In the collection of Wolverhampton Art Gallery there are three rather interesting artworks by a practically forgotten locally-born artist – Sara Wells Page. In 1926, she herself presented her large-scale oil painting ‘Andromeda’ to the Gallery. In 1943, her sister Miss Elizabeth Page of Parkstone, Dorset donated a small portrait ‘The Princess’, marking Sara’s death. Finally, a painting ‘Whisper of Spring’ was donated by members of the Page family in 1977.

Sara’s life and artistic career have not been researched. The period of her artistic activity is usually dated 'fl.1892-1899', and the dates of her life were not established so far.[1] A comparison of the data provided by the censuses of 1861-1901 allows us to recognise her as the fourth of the nine children of Samuel Page and Sara, neé Wells, born in 1855 at Moxley, Staffordshire.

The Page family was well-known in Wolverhampton. Sara’s father was a successful timber merchant. Her elder brother Samuel Wells Page (1849-1933), was also well respected in Wolverhampton as a solicitor and the official receiver for Wolverhampton and Walsall. He was a member of the executive council and a guarantor of the Wolverhampton Art and Industrial Exhibition of 1902. Later he became a manager of the Royal Wolverhampton School, and was the chair of its governors from 1910 to his death in 1933.[2] In memory of him, his children presented a small sculpture of Venus after Canova to the Gallery. His Wolverhampton home was  Penn House on the Penn Road, demolished soon after the First World War. Samuel Wells Page has been commemorated on a brass memorial in the north aisle of St Bartholomew’s church.[3]


Illustration 1.
Sara Page’s autograph, 1926. ©Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

The 1881 census shows Sara as head of the household at the Redcliffe, Upper Penn, Wolverhampton, where she lives with her sister Fanny and brother Alfred, a bank clerk. Both Sara and Fanny are named as annuitants. At that time, she was studying at Wolverhampton School of Practical Art, and she was still in Wolverhampton in 1883, when in the Fifteenth Annual Report of the School of Practical Art her name appears among these of donors to the Prize Fund: ‘Miss Sara Page £1.1.’[4]

A short correspondence from 1926 which accompanied the donation of the ‘Andromeda’ and has been preserved at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, reveals her warm feelings towards the school and long-lasting grateful memory of it: ‘The special interest I feel in giving ‘Andromeda’ /…/ to the Art Gallery, comes from the recognition it brings of the help I received in the School of Art, when first I studied drawing. This was long ago and not under the happy circumstances in which students work today in the spacious studios with their present gifted professor to guide and encourage them.’[5]

The same correspondence provides other glimpses into events of her life, although, unfortunately, she never mentioned any exact date for them. She left Wolverhampton when ‘later the opportunity of visiting Italy came, and there I learnt to admire the works of the great masters of Renaissance, almost living in the galleries of Florence and Rome, sometimes trying to penetrate their thoughts by copying.’[6]

This period of her life can be dated between 1884-1891, as in 1892 she was back in Wolverhampton. At that time she was associated with the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, exhibiting there a painting ‘A Golden Venetian’ obviously influenced by her Italian impressions. It was probably at RBSA that she was encouraged by Sir Frederick Leighton to continue studying art. ‘One day, Sir Frederick Leighton passing by, asked if I really desired to attain and when I said yes he advised me to go to school. This I followed, coming to Paris.’[7]

She came to Paris, it seems, in the same year, 1892, and entered the famous Académie Julian which already had an international reputation as an outstanding and highly successful art school.  It offered to both male and female students the same training, including drawing from live models, and famous artists were invited to advise students. By the 1880s it counted over 600 students, among whom were many women for whom the school opened a way to the world of professional art.
Almost every country of Europe, Asia and America can present an impressive list of renowned national artists trained at some point of their career at the Julian: the Russians Maria Bashkirtseva, Anna Golubkina, and Eugene Lancerey; the Finnish Pekka Halonen, the Czech Alphons Mucha, the German Max Slevogt, the Mexican Diego Rivera, and many, many others.[8]


Illustration 2.  Academie Julian rue de Berri.


Illustration 3.
Academie Julian Journal. 1907. ©Biblioteque Nationale de France.

