Unexpectedly Modern Janet

 Often my favourite blog posts are ones where I stumble across an artist while nosing around something else. Today's subject/victim is a prime example of this - I was looking at a catalogue of the Women's Exhibition at Earl's Court from 1900 (as you do) and the second artist listed was Janet Fisher. In my ignorance, I was shocked that there were Victorians called Janet (there were a fair number) but the peak was in the mid-twentieth century, so I wasn't being a complete idiot (on this occasion). Anyway, I looked into Miss Fisher's work and liked it so much, I thought I'd show you too.

Gathering Firewood (no date)

Janet Caroline Fisher was born in the winter of 1862 to Frederic Colborne Fisher and Rosamond Adelin (no 'e' on the end), who were living in Walton-on-Trent. Frederic was a rector, with the family growing rapidly after their marriage in 1856. Janet was towards the end, with Rosamond Adeline (with an 'e') (1857-1932), Mary Colborne (1858-1940), Frederic Colborne  jnr (1860-1942), Charles John (1861-1947) all preceding her and only Arthur Colborne (1864-1896) and George Colborne (1867-1867) after her. In 1871, the family was ensconced in the Walton Rectory with half a dozen servants, including a governess. 'Miss Janet' as she was known to the village, was held in high regard and her career seems to have been followed in the way that successful artists from small town seem to be.  She began her training at Derby Art School, a glorious building currently on the endangered list. She then became a 'Slade girl,' taught by Alphonse Legros at the Slade School of Art during his tenure between 1867 and 1892.  I'm guessing that Janet was towards the latter end as in the census of 1881 she appears with no occupation but in 1891 she is finally declared an 'Art Student (Painting)'. To complete her tour of every art school available, she spent time at the Herkomer School at Bushey. Again, she was pushing that deadline as there were only two rules for Bushey - you had to be unmarried and under 28. Interestingly, by the time she started exhibiting, she was over thirty which is a mark of either her family situation (her mother died in 1888) or that her class and background gave her the leisure to work at her own pace.

Distant Thoughts (Day Dreams) (undated)

The first mention I could find for her in an exhibition is in 1894 at the Institute of Oils where she showed a 'clever low-toned' Study of a Head (as Lady's Pictorial called it) and Day Dreams. The former was a portrait of a gypsy child with curly hair, which also drew admiration from Queen magazine. I can't find anything until her debut at the Royal Academy in 1897 with At the Well. At this point it went past unnoticed, but that would change.

Woman Knitting (no date)

Quick note - as you will no doubt notice, it has been a struggle to find any of the pictures she actually showed and was commended for.  I have no idea why that is, but the couple of relevant ones I could find I was grateful for. Also, I wonder if there is a problem of title changes, so things might not have the same title they had to begin with.  Anyway, onwards.

 Her 1898 outing was the summer exhibition of the Dudley Art Gallery, where she showed her 'luminous and interesting' Driving Home the Geese (according to the African Critic) which was praised as perfecting 'the clear darkness of evening before the moon has gained its strength' (according to the Gentlewoman).  The year later, Janet appeared at the Crystal Palace annual exhibition with At the Well, which won a silver medal and was mentioned in many newspaper articles. She also showed  Evening in Holland at the Derby Art Gallery exhibition. She also had "I ply my Spinning Wheel" at the RA.  She also lost her father in December which might have provided her with some funds to continue her life as a single artist.

At the Spinning Wheel (I Ply My Spinning Wheel?) (no date)

