Lilly Martin Spencer

Lilly Martin Spencer (born Angélique Marie Martin; November 26, 1822 – May 22, 1902) was a widely reproduced American genre painter in the mid-nineteenth century. Born in England to French parents, she primarily painted domestic scenes, paintings of women and children, although over the course of her career she would also come to paint works of varying style and subject matter, including portraits of famous individuals such as suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Although she did have an audience for her work, Spencer had difficulties earning a living as a professional painter and faced financial trouble for much of her adult life.

Biography

Early life

Lilly Martin Spencer was born in Exeter, England, to French parents Gilles Marie Martin and Angélique Perrine lePetit Martin. In 1830, when Martin was eight, her family immigrated to New York City where they remained for three years before ultimately moving to Marietta, Ohio. There Martin was homeschooled by her parents and began what would be her long career as an artist. Her first artistic endeavors were "likenesses of the entire household, in lifelike, characteristic postures, so truthful as to be recognized at once by everyone who knew them." These likenesses were drawn on the walls of the family home. Rather than being scolded, Lilly was encouraged in her love of art by her parents, whose reformist tendencies—her mother was a follower of Charles Fourier, a utopian socialist—included a belief in more opportunity for women. She continued to draw and her work was so impressive that "ladies and gentlemen began to call frequently at the farm, to judge for themselves of these vaunted pictures. Their admiring comments stimulated her ambition and added to her industry; but the difficulty of procuring proper materials and the want of a competent teacher retarded her progress."

Yet she drew the attention of local artists and was mentored and helped, especially in coloring her charcoal drawings. One such mentor was Sala Bosworth, a portrait and landscape artist who trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The second was Charles Sullivan (1794–1867) who had also studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; his influence is very apparent in the early work of Lilly Martin. Lilly's first exhibition in August 1841 was held at a church rectory, where she drew the attention of Nicholas Longworth, a benefactor of many artists. Of Lilly Martin, Longworth said

“…a new genius has sprung up at Marietta or rather within five miles of it, at a farm house in the shape of a French girl of 17 or 18 years of age. She already has painted a great number of pictures. She is entirely self taught, excels in attitudes and designs."

Though Lilly had originally traveled with her father to Cincinnati with the hopes of Longworth offering to sponsor an exhibition for Lilly, Longworth offered to help Lilly financially and discouraged her from further shows until she had more training. Longworth first made an offer to Lilly to send her to Boston for training, along with five hundred dollars. This advice she ignored; instead, she along with her father traveled to Cincinnati for an exhibition in the autumn of 1841. Cincinnati was "swarming with artists" and Lilly would spend the next seven years studying there. This would be the most highly productive period in her career, and is marked by her move from Cincinnati to New York, and ends with her move to New Jersey. Lilly turned down Longworth's offer to send her to Europe to study; instead she received help and instruction from portrait artist James Beard and other local artists. While in Cincinnati, Lilly studied under portrait painter John Insco William. However the exact extent of her training is unknown. She produced her most well-known and popular works during the decade between 1848 and 1858.

Married life

During her third year in Cincinnati she married Benjamin Rush Spencer on August 24, 1844. Benjamin Spencer was an Englishman who worked in the tailoring business; however once they were married he no longer pursued an independent career, instead dedicating himself to helping his wife both in household chores as well as with her artistic work. This made Mrs. Spencer the main breadwinner for the family. Although the Spencers did not run a traditional home, from all accounts they had a "singularly happy one". Although many feared that matrimony would end her career as an artist, it did not; she became the most popular and widely reproduced female genre painter of the mid-19th century. The couple had 13 children together, of which seven survived into adulthood.

The Spencers experienced chronic financial difficulties. In pursuit of greater opportunity they moved to New York City in 1848. There she was already known through exhibitions at the National Academy of Design and the American Art-Union. By the time the Spencers arrived in New York "art patronage was firmly in the hands of the middle class which was eager to 'purchase' culture, and quick to assert their preference for scenes which they could identify." Lilly Martin Spencer easily filled this gap with domestic scenes, often using her own family and pets as models. In 1849 she produced her first major successful painting, Life's Happy Hour. Scholars have noted that due to the demand of the time Spencer was "able to combine her two roles, as artist and mother with a certain degree of success." Her works were all positive and devoid of tragedy, depicting endearing scenes of domesticity; Robin Bolton-Smith and Douglas Hyland have commented that in this period "her paintings exude an enthusiasm and happiness reminiscent of seventeenth-century Dutch art…(and are) enhanced by a disarming gaze directly toward the viewer or his inclusion in a coy flirtation, tease, or practical joke."

Despite her positive reputation there was a disparity between Spencer’s apparent popularity and her financial success. Most of her sales were a result of art unions, and their downfall, as a result of low membership subscriptions, was a blow to her sales.……

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