Male and female students were trained separately. Five ateliers were established for men, and four for women. An American guide book especially addressed to young women and published in USA in 1907, listed them as ‘Julien's Ateliers, for women: 27, Galerie Montmartre, Passage des Panoramas; 5, rue de Berri, Champs-Elysees; 28, rue de la Fontaine, en haut de la rue Notre Dame de Lorette; 55, rue du Cherche Midi, pres du Bon Marche. Prices: 50 francs a month for those working half a day; 100 francs a month for those working morning and afternoon.’[9]

Unfortunately, among surviving papers of the archives of the Académie Julian there are no lists of female students[10]. A monthly journal of the Académie which has been kept at the National Library of France provides a rich and interesting background. However, it does not cover the 1890s, when Sara studied at the Julian, but the later period of 1901-1914.

The extensive list of students compiled from various sources by Catherine Fehrer ‘does not include all who were ever enrolled there. It is an attempt to list those students who later had careers and some recognition in the art world.[11] Sara Page has been omitted from the list.
The catalogue of the 1893 exhibition of the Société des Artistes Français, names Sara as a pupil of ‘MM Bouguereau, T Robert-Fleury et G Ferrier’.[12] Adolphe-William Bouguereau (1825-1905), Robert-Fleury (1837-1912) and Gabriel Ferrier (1847 -1914) were at that time leading tutors at the Académie, and both Bouguereau and Robert-Fleury taught at the atelier in 5, rue de Berri.

Sara Page’s first known Parisian addresses - 16, Avenue Niel and 6, rue de Belloy - were very near to it, and so she probably attended this particular workshop.

It was noticed that Bouguereau ‘was especially sought after by young women who valued his teaching experience and his ability to work with them in establishing professional artistic careers.[13] In the rue de Berri workshop he was given a godlike status and was the object of veritable cult… The ladies fought over the cigarette that he had politely discarded, before entering into their midst, while handling his hat and his jacket to Leontine, the maid.’[14]


Illustration 4.
Academie Julian. 5, rue Berri, Paris.


Illustration 5.
Adolphe-William Bouguereau with his students. 5, rue de Berri. 1896.

Sara Page wrote that she ‘worked under the best French artists at the Académie Julian and found there both guidance and much interest in the companionship of many different nations, and as all the students (about 500) competed in efforts for the medal in painting and sculpture, life was animated.’[15] Among Sara Page’s fellow students and acquaintances  might have been the Polish Anna Bilinska-Bogdanowicz (1857-1893), the Canadian Sophie Pemberton (1869-1959), the British Henrietta Rae (1859-1928), the Americans Lilla Cabot-Perry (1848-1933), Anna Klumpke (1856-1942) and Elizabeth Gardner (1837-1922) who in 1896 became the second wife of Bouguereau, and other international female artists many of whom would make significant contributions to the artistic life of their native countries.

Women artists were most likely to earn their living as portraitists, thus much attention was given to drawing models and each other. Sara Page received a medal for portrait painting.[16] Her artworks were exhibited from 1892, and her first portraits depicted members of her extended family who probably visited her in Paris: ‘Elsie’ which was exhibited in 1892 at the Royal Academy can be identified as ‘Elsie Page’ shown there again in 1894. The ‘Portrait of Mlle E.P.’ exhibited in 1893 and 1895 at the Société des Artistes Français, might also be the same portrait. ‘Portrait of Miss Ellen Wells’ exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1893 also relates to a family member (possibly an aunt on the maternal side).  In the following years she continued to paint female portraits – ‘Beatrice’ (1899), ‘Theodora’ (1903), ‘Blondina’ (1914), ‘Isobel’ (1915, 1916), ‘Henriette’ (1935). The Wolverhampton small painting on ivory ‘The Princess’ corresponds with the drawing ‘La Bella’ exhibited at both the Royal Academy and Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool in 1902.


Illustration 6.
Sara Page. The Princess.1901. ©Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

 


Illustration 7.
Sara Page. La Bella.1902.
Present location unknown.

‘A Capri Maiden’ exhibited in Birmingham in 1894, possibly relates to her earlier Italian travels, or it might reflect another journey to Italy. ‘The Breton Peasant’ shown in 1893-1894 corresponds with the great interest in Brittany, its nature, landscape, folk costumes and traditional ways, which was expressed at that time in works by many international and French artists, including Bouguereau.