The turn of the century brought Through Dutch Meadows to the RA, but that was ignored in favour of At the Well (again) which appeared at the Earl's Court exhibition. Although mainly run by men, I think we need to give some credit to the fact this was a women's exhibition but there are still shades of 'really good but not 'man good'' in the introduction.  Rosa Bonheur was the only one seen as an equal to men on canvas (sorry Lady Butler), who had died the year before. Anyway, the Fine Art Committee consisted of Cecilia Beaux (American artist), Henriette Ronner (Dutch artist), Marchioness of Granby (Violet Manners, British artist), Marianne Stokes (Austrian artist), Feodora Gleichen (British sculptor), Annie Swynnerton (British artist), Anna Lea Merritt (Anglo-American artist), Henrietta Ward (Mrs E M Ward, British artist) and Mary Watts (Mrs G F Watts, British artist). Mercifully, there were also a couple of men there to keep an eye on them, Francis Howard and S Laing Moffett (the curator). In Francis Howard's introduction to the fine art section of the exhibition, he quotes a critic who held that fine art was for manly strong hands and in lady hands it would inevitably become dangerous, which is apparently not true. The second introduction reiterated that women were, in fact, not terrible at art, so it would be a lovely exhibition. I do feel that the number of articles you need to read before actually reaching the list of paintings shown smacks of trying to convince people rather than comment on the paintings and artists. Anyway, Janet's well is the second painting listed.

Happy Holland (no date)

At the Society of women artist in 1900, Janet showed a painting of a little girl examining a chestnut, Under the Sweet Pea Hedge, mentioned in both Ladies Field and The Queen. According to her obituary (spoiler alert, she dies in the end) once her parents died, Janet was off to London to the studio she would keep for the rest of her life, but as we have seen in such articles, that isn't exactly true and is a rather simplified version of events. Janet's address in the RA catalogues (such a useful resource for between census) is the Walton Rectory until 1900. She seems to be missing from the 1901 census (as do a couple of her siblings) and so I wondered if she travelled to the continent, using the rectory (now home to her brother who had taken over the role at the church) as a base. In 1902 she was back at the RA with Angele, mentioned in Ladies Field but not described. Her painting of a fisher-girl shown at the Dudley Gallery in June reminded the Lady's Pictorial of Mrs Stanhope Forbes. I wonder if they were aware of her drawing of Polperro, Cornwall that had appeared at the Society of Women Artists in February?

On the Breezy (no date)

In 1903 Janet again appeared at the Society of Women Artists with Little Bo-Peep which the Ladies Field called 'quaint'. It is described by the Queen magazine as 'a child seated, asleep among lambs and primroses,' an illustration for the nursery rhyme. At the Society of Oil Painters, she showed Old Normandy Shepherdess which was deemed 'very good' by the Northern Whig newspaper. 1904 saw another continental picture, Weighing Figs on Santa Margherita at the Dudley Gallery. She also sent A Procession to the Derby Art Gallery autumn exhibition, showing a boy leading geese as he plays his pipe. It is interesting that when Janet was not at the RA, she seemed to garner far more attention which I suppose is due to the difference in critic.  For something as establishment as the RA, I bet they send their Jonathan Jones-type but for the smaller or less formal galleries, they get someone else who actually likes art. 

The Little Shepherdess (c.1915)

In 1905 the Dudley Gallery had to move out of the Egyptian Hall due to its demolition (shame) and found refuge in the Alpine Club in Mill Street (which sounds lovely). The World claimed the cleverest drawing in the whole exhibition was Janet Fisher's A Venetian Silhouette. Janet was also one of two new members of the Dudley Gallery and had two pieces displayed, the second being an evening sky with tall poplars and a flock of sheep, which might be The Little Shepherdess (although the Wilson gallery who own it have it as c.1915) but the description mentions the sheep are coming towards us, so possibly something similar. At the Women's International Art Club at the Grafton Galleries, she appeared with another sheep-y picture, Counting the Flock mentioned in the Black and White journal as being notable. Most importantly, Janet had her first one-man show at the Ryder Gallery in Mayfair, showing around sixty works described by the Manchester Evening News as displaying 'much charm and spontaneity of feeling.' The works were all landscapes, with only a few being native, the rest from Normandy, Venice, San Remo and Bordighera.

