Three women in conversation beside a croquet field (recto); Studies of a ballet dancer, a woman's profile, and a seated woman (verso)

Three women in conversation beside a croquet field (recto); Studies of a ballet dancer, a woman's profile, and a seated woman (verso)

Louisa Starr Canziani

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The costumes shown on this sheet suggest the drawing was made around 1865, and an inscription on the verso identifies the artist as Louis Starr. A pioneer in her profession, she won a place at the Royal Academy Schools at sixteen by submitting drawings signed "L. Starr" to disguise her gender. When told that the constitution forbade female students, she asked to see the relevant text which could not be found. As a result, six women were admitted to enable the group to chaperone one another. In 1865 Starr won a silver medal for a copy after Murillo and, in 1867, a gold medal for historical painting. After marrying Enrico Canizani, an Italian cousin, in 1882, the couple lived in England to facilitate her career, with Enrico traveling often to Italy to supervise his refineries and mills.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Three women in conversation beside a croquet field (recto); Studies of a ballet dancer, a woman's profile, and a seated woman (verso)Three women in conversation beside a croquet field (recto); Studies of a ballet dancer, a woman's profile, and a seated woman (verso)Three women in conversation beside a croquet field (recto); Studies of a ballet dancer, a woman's profile, and a seated woman (verso)Three women in conversation beside a croquet field (recto); Studies of a ballet dancer, a woman's profile, and a seated woman (verso)Three women in conversation beside a croquet field (recto); Studies of a ballet dancer, a woman's profile, and a seated woman (verso)

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.