In 1897, Sara still was named a pupil of Bouguereau, Robert-Fleury and Ferrier, but at that time she was finishing her study at the Académie Julian, as in the same year she settled down at Neuilly-sur-Seine, a wealthy residential suburb of Paris. It was quickly developing at that time, and it had a strong artistic atmosphere.

The well-established artists Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret (1852 – 1929) and Gustave-Claude-Etienne Courtois (1853-1923) lived in Neuilly-sur-Seine and maintained their studio at 73, Boulevard Bineau[17].

Along with Bouguereau, both artists were leading exponents of the academic style with its meticulousness of execution and finishing, and continuous interest in spiritual subjects. As well as the Académie Julian, the Courtois' studio also was highly recommended for female students: ‘Monsieur Gustave Courtois, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, Delegue de la Société Nationale des Beaux Arts, has a studio in a villa at Neuilly-sur-Seine. Price for lessons: 100 francs a month for working all day. There is a living model from 8 am till noon. In the afternoon the work is still life, sketches, portraits, etc.

The garden connected with the studio is a delightful place for winter work as well as summer. There are not too many students, and those who go there are well advanced. Monsieur Courtois visits the studio every day, and criticises. Of course, this is more expensive than to have his criticism twice a week at a large studio in Paris, but it really pays in the end. This studio is eminently proper in its atmosphere, and a safe place for any girl.’[18] Unfortunately, the building itself has been completely rebuilt, but the spacious old garden still exists today.


Illustration 8. 73, Boulevard Bineau. Modern view.

An old hand-written label attached to the reverse of the painting ‘Whisper of Spring’ given to Wolverhampton Art Gallery in 1977 states that Sara Page indeed was a student of Courtois and Dagnan-Bouveret, and she herself wrote: ‘Ifound a studio for working alone, the generous masters continuing to allow me visit theirs, and follow their pictures through their different stages. I learnt in this way the importance of putting character, masses and values before what so frequently tempts the inexperienced, to try and make a picture attractive at the expense of the greater side of Art.’[19] Between 1897 and 1912 Sara lived literally two streets away from Courtois’ studio, in the rue Perronet. She changed her address twice, but still remained in the same street. Her studio was probably at 50, rue Perronet, as this house has an extention – a little building with a roof-light.


Illustration 9.
45, rue de Marche (today rue Madeleine Michelis). Modern view.

 


Illustration 10.
83, rue Perronet.
Modern view.


Illustration 11. 50, rue Perronet. Modern view.

The large-scale ‘Andromeda’ was exhibited at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA) in 1902.

It clearly demonstrates a familiarity with drawing from a live model and attempts to reach technical perfection.

Both ‘Le rocher qui pleure’(The Weeping Rock) exhibited in 1910, and ‘Le Baigneuse’ (The Bather) exhibited in 1911 and 1935 are very similar to ‘Andromeda’ in style, composition, and technique.

As such, they can be seen as very good examples of the French academic style of Bouguereau, Dagnan-Bouveret, and Courtois.

In 1913 she moved to 37, rue Charles Laffitte – slightly further away, but still in the same area –and lived there for the next thirteen years.    

At that time she seems started to become interested in miniature portraiture. As late as 1925, she was named as a pupil of the miniature painter Gabrielle Debillemont-Chardon (1860-1957).

The daughter of the composer J-J Debillemont, Gabrielle successfully exhibited her artwork from the age of 16, and later became the President of the Société des Femmes Peintres et Sculpteurs and of the Société des Miniaturistes et des Arts Precieux.  For years, she taught at many Parisian art schools for women.

Living permanently in France, Sara however, kept up relations with her native country and its artistic circles, exhibiting her works at British galleries.

From 1896, her London agent was Percy Young, a publisher, and importer and manufacturer of artists' materials, based at 131 and 137, Gower Street and was well known to such artists as Gwen John, Gwen Raverat and Dora Carrington.[20]

In 1906, she showed at the Society of Women Artists, London the painting ‘Spring’ - for the price of £30.[21] Around the beginning of the First World War, in 1913-1915, she exhibited at the Royal Academy, London ‘The Rose Scarf’ (1913), ‘Blondina’ (1914), and ‘Isobel’ (1915-1916).[22]


Illustration 12.
Sara Page. Andromeda.
Oil on canvas, 1926. ©Wolverhampton Art Gallery.


