The Art and Life of Francesca Alexander 1837-1917.

Francesca Alexander and her parents moved from Boston to Florence in 1853 and became part of a thriving international community. She was a self-taught artist, and her art and writing focused on Italians and Italian life. Both were admired by contemporaries, including John Ruskin, who published three of her manuscripts and promoted her work. She used her earnings to fund her many charitable endeavours and admirers marvelled at her saintly character. Nonetheless, in spite of her celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic, she and her work have been largely forgotten. Drawing on her art, as well as letters, diaries, guidebooks, newspapers and magazines, we can better understand Francesca, her art, and her place in history.

Jacki Musacchio is Professor of Art at Wellesley College; she has published on both the Italian Renaissance and on Americans in nineteenth-century Italy. This talk is based on her recently published book of the…