Louisa Starr Canziani | |
---|---|
Born | Louisa Starr 1845 London, United Kingdom |
Died | 25 May 1909 London, United Kingdom | (aged 63–64) 25 May 1909
Nationality | British |
Known for | Painting |
Spouse | Enrico Canziani |
Louisa Starr, later Louisa Canziani (1845 – 25 May 1909) was a British painter.[1]
Starr was born in London in 1845. Her parents were Anna (born ) Cowan and Henry Starr. They were cousins of Italian heritage but they had been born in London and America respectively.[2] They lived on Russell Square and she became a copyist at the British Museum.[3] Studying at the Royal Academy Schools, she showed her first work there in 1866 and by 1876 had showed 17 paintings.[3] She won a gold medal at the Royal Academy for history painting in December 1867.[1] She was the first woman to do so and was followed by Jessie Macgregor's gold medal in 1871, but the next woman to do so was not until 1909.[4]
She married the Italian civil engineer Enrico Canziani (1848–1931) and thereafter signed her works with her married name. Her daughter Estella Canziani also became an artist.[5][2]
She exhibited her work at the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.[6]
Her painting Sintram and his mother was included in the 1905 book Women Painters of the World.[7]
Starr died in London in 25 May 1909[2] and was buried in the Starr family grave (plot no.19975) on the western side of Highgate Cemetery near the grave of Elizabeth Siddal.[citation needed]