Illustration 13.
Sara Page. Le Rocher qui pleure (‘Weeping Rock’).
Oil on canvas. 1910.
Location unknown.

 


Illustration 14.
Sara Page. La Baigneuse’ (‘The Bather’).
Oil on canvas. 1911. Location unknown.

Her relations with her extensive family also can be traced: The Christmas of 1925 she spent with her brother Sam Wells, at Penn House, Wolverhampton, where the household had much changed during the First World War.

Two of his sons, Sara’s nephews, died: Captain John Kenneth Samuel Page died of wounds after the battle of Somme, in August 1916, at the age of 22, and was buried in the Sucrerie Military Cemetery, Colin Camps, Somme.[23]


Illustration 15. 37, rue Charles Laffitte. Modern view.

Lieutenant Raymond Charles Page died of wounds in September 1918, aged 41, and was buried at the Tettenhall Regis (St. Michael) Churchyard, Wolverhampton.[24] Both are commemorated at St. Bartholomew's Church.[25]

It was then and there that Sara decided to give to Wolverhampton Art Gallery her 1902 painting ‘Andromeda’.

Thanking the Committee of Art Gallery for accepting it, she wrote: ‘Mr Cooper gave me the kind message of the Committee accepting for the Gallery my picture ‘Andromeda’ which I have great pleasure in presenting and shall feel honoured for it will find a home on the walls where I have so often admired many works of art. The subject has always appealed to me, symbolical as it is, of those days of chivalry when strong men protected the weak, and when many episodes of the Great War made them proudly [give?] lives on ever the same…[26]

Sara Page returned to England towards the end of her life. From 1934, all her known addresses are in England. A painting shown at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists in 1934 was exhibited from 122, Argyll Avenue, Luton, which was then her brother Charles' address.

She possibly supervised and encouraged the art training of his son, as in 1935-1938, Charles W[ells] T[homas] Page exhibited several landscapes at the Royal Birmingham Society of artists: in 1935 - also from 122, Argyll Avenue, Luton, and then from Bewdley, Carisbrook Road, Harpenden. [27]


Illustration 16.  37, rue Charles Laffitte. Detail.

In 1935, she moved in with her sister Elizabeth Page, to Parkstone (Poole), Dorset. From there, she exhibited the miniature 'A Russian Princess' at the Walker Art Gallery. This was possibly the same miniature which had been exhibited in Paris in 1901, and which was given to Wolverhampton Art Gallery in May 1943 by Miss Elizabeth Page. The adjective 'Russian' appears only in the Catalogue of the 61st Autumn Exhibition of Walker Art Gallery, and the sitter has not been identified.

Sara died in 1943 at Parkstone. Her death was registered in January-March 1943 in Bournemouth district. While donating ‘The [Russian?] Princess’ to the Gallery in May 1943, Miss Elizabeth Page wrote to the curator of the Art Gallery: ‘Will you convey to your Committee my warm thanks and appreciation of the honour they have paid me by their gracious act of accepting the miniature painted by my dear sister. Could she have known, nothing would have given her greater happiness, for she always remembered with gratitude the valuable instruction she received at the Wolverhampton School of Art where she made her first art studies.’[28]

Two accomplished pastels by Sara depicting a strikingly elegant young woman have been preserved at Poole Museum. Considering the location of the artworks and dress-style of the sitter which can be dated late 19th century, they may be portraits of her sister Elsie (Elizabeth) Page which were exhibited from 1892-1896. Moreover, the second portrait bears a printed label on the backboard, 'Papeterie F. Dupre/ 141 Faub[ourg] St. Honore 141 Paris/ ...rure et Encadrements/ Peinture et Dessin'. Dupre's shop which opened in 1870, was (and still is) situated just at the corner of Rue de Berri, only a short walking distance from the Academie Julian atelier.

