Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History highlights 8 female artists from Victorian era in newest art exhibit

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.– In the wake of Women’s History Month, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History showcased its newest exhibit, Drawn by a Lady: Early Women Illustrators.

This exhibit celebrates the talent of female artists and authors in 19th century Victorian England who were overlooked because of their gender.

Visitors browsed through 40 botanical illustrations.

These works highlight the lives of eight women who defied convention in an era when it was socially unacceptable for them to earn a living.

Since these women were denied a formal education, they used their skills in drawing and painting to make meaningful contributions to the emerging field of botany.

Maximus Gallery Curator Linda Miller shares, “Drawn by a Lady provides a fascinating look at gender issues in the history of science. For Victorian women, illustrating and writing about plants could be a means to both support themselves and to shape botanical knowledge.”

This exhibit runs through July 2nd.

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