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Sarah Wyman Whitman - Newport Canal, Shropshire, about 1878

Sarah Wyman Whitman (Lowell, Massachusetts, 1842 - 1904, Boston)

Newport Canal, Shropshire, about 1878

Pastel on paper , 36 x 41 cm (14 3/16 x 16 1/8 in.)

Commentary

Isabella took care to exhibit the work of women artists in her museum, including this tranquil landscape painting by her friend Sarah Wyman Whitman. A prolific artist who worked in a variety of media, Whitman is best known for her designs for stained glass and book covers.  She studied painting early in her career and exhibited oils and pastels in Boston beginning in the 1870s; Isabella was an early supporter and purchased this work in 1878.  Whitman later designed the distinctive crest above the museum’s entryway, featuring a phoenix rising from the ashes and the French phrase C’est Mon Plaisir (It Is My Pleasure).