1827-1891 was an English educationalist, artist, and a leading early nineteenth century feminist and activist for women's rights. She was the illegitimate child of Anne Longden, a 25-year-old milliner from Alfreton, and Benjamin Leigh Smith (1783-1860) , an MP's only son, who was himself a Radical MP for Norwich. Benjamin (Ben) had four sisters. One, Fanny Smith, married into the Nightingale family and produced a daughter, Florence Nightingale; another married into the Bonham-Carter family. Ben's father wanted him to marry Mary Shore, the sister of William Nightingale, now an in law by marriage Ben Smith's home was in Marylebone, London, but from 1816 he inherited and purchased property near Hastings: Brown's Farm near Robertsbridge, with a house