Women Artists: Beale, Verelst, and Rae

The below text is a transcript of a talk delivered by Emily Craig MBE, art historian and gallery assistant, covering the Women Artists exhibition displayed at Darnley Fine Art during Classic Art London 2026

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Our three opening artists for our exhibition of Women Artists span almost three centuries, yet Mary Beale, Adriana Verelst and Henrietta Rae all faced the same challenges as women in their field. When we look at the lives and careers of these three women, who all were exceptional in their ability to paint professionally and support themselves financially, we can see some common themes emerging- similarities in their backgrounds and upbringings, their marriages, choice of subject and their determination to remain vocal on the issue of gender parity. These different factors all reflect the challenges historically faced by women artists and how a careful balance of working within, and pushing against, societies expectations meant that Beale, Verelst and Rae flourished.

All three women grew up in household sympathetic to and supportive of their artistic ambitions. Mary Beale’s father introduced her to the artists Robert Walker and Sir Peter Lely, who most likely trained Beale in lieu of her being able to receive a formal artistic education from an academy or guild. Adriana Verelst came from a family of artists- her grandfather, father, uncle and brothers all painted, making it less surprising that her own artistic ambitions were supported. It is believed that she was trained by her uncle Simon Verelst- a renown flower painter, again reflecting how an academy education was off limits to Verelst. Henrietta Rae’s mother was a professional musician who believed in ensuring her daughter’s future financial self-sufficiency, having her trained as a professional concert singer before Henrietta turned to painting. Unlike Beale and Verelst, Rae was able to receive a formal artistic education, studying at the Queen Square School of Art before becoming Heatherley’s School of Art’s first female pupil. It took her five attempts, but eventually Rae was granted a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Art. Without the support and understanding of their respective families, none of these women would ever had access to the training required that allowed them to grow and develop as artists.

The theme of being surrounded by circle of support continued into the adult lives of these women. In 1652 she married Charles Beale (the only of these three artists to work under her married name). Charles fully supported her work and later went on to manage her studio and business affairs. He would prepare her canvases and record commissions and sales, meticulously noting observations on her work, praise received and how she painted in over thirty notebooks. Charles was so supportive, in fact, that Mary’s painting became the main source of income for the family, a highly unusual dynamic for a married couple in the 17^th century. In contrast, we can assume that Verelst’s husband was significantly less supportive of his wife’s artistic career. The couple married in 1717 but within four months the marriage had already broken down. By the time of her marriage, Verelst was already an established painter (aged about 34 at the time, she was described in the marriage bonds as a spinster) and she chose to keep her maiden name when she worked. Though this is entirely speculation, one might assume that Verelst insisting on continuing practicing as an artist may well have been a bone of contention in the marriage, particularly as it was the expectation that a woman would give up her career (if she had one) once she became a wife. It is assumed that Verelst lived with her mother after parting ways with her husband and presumably had lived with her parents prior to her marriage. This implies that they were supportive of her artistic endeavours, allowing Verelst to work and gain a reputation as a successful painter. Henrietta Rae married a fellow artist, Ernest Normand. Like Verelst, she had already begun to establish her reputation as an artist and, against convention, chose to keep her maiden name. The couple lived in Holland Park, surrounding themselves with other artists of the day, including Leighton, Millais, Prinsep and Watts. They also travelled to Paris to study together at the Académie Julian, a relationship of mutual support for one another’s artistic careers.

Choice of subject in these three women’s careers also reflect the challenges historically faced by women artists. Both Beale and Verelst were portrait artists. Portraiture, landscape and still life were the only subjects deemed suitable for women- history paintings, battle scenes and the nude were considered unacceptable. Portraiture was arguably the most lucrative of these subjects and therefore the most logical choice for a woman looking to become financially independent with her art. This choice is perhaps reflected in the fact that Verelst chose to paint portraits, despite purportedly being trained by her uncle, a flower painter. However, even portraiture come with its risks- when Beale first started painting professionally in the 1670s, she was extremely careful in picking whom she painted as it would have been far too easy to misconstrue the nature of strangers entering a woman’s home of a business transaction. Initially, she painted a circle of friends, using their praise to build her reputation, before securing more notable patrons. In contrast, Rae fought against convention, specialising in classical, allegorical and literary subjects, frequently depicting the female nude, rather than portraiture. During her time at the Royal Academy women were banned from life-drawing classes so Rae attended independent sessions organised by Margaret Dicksee in Sir Francis Dicksee’s studio. These extracurricular classes set Rae up for her artistic career, with her monumental female nude Eurydice Sinking Back to Hades winning a gold medal at the 1893 Chicago World Fair.

All three women are also outspoken in their views that women should be treated equally to men. Beale wrote on the matter. In her 1666 work Discourse on Friendship, she argued for equality between the genders in matters of the home, a belief we know she not only held but also lived. Verelst too earned a reputation as unrelenting in a male dominated world. One of the only surviving anecdotes we have about the artist tells how whilst at the theatre one night she overhead a group of gentlemen nearby commenting on her beauty in German. She scolded them in German, to which they responded by switching to Italian, Verlest herself also switching to Italian. Finally, the men spoke in Latin, to which Verelst replied, in Latin ‘Do you think you have more right to speak Latin than women, isn't it enough that our female sex is already kept outside of public dignities without being excluded from language as well?’. Whether true or not, this story reflects how women who earned their own living were perceived as bold and outspoken. Rae, however, certainly made her views known. A supporter of women’s suffrage, she also found ways to express her displeasure at the overbearing male artists she often found herself in the company if. In her memoirs, she recalls how, on one occasion, Prinsep dipped his thumb in cobalt blue and ‘corrected’ one of Rae’s pictures. In response she ‘accidentally’ burnt his hat on her stove.

Each of these women defied the expectations of society in their ability to build and maintain successful careers as artists. Their careers reflect how talent and will power (which they each possessed in abundance) alone were not enough to ensure success. Familial support from childhood, continuing into adulthood and marriage played a key role in allowing these women to pursue their passions. An understanding of what subjects to paint was also key, allowing these women to walk the line between pushing the expectations of society without crossing over into scandal. Their determination to succeed and thrive in a world traditionally reserved for men laid the foundations for the other women in this exhibition, and generations beyond, to train, live and work as artists.