However, most of Sara's artworks are known today only by their titles in the catalogues of French and British exhibitions. Their present location is unknown, thus it is difficult to judge the quality of her artistic creativity not seeing actual works. The series of her female portraits might have been inspired by Lord Frederic Leighton's studies of various types of female beauty, but also by works of her French tutors. The little material available presents Sara Page as an eager and attentive pupil who obediently followed the advice of her mentors and established academic tradition. She never was associated with rebellious artists of the era. Her known paintings testify her passionate love of art, enthusiasm and diligence, but they hardly indicate an independent mind, or an outstanding talent.

However, her painting ‘Whisper of Spring’ which is dated c.1910 differs in feeling and style from her earlier paintings and relates to the aesthetic ideas of the turn of the century - Art Nouveau with its symbolic interpretation of classical mythology, dreamlike subjects, and the exploration of nature with its irregular flowing lines and forms. Its title and    subject closely corresponds to the known works from the same period by Anna Klumpke, Sara’s fellow student at Académie Julian - ‘The Soul of the Forest’, 1912 (location unknown), ‘Among the Lilies’, 1909 and ‘The Breeze’1910, both at San Francisco Fine Art Museum.[29]


Illustration 17. Sara Page. Whisper of Spring.
Oil on canvas, 1910.©Wolverhampton Art Gallery.


Illustration 18. Anna Klumpke (1856-1942). Among the Lilies.
Oil on canvas.1909. © San Francisco Fine Art Museum.


Illustration 19. Anna Klumpke (1856-1942). The Breeze.
Oil on canvas.1910. © San Francisco Fine Art Museum.

Sara Page did not leave any long-lasting impression or significant artistic legacy. Today she is practically forgotten. Her works remained unsold in her studio for years.

The present location of most of them is unknown. But another reason for this may be her natural inclination to artistic observation and quiet study, rather to striving for fame, glory and financial success:

I love the solitude of work and study above all else. /…/ All mediums seem to me to have their special use and charm and I work in oils, water colour, miniature and pastel with delight, as well as ever interesting black and white. /…/ For a time I exhibited in the Salon des Beaux Arts, but for some years now at the Salon des Artistes Francais, besides at times in our Royal Academy and others, but work and study I love most of all.[30]
       

The author would be very grateful for any additional information regarding Sara Page’s life, artworks, and their present location.

 ©Olga Baird, 2009


Sara Page’s addresses and exhibited works:

1892

The Poplars, Penn Fields, Wolverhampton

Royal Birmingham Society of artists, 27th Spring exhibition

‘A Golden Venetian’

1892 The Poplars, Penn Fields, Wolverhampton Royal Birmingham Society of artists, 66th Autumn exhibition

 ‘Une Reve’

1892 16, Avenue Niel, 17eme arrondisement Royal Academy      

‘Elsie’

1893

41 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton

Royal Birmingham Society of artists, 28th Spring  exhibition

‘Elsie’

1893

16, Avenue Niel, 17eme arrondisement

Royal Academy        

‘Miss Ellen Wells’

1893    

6, rue de Belloy, 16eme arrondissement

 

SAF

1.‘Portrait de Mlle E.P.’ oil

2.‘Mada’, pastel

3.‘Une paysanne bretonne,’ pastel

1894

22 Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton

Royal Birmingham Society of artists, 29th Spring  exhibition

1.‘A Capri Maiden’ (watercolour)

2.‘Study of Fruit’ (oil)

1894

6, rue de Belloy, 16eme arrondissement

Royal Birmingham Society of artists, 68th Autumn  exhibition

‘A Breton Peasant’

1894   

6, rue de Belloy, 16eme arrondissement

SAF    

‘Une reponse attendue’

1894

6, rue de Belloy, 16eme arrondissement

Royal Academy                                    

‘Elsie Page’

1895

6, rue de Belloy, 16eme arrondissement

SAF

‘Portrait de Mlle E.P…’ (Elsie Page?)

