One of the most surprising as well as significant ways in which May Alcott Nieriker underwent a transformation by means of her European travels was as an art critic and commentator. She primarily went to Europe, on three different occasions, to gain further art training, and to ideally exhibit some of her art—although seeing art and scenic vistas were important to her as well. Alcott Nieriker had experience as an art teacher prior to the 1870–71 Grand Tour, but relatively little as someone who wrote about art, and the experience of seeing art in person. Thus it is rather curious when we read in some of her epistolary correspondence from Italy just how strongly worded her reactions to art can be, and with a critical acumen that, while not always historically correct, is confident and specific.

In this chapter we will examine May Alcott Nieriker's critical commentary on art that she had the privilege to experience directly in Europe during her travels and sojourns. I will concentrate on three major emphases in this art criticism and commentary: Alcott Nieriker's repudiation of the “modern” school of British watercolor painting, her enthusiastic endorsement and defense of the unconventional paintings by J. M. W. Turner, and her later praise for the work of female contemporaries such as Mary Cassatt, Rosa Bonheur, and Sarah Dodson. Her comments occur almost exclusively in her travel writing, both published and unpublished, and it was this unassuming literary vehicle that allowed her to voice her reactions, as well as be heard. By situating her comments within the historical context of American art criticism, as well as in the genre of travel writing, I seek to demonstrate that Alcott Nieriker's words were often original, and always boldly asserted.

I Prelude

American Women and Art Criticism in the Nineteenth Century: Some Brief Background

Before examining Alcott Nieriker's art criticism and commentary, it may be useful to briefly consider to what extent women, especially in the United States, were venturing into this field of writing in the latter nineteenth century. First we should acknowledge that at present, research into the subject of American women art critics is sorely lagging behind those of other countries, particularly Britain and France.