Rosa Bonheur

Nationality: French

1822 - 1899

Considered to be the most famous woman painter of the 19th century, Bonheur was also the first woman artist to be awarded the Legion of Honor (in 1865) as well as the first woman to be promoted to officer of the order (in 1894). Excluded from formal art studies, she learned from her father and brothers as well as from Léon Cogniet and exhibited annually at the Paris Salon, achieving not only a degree of critical success but also considerable affluence.

Place of Birth: Bordeaux
Place of Death: Thomery, Seine-et-Marne

Text written and researched by Michelle Bird National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.