1895

22 Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton

Royal Birmingham Society of artists, 69th Autumn  exhibition

‘Innocence’

1896 

6, rue de Belloy, 16eme arrondissement

Royal Academy                                   

‘Harmony in Blue’

1896

6, rue de Belloy, 16eme arrondissement                     

SAF

1.‘Portrait de Mlle K…’ pastel

2.‘Juin’ pastel

1896

c/o Mr Percy Young, 137 Gower Street, London

Royal Birmingham Society of artists,70th Autumn  exhibition

‘Miss Elsie Page’

1897

45, Rue du Marche, Neuilly

SAF

1.‘La Marquise’ pastel

2.‘Beatrice’ pastel 

1899

45, Rue du Marche, Neuilly

Royal Birmingham Society of artists, 34th Spring  exhibition

‘Beatrice’

1900

83, rue Perronet,
Neuilly-sur-Seine

SAF

‘Violettes’

1901 

83, rue Perronet,
Neuilly-sur-Seine

Royal Academy
                                 

‘The Princess’

1902          

83, rue Perronet,
Neuilly-sur-Seine

SNBA

1.‘ Andromeda’

2. Frame containing 2 miniatures

1902

 83, rue Perronet,
Neuilly-sur-Seine
                              

Royal Academy  

‘La Bella’ (drawing)

1902

83, rue Perronet,
Neuilly-sur-Seine

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

‘La Bella’ (drawing)

1903   

83, rue Perronet, Neuilly-sur-Seine                             

SNBA 

‘Theodora’

1903

c/o Mr Percy Young

Royal Birmingham Society of artists, 77th Autumn exhibition

‘The Lace Maker’

1906   

50, rue Perronet,
Neuilly-sur-Seine

SNBA   

1.‘Reflection’

2.‘La Marquise’ (drawing)

1906

50, rue Perronet,
Neuilly-sur-Seine
                              

The Society of Women Artists, London 

‘Spring’

1910 

50, rue Perronet,
Neuilly-sur-Seine

SNBA             

1.‘Le Rocher qui pleure’ (Weeping Rock)

2.‘Le marquis’ (drawing)

1911

50, rue Perronet,
Neuilly-sur-Seine

SNBA             

1.‘La Baugneuse’ (The Bather)

2.‘La faunesse’ (drawing)

1912   

50, rue Perronet,
Neuilly-sur-Seine

SNBA  

 

1.‘La liseuse’ (Reading Woman)

2.'L'écharpe rose’ (The Rose Scarf, drawing)

3. ‘Jeune fille de France’ (miniature)

1913 

37, rue Charles Laffitte, Neuilly-sur-Seine         

Royal Academy 

‘The Rose Scarf’

1914

37, rue Charles Laffitte, Neuilly-sur-Seine         

SNBA

‘Louise (miniature)

1914 

37, rue Charles Laffitte, Neuilly-sur-Seine             

Royal Academy  

‘Blondina’

1915 

37, rue Charles Laffitte, Neuilly-sur-Seine         

Royal Academy          

‘Isobel’

1916

37, rue Charles Laffitte, Neuilly-sur-Seine         

Royal Academy              

‘Isobel’

1920   

37, rue Charles Laffitte, Neuilly-sur-Seine         

SAF

‘A la fontaine’

1925

37, rue Charles Laffitte, Neuilly-sur-Seine                                 

SAF

1.‘La chale jaune’ miniature

2.‘Solitude’ miniature

1926        

37, rue Charles Laffitte, Neuilly-sur-Seine        

SAF

‘Le rocher qui pleure’

1934

122, Argyll Avenue, Luton                               

Royal Birmingham Society of artists, Spring exhibition

‘Storm Clouds’

1935

24, Soho Square, London

Royal Birmingham Society of artists, Spring exhibition

1.‘The Bather’

2.‘Henriette’

1935 78 Penhill Avenue,
Parkstone, Dorset

61st Autumn exhibition, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Miniature: A Russian Princess
1936 78 Penhill Avenue,
Parkstone, Dorset
  Address given in ‘Year’s Art’, 1936

 

 

Sold at the Phillips, de Pury and Co auction (Leeds, 21.06. 1995. Lot 53)

‘Study of a Woman in Profile Wearing a Bonnet and Purple Shawl’

References:

1. Source for the photos of the Academie Julian: http://www.dezenovevinte.net/bios/julian.htm
2.Crespon-Halother, Beatrice. Les peintres britanniques dans les salons parisiens des origins a 1939. 2002.