Picking Bluebells (Bluebells ?) (no date)

The 1906 Dudley Art Show, again at the Alpine Club, was exceptional only for the inclusion of Japanese artist Ishibashi Kazunori.  The Daily News didn't find Mr Ishibashi very Japanese though, feeling that Whistler did better Japanese stuff, which is a bold assertion. Janet's landscape painting, Bluebells, was one of the few others that were felt to be acceptable in an otherwise rough review. Despite not appearing at the RA again, she had a strong showing at the Oil Institute with Knitting, and also showed a profile of a child entitled Evening Primroses and The Goatherd at the Society of Women Painters, which were admired by the Lady's Pictorial. She also showed Counting the Flock at the Dore Gallery in March, Little Bo Peep (again) at the Bristol Fine Arts Academy in February and Homeward in an autumn show in London. On the whole, you can see Janet's profile rising gradually, her pictures being mentioned, maybe not as the highlight of the show but always as an honourable mention.

Girl Knitting (no date)

1907 and still not RA, but again off to the Dudley Gallery with The Little Virgin of the Lilies, where the Western Daily Press felt that Janet tackled the problem of sunlight in order to get brightness on the red hair of her figure. At the Dore again she had two paintings Cup of Coffee and Noonday Heat. Her work at the Society of Women Painters was decidedly 'above average' according to the London Daily Chronicle, but by 1906 standard it was a quieter year.

1908 found her back at the RA with Breakfast and the first notice of her new address, 9a Joubert Mansion, Jubilee Place where she would remain for many years.  Her painting of sheep in The Flock for the Dudley was felt to be poetic by the London Evening Standard, and she was mentioned in connection to the Gentlewoman's Art Exhibition, opened by the Countess of Bective (Lady Alice Maria Hill). Her painting of a butterfly at the Society of Women Artists was seen as 'sure to please the average viewer' (according to the Lady's Pictorial, not sure if that's a compliment).  Interestingly, The Queen praised her work and felt it demonstrated French training in its restraint, which is possible although I've found no further reference to her training abroad, nor to her being in France much, but they might just be referring to Alphonse Legros.

In the 1909 review of the Society of Women Artist's exhibition, the tagline was 'much industry but little inspiration.' The reviewer from the Daily News bemoaned that most of the work did not rise above imitation, although Janet did get off lightly as her work, Noonday Heat was seen to be interesting, and was also singled out in The Queen. Again she appeared at the Dore with the other female artists, and was seen as one of the strongest workers with her Moonrise in Normandy.

Donkey at the Green Gate (no date)

1910 seemed to be filled with re-runs, including the ever-popular Little Virgin of the Lilies.  I was very excited by 1911 as she seemed to be getting a lot of newspaper coverage, but unfortunatly the Janet Fisher that got the most headlines was the sister of the Australian Prime Minister who married a British constable. Otherwise, our Janet was getting good reviews still for her work; The Fish Market at the Society of Women Artists was praised for the portrayal of older women, bartering for produce. Her canvas The Blind Beggar was seen as an effective picture at the Royal Academy in May and her picture of a pig market raised a few smiles at the Old Dudley Gallery in the autumn. In the 1911 census, Janet was living alone in her Joubert Mansion, aged 48, with the occupation of 'painter (artist)'.

On the Shore of the Lake (no date)

In 1912, Janet tours some greatest hits again, for example The Fish market appearing in Hull. We've seen before artists sending out popular paintings and hoping for a municipal art gallery or town hall to snap them up.  I wonder how much luck Janet had on this front of looking at her ArtUK entry, she has 11 paintings in public collections in this country, the majority of them in the Wilson in Cheltenham, which makes some sort of sense as I think they were gifted to the museum after Janet's death by her brother Frederic, which I will come to. In 1912, Janet had two paintings at the RA, The Statue by the Lake: Fontainebleau and The Sleeping Child, the former getting some notice as a good landscape.

1913 saw Janet back at the RA with two more paintings, Moonlight by the Lake and Carnac Church. The latter was felt to be 'truthful' by the West Sussex Gazette. She also showed The Pig Market and Fontainebleau again to positive reviews, and I'm wondering if she travelled consistently as her pieces were all based in either the Netherlands, France or Italy. This also might explain why in some years she has a couple of new pictures but others are reruns of greatest hits. It also suggests that, although popular, she wasn't selling the pictures.

