Abigail May Alcott Nieriker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Abigail May Alcott Nieriker
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Portrait of May Alcott Nieriker by Rose Peckman (detail)
|
|
| Born |
Abigail May Alcott
July 26, 1840 Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.
|
| Died | December 29, 1879 (aged 39) |
| Resting place | Montrouge Cemetery, France |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, William Morris Hunt, William Rimmer, Krug, Vautier and Müller |
| Known for | Painting |
| Spouse(s) |
Ernest Nieriker
(m. 1878) |
Abigail May Alcott Nieriker (born July 26, 1840 – died December 29, 1879) was an American artist. She was the youngest sister of the famous author Louisa May Alcott.
May Alcott was the inspiration for the character Amy in her sister's well-known book Little Women (1868). Amy is an anagram of May. She was named after her mother, Abigail May. She was first called Abba, then Abby, and finally May. She asked to be called May when she was in her twenties, in November 1863.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Abigail May Alcott was born on July 26, 1840, in Concord, Massachusetts. She was the youngest of four daughters born to Amos Bronson Alcott and Abigail May Alcott.
Her sister, the novelist Louisa May Alcott, helped May pay for her art studies in Europe. The sisters had a close relationship. Louisa May sometimes felt a bit jealous of May's ability to get what she wanted.
May was artistic from a young age. She was the inspiration for Amy, one of the sisters in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Amy was described as someone who loved to copy flowers, design fairies, and illustrate stories with her unique art.
May's Education and Teaching
May studied teaching at the Bowdoin School, a public school in Boston, starting in 1853. In 1861, she took over teaching at the first Kindergarten started by Elizabeth Palmer Peabody for a month.
Later, in December 1860, May went to Syracuse, New York. There, she taught an early form of art therapy at Dr. Wilbur's asylum. She returned home in 1861 or 1862. She then began teaching art at the Concord school, which was run by her father's friend, Franklin Benjamin Sanborn.
Her Journey as an Artist
Women Artists in the 1800s
In the 19th century, more chances for education opened up for women. This allowed women artists to become part of professional art groups. At first, art made by women was often seen as less important. To change this, women artists became more confident. They worked hard to promote women's art. This helped create the idea of the "New Woman"—an educated, modern, and freer woman. Artists played a key role in showing this new image. They did this by drawing pictures of the "New Woman" and by living their own lives as independent artists.
Art Education
May Alcott began studying art in 1859 at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She also visited Paris and studied at the Académie Julian in 1870. She showed her artwork in Boston, Paris, and other places in the US and London.
She mainly painted flowers. She also made excellent copies of paintings by J.M.W. Turner. May studied art anatomy with William Rimmer in Boston. She also learned from other teachers like William Morris Hunt, Krug, Vautier, and Müller. She even taught art to young Daniel Chester French, who later became a famous sculptor.
May traveled to Europe three times, in 1870, 1873, and 1877. She studied in Paris, London, and Rome. These trips were possible because her sister Louisa's book Little Women was published in 1868 and became very popular. On at least one trip, she traveled with Alice Bartlett and her sister Louisa May. During these trips, May truly grew as an artist. She studied sculpture, sketching, and painting. She studied under Krug, who taught both male and female students how to paint live models.
May had illustrated the first edition of Little Women. However, her early illustrations were not well-received by critics. These drawings were made before her trips to Europe and her advanced studies there.
Art Career
After studying in Paris, May divided her time between Boston, London, and Paris. She was very good at copying other artworks and painting still life scenes. She used both oils and watercolors. Her copies of Turner's paintings were so good that John Ruskin praised them. Some of her copies were even used for students to learn from at the South Kensington schools in London.
In 1869, she published Concord Sketches, which included a preface by her sister Louisa May. After her studies in Europe, May became a very skilled artist by the 1870s. Her later works showed great improvement compared to her earlier illustrations for Little Women. Her art after her European studies showed a surer hand, a clearer focus, and a broader view of the world.
In 1875, she created a plan and set up an art studio in Concord. This center was meant to support and promote new artists.
In 1877, one of her still life paintings was the only work by an American woman to be shown at the Paris Salon. This was a very important art exhibition. John Ruskin called her "the foremost copyist of Turner of her time." She painted many panels with flowers on a black background. A panel of goldenrod she gave to her neighbor and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson still hangs in his study. Several of her works can also be seen at the Orchard House in Concord.
Marriage and Later Life
May was living in London and studying landscape art when she met Ernest Nieriker. They got married on March 22, 1878, in London. Louisa Alcott described the wedding day as a "happy event." She said Ernest was handsome, cultured, and a kind friend. Louisa also wrote that May was old enough to choose for herself and seemed very happy. May was 38 years old, and Ernest Nieriker was a 22-year-old Swiss tobacco merchant and violinist. Ernest supported May's art career. He had also helped her after her mother's death in November 1877. They got engaged in February 1878.
The couple went on their honeymoon in Le Havre. Then, they lived in Meudon, a suburb of Paris. This is where May mostly lived after her marriage.
The next year, she painted La Négresse. This painting was shown at the Paris Salon and is considered one of her best works. In her letters to her family, May often wrote about how happy she was with her married life as an artist in Paris.
Childbirth and Death
On November 8, 1879, in Paris, May gave birth to a daughter named Louisa May, who was called "Lulu." Seven weeks later, on December 29, 1879, May passed away. It is thought she died from complications after childbirth.
May had wished for her sister Louisa May to raise Lulu. This was because Ernest often traveled for work. So, Louisa May raised Lulu until Louisa's own death in 1888. After that, Lulu was raised by her father, Ernest Nieriker, in Zurich, Switzerland.
Although Louisa placed a stone with May's initials at the family burial plot in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, May is actually buried in Paris at Montrouge Cemetery.
In 2002, a special exhibition about May's art and life was held. It was called "Lessons, sketching, and her dreams: May Alcott as Artist." This was the first major show of her artwork.
Gallery
-
May Alcott Nieriker, Amos Bronson Alcott in his study, by 1879
-
Ernest Nieriker, May Alcott's husband
Publication
- Concord Sketches (1869)
-
- Reprinted (2015) Fb &C Limited ISBN: 978-1-330-70442-4
See also
In Spanish: Abigail May Alcott Nieriker para niños