[1] A catalogue of Birmingham and West Midlands Painters of the Nineteenth Century.
[2] History of WAG, scrap book. WAG.
[3] http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/streets/namesp.htm
[4] Wolverhampton Local Studies. DX-831/4/1.
[5] Letter from Sara Page to A Cooper, the Keeper of WAG. 13 February 1926. WAG, artist’s file.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] The history of the Academy Julian attracted recently an attention of art historians, particularly the Americans. The exhibition ‘Overcoming All Obstacles: The Women of the Academie Juluan’ organised by the Dahesh Museum, NY in 2000 and a number of related publications revealed many important and interesting facts. See: Fehrer Catherine. The Julian Academie. Paris 1868-1939. Shepherd Gallery, NY. 1989; Farmer, J.David (Director of Dahesh Museum, NY). Overcoming All Obstacles: The Women of the Académie Julian. An Exhibition Organized by the Dahesh Museum. http://www.californiaartclub.org/newsletter/articles/article_julian2.shtml; Weisberg, Gabriel P. and Becker, Jane Becker [Ed.] Overcoming All Obstacles: The Women of the Académie Julian. New York, Dahesh Museum of Art, 1999; Weisberg, Gabriel P. Against the Modern: Dagnan-Bouveret and the Transformation of the Academic Tradition. New York, Dahesh Museum of Art. 2002;
[9] Elizabeth Otis Williams. Sojourning, Shopping and Studying in Paris. A Handbook Particularly for Women. With Map. Chicago. 1907.
[10]AS 63. Archives of the Académie Julian. National Archives of France; Academie Julian Journal. 1901-1914. National Library of France.
[11] Fehrer Catherine. The Julian Académie. Paris 1868-1939. Shepherd Gallery, NY. 1989.
[12] Palais des Champs Elysees. Explication des ouvrages de peinture, sculpture, architecture, graveure and lithographue des artistes vivants. Paris, 1893. P.123.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Alfred Nettlement. William Bouguereau. L’Acaédemie Julian, Jan.1906, p.3 (in French). Quoted in: J Peck. In the studios of Paris: William Bouguereau and his American students. 2006. P.52.
[15] Letter from Sara Page to A Cooper, the Keeper of WAG. 13 February 1926
[16] Ibid.
[17] Catalogue of a Loan Exhibition of the Works by Dagnan-Bouveret. Chicago, 1901.
[18] Elizabeth Otis Williams. Sojourning, Shopping and Studying in Paris. 1907.
[19] Letter from Sara Page to A Cooper, the Keeper of WAG. 13 February 1926
[20] http://www.npg.org.uk/live/artistsupp_y.asp
[21]The Society of Women Artists Exhibitors. 1855-1996. Vol.3. Hilmarton Manor Press, 1996, p.218.
[22] Royal Academy Exhibitors. 1905-1970. Vol.5, 1981.
[23] http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=page
[24] http://www.wolverhamptonwarmemorials.org.uk/memorial_pages/Church/st_bartholomews_penn.htm
[25] Ibid.
[26] CMB/Wol/G/AGPL/2. Sara Page’s letter from 30.01.1926. Wolverhampton Local Studies. Art Gallery and Public Library  Minute Book 3. P.78.
[27] C. W. T. Page: ‘Design for Living’, ‘Mountains near Coniston’, ‘The Quarry’, ‘Langdale Pikes from Hoathwaite’, ‘March Landscape’, ‘An Upland Farm’, ‘The Mawddach from Arthog’.
[28] CMB/Wol/G/AGPL/5. Elizabeth Page’s letter from 3.05.1943. Wolverhampton Local Studies. Art Gallery and Public Library  Minute Book 6. P.1. Royal Academy Exhibitors. 1905-1970. Vol.5, 1981; Wolverhampton Local History Archives, Art Gallery and Public Library minutes, book 7, 19.04.1943: ‘Ms Page, the surviving sister of the late Ms Sara Page has presented to the Gallery a miniature by the latter entitled ‘The Princess’. CMB/WOL/AGPL/6.
[29] See: Peck, James F. In the studios of Paris: William Bouguereau and his American Students. 2006. P.166.
[30] Ibid.


Return to the
previous page