Garden with Two Fountains (no date)

My guess that she travelled is possibly backed up by her 1916 Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society entry (the only one she had) which was Old Houses in Florence which was for sale for £1 1s. If you haven't had a good look through an Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society catalogue before, I can recommend them as they are a fascinating look at this group of artists and you can find a lot on Archive.org. There was a rather scathing review of the Society of Women Artists of the same year - they said they were being kind as good (male) art was at a premium what with the war going on, but visitors to the exhibition had to have patience in order to 'sift the gold from the dross' (ouch). However, as the Lady's Pictorial stated, it's worth the effort as there are some modestly priced pieces that are good as birthday or wedding presents, which is quite the backhanded compliment. Janet's Harvest in Sussex (a British subject!) was commended for being 'sunny'.

Gotherd (no date, possibly 1906)

A year later, Janet showed The Blind Beggar from 1911 at the Winter Exhibition of Graphic Art in aid of the Red Cross and St John's Ambulance Society. She also appeared at the Women's International Art Club exhibition in aid of British Prisoners of War, with The Pig Market (which still made the critics laugh) and Fountainebleau. Towards the end of the decade, post war, Janet showed Under the Chestnut Tree at the RA, described in the Gentlewoman as a group of children in dappled shade.  She also showed Chalk Pit on the Arun at the Society of Women Artists exhibition, another piece of what the Gentlewoman called her plein air art.

1920 brough Janet's last appearance at the RA with Snowdrops, a pretty portrait of a child with flowers. She also had The Mixed Posy at the Lyceum Club exhibition which I wonder is around the same subject. I can't seem to locate her or her older sister on the 1921 census (it is the census I struggle with most) so they might well be travelling as both were single ladies with some money (when Rosamond died in 1932, she left £16,579 to her surviving sibling, so she was well off). There are a few years of silence in the newspapers, but in 1925 her woodcut of The Procession appeared in the Little Gallery exhibition and Janet was seen as the leading English proponent in the woodcut art.

The Procession (thank you Bridgeman)

In 1926, Janet appeared in the Society of Women Artists exhibition in March with Waiting Ox Cart noted by The Queen as an interesting piece and it would be her last in her lifetime. The next time she was mentioned was after she died on 27th July that year. She died in Kemerton, a village in Gloucestershire where Rosamond lived (and died six years later), aged 63. She was buried near her parents and brothers in Walton graveyard. The funeral was held in Walton, with both vicars of Walton and Kemerton presiding over a large gathering testifying to 'their great esteem and love for "Miss Janet"' as she was known in the villages. The obituary in the Burton Observer reported her woodcuts, for which she had become a British pioneer, had been shown in Japan and America. She had learned on her deathbed that two more of her pictures had been accepted into the Paris Salon which had given her great pleasure. The piece ended saddened by the loss of someone so talented and loveable.

The Snow Storm (no date)

I'll end this post with a question - where did Janet go? The pictures that are on ArtUK are mostly left by her brother when he died. These were possibly the impetus for Cheltenham having a retrospective for Janet in 1991 where much was made of the fact that no-one respected women artists so that is why she was forgotten, but I think that isn't exactly true. Obviously, we see from the way women artists are spoken about, their art is seen as not quite as good as mens, but that does not explain why modern curators and art historians don't reevaluate this. We all have eyes and apparently no prejudice now (work with me here) and so surely Janet should become part of the conversation. I think her status as a pioneer is probably not helping her as she is a person on her own in terms of woodcuts. Arts and Crafts have not had their renaissance yet, unlike the Pre-Raphaelites, so maybe that is also why she has not become part of the conversation. I also suspect that she did not do art for money - possibly therefore she didn't sell many and those she did remain with her purchasers' families. I tackled Janet on a whim because she was in the Women's Exhibtion at Earl's Court and I liked her woodcuts, but otherwise I'm not sure I would have picked her out to write about and that might be her problem. When the Arts and Crafts renaissance comes (and it will, if I have anything to do with it) then I think Janet will become a part of the narrative. Until then, she will have to wait.