Symbolist Annie Louisa Swynnerton

Annie Louisa Swynnterton was a painter active in the 19th and early 20th centuries, best known for her atmospheric symbolist figurative pieces. Besides being a highly educated artist having attended not only the Manchester School of Art but the Academie Julian as well, Swynnerton was an advocate for women’s suffrage, as symbolized by her piece “The Sense of Sight” (above) which represents a young woman looking towards the future of women’s rights.

Swynnerton’s meticulous skills in drawing lends her pieces a wonderful sense of realism and depth, often contrasted beautifully by graphic shapes in scumbles of color over a toned base. Living in the same era as other symbolist greats such as Alphonse Mucha, Swynnertons achievements and obvious ability were unfortunately largely overlooked until late in her life compared to her male counterparts. Despite the rampant misogyny of the time as well as a lack of precedent by other female artists, Swynnerton (after two failed attempts) became the first woman ever to be elected as an Associate of the Royal Academy, one of the most prestigious honors afforded to British painters of the time. Perhaps as a kind of personal homage to her great achievement, she created her piece “Montagna Mia” (below) shortly after.