Lilly Martin Spencer, Artist

18thVirginia

Major
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
While researching works by soldier artists of the Civil War, I came across the paintings of Lilly Martin Spencer. We're often told what the norms were for women in the 19th Century, but discover many exceptions to what was thought to be "The Rule." Lilly Martin Spencer certainly seems to have been one such exception. Born in England in 1822 and raised in Ohio by Quaker parents, she demonstrated artistic ability quite young in life and was encouraged in her work by various local artists. In her 20s, she moved to Cincinnati, where she worked and studied for the next 7 years. She also married Benjamin Rush Spencer in Cincinnati.

Martin Spencer would eventually move to New York and then to New Jersey. Her husband dedicated himself to helping her artistic endeavors and to maintaining their household. Lilly Spencer would have 13 children during the marriage, 7 of whom survived into adulthood. Money was always a problem for the Spencers, even though Lilly was quite a popular artist, with numerous lithographs produced from her paintings.

What struck me were the paintings of women at work in the home, as I'm probably not a great visualizer and want to see how people of the time looked. They remind me of some of the Dutch and Flemish paintings of women at household tasks, but with more humor.

We talk a lot in this forum about women of the Civil War era--I like to see exactly what they looked like. With her focus on women in her paintings, Lilly Martin Spencer accomplished that.

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The Jolly Washerwoman, 1851

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Shake Hands?
 
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I'd never heard of Martin Spencer. She clearly was an accomplished artist and I do love her focus on women doing everyday, normal tasks from the sampling you've given us. Her work is very European in its style and has that Renaissance quality to it with her women and children looking very cherub-like. Not to detract from her work in anyway, as I have no art abilities myself, but are the heads a little larger than the bodies? I've seen the style before but as I'm not an art expert, I'm unsure of what a specific style of painting it is.

Regardless, the colors are so rich and vivid and the scenes do give you that little window into normal life. I like the clothing she's chosen, too. Very unpretentious, simple styles and a far cry from the fashion forward plates in Godey's. I wonder if a lot of her subjects were immigrants owing to her living in NYC. Thanks for bringing her to our attention!

I found this great scene with children, pets and mothers entitled "Fruit of Temptation"
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I'd never heard of Martin Spencer. She clearly was an accomplished artist and I do love her focus on women doing everyday, normal tasks from the sampling you've given us. Her work is very European in its style and has that Renaissance quality to it with her women and children looking very cherub-like. Not to detract from her work in anyway, as I have no art abilities myself, but are the heads a little larger than the bodies? I've seen the style before but as I'm not an art expert, I'm unsure of what a specific style of painting it is.

Regardless, the colors are so rich and vivid and the scenes do give you that little window into normal life. I like the clothing she's chosen, too. Very unpretentious, simple styles and a far cry from the fashion forward plates in Godey's. I wonder if a lot of her subjects were immigrants owing to her living in NYC. A good point about the immigrant models. Thanks for bringing her to our attention!

I found this great scene with children, pets and mothers entitled "Fruit of Temptation"
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Yes, her heads are larger than life. A good point about the immigrant models. She and her parents were immigrants from England and her parents were French born, so that's likely. We'd perhaps have to ask @Pat Young.

Even when the Martin Spencer paintings have men in them, the women usually remain the center of attention, as in Reading the Legends below. The woman looking into the distance and imagining the scene retains your attention.

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Wikimedia.
 

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All beautifully rendered pieces of art!!!! Truly lifelike and abundant in detail!

Hope you continue to enjoy them, they're not so much Civil War oriented, but do give interesting glimpses into the family life of the era.

However, this one shows the aftermath of the Civil War.

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The Home of the Red, White, and Blue

The children are dressed in red and blue and a tattered flag lies on the ground, with a sewing basket to mend it nearby. The infant on the right symbolizes the new generation which will heal the nation. Her sleeping father on the left is the old, tired, but not defeated nation. Some critics think the organ grinder and daughter indicate welcoming of immigrants. But, as in other Spencer paintings, it is the women who are prominent, in this case interpreted as the women who must do the healing of the nation after the Civil War.
 
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Glad you like them. After I posted a few, I thought the same thing, "These are perfect illustrations of period food preparation and cooking." Look forward to seeing them adorn threads about period recipes.

I found it interesting that we see pineapple a few times in her paintings. I always thought that a very exotic and not easily found fruit during the 19th century. I also spy food contamination with the dead chicken on the table right next to where she's chopping onions! :eek:
 
Lily Martin Spencer's "genre" paintings were a popular style of that era and give us a good idea of what ordinary people (not of the upper income class) wore "back in the day," especially when doing everyday chores. They also show tools and visual descriptions of various common activities. A few other artists of this school included William Sidney Mount, Emily Osborne, and George Catlin. This info is from my notes on a brief lecture by Carolann Schmidt at Oregon City, OR, April 12, 2015 (the lecture consisted of photos of paintings rather than info about the artists).

Note that while grown women in public normally wore long sleeves (short sleeves were for children), these working women wear short, rolled-up, or (in "The First Stew") pinned-up sleeves. Some of her other paintings show skirts pinned up to show a working petticoat underneath.

I especially love the one of the kids getting into the fruit (probably prepared for guests), while the maid, who was probably supposed to be watching them, has her back turned primping in the mirror. Notice the dog in the bottom left corner, as well as the cat on the table!

Thank you, 18th, for reproducing these! I agree; they're wonderful!
 
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