphaelites were significantly marginalised in comparison to the Brotherhood (Yeates & Trowbridge, 2017:1). John Ruskin criticised Howitt advising her to 'leave contentious subjects alone' (Campbell, 1995:40). This subsequently led Howitt and other female artists, to destroy some of their works. Notwithstanding the stigmas these women experienced, their work broke away from the feminine ideal defined by male-centric institutions. Marsh (1985) coined the term 'Sisterhood' as a way of identifying these women as more than the Brotherhood's 'muses', and rightfully as artists. However, these women should not be collectively defined as a 'Sisterhood', a term that relegates their individual achievements. They used Pre-Raphaelitism to establish themselves as professional artists and writers, forming their own creative friendships that have hitherto been unknown.There are three research questions:- What values are implicated in the term 'Sisterhood' in identifying these women as artists and writers separate to the Brotherhood? How have these values shaped our understanding?- In what ways did the women's collaborative efforts challenge the masculine structures of the Victorian art and literary community?- How did the female Pre-Raphaelites' networking relationships play a formative role in their work?I aim to establish how the women formed their friendships and how they contributed to the enfranchisement of women in wider Victorian culture. I will explore each woman's life and works in their milieu through ethnographical, archival and historical research, and continue making connections between them and their peers. I will apply close visual and literary analysis to their works, exploring how they challenge the systematic prejudice endured by women. I will continue disseminating my findings into lectures and conferences, and aim to organise a contemporary Pre-Raphaelite women's network in collaboration with the Pre-Raphaelite Society and the British Association of Victorian Studies.My indicative timeline:Year 1:- Reviewed and analysed relevant literature.- Fieldwork in archives: Girton College, Watts' Gallery and Gladstone's libraries.- Begun Historical biographical research.- Begun Ch1: Introducing Pre-Raphaelite women.- Begin Ch2: 'The Emergent Feminism': Political networking and social activismYear 2:- Further archival fieldwork.- Begin Ch3: The Creative and Domestic space: Friendships in the Home and Studio- Disseminate research via presentation for PRS and BAVS- Co-editing PRS Women's issue.Year 3:- Begin Ch4: Revisiting the Sisterhood in relation to the PRB- Complete draft thesis including introduction and conclusion- Liaise with PRS regarding women's network