Seeking information about Helena (Hartog) Darmesteter’s Suffragette portraits
Engraving of Portrait de Mme Ayrton Gould by Helena Darmesteter, 1911. Original a ‘large’ oil on canvas. From the reproduction in Société nationale des beaux-arts (France), Catalogue illustré du Salon de 1911, Paris 1911.
A recent paper written by James Fairhead and published in the British Art Journal recovers Helena Darmesteter’s suffragette portraits, and places them among the most important of the suffragette movement. At present, her works do not feature in any of the now-burgeoning historical accounts concerning art and suffrage in the UK. In rectifying this, this research reveals the life and work of an important British artist, while at the same time demonstrating a feminist dimension to Anglo-French artistic exchange during the Belle Époque.
The Anglo-French painter, Helena (Hartog) Darmesteter painted several portraits of leading suffragettes which she exhibited at the Paris Salon, Royal Academy and beyond, albeit with obscure titles. For example, the recently identified double portrait of Christabel and Emmeline Pankhurst below is titled A Cup of Tea.
La tasse de thé by Helena Darmesteter (1850–1940), 1912. Oil on canvas, 107 x 89 cm. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nîmes. Photo: Stéphane Ramillon.
However, among portraits that remain missing is a ‘large’ oil on canvas of the suffragette (and later MP) Barbara Bodichon Ayrton-Gould which was illustrated in the catalogue of the Paris Salon (Société nationale des beaux-arts) in 1911, known from the below engraving.
Engraving of Portrait de Mme Ayrton Gould by Helena Darmesteter, 1911. Original a ‘large’ oil on canvas. From the reproduction in Société nationale des beaux-arts (France), Catalogue illustré du Salon de 1911, Paris 1911.
We are looking for more information about the artist, this portrait and other portraits by Helena Darmesteter including those she exhibited from 1908 the ‘London Salon of the Allied Artists’ Association’ at the Royal Albert Hall. There were five in 1908 (entitled A Youthful Star, Lorna Asleep, Friends, A Girl in Blue and Happy-go-Lucky); two in 1909 (Yearning and A Symphony in Blue), and two in 1910 (Genevieve and Maggie). These may well portray figures in the suffrage movement, as might Reflections, which she exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1908.
If you have any information concerning these works or the artist, we would be extremely grateful. Please leave a comment below or contact [email protected]
James Fairhead’s article can be read in full by following this link: An undocumented portrait of Christabel and Emmeline Pankhurst: The suffragette portraits of Helena Darmesteter (1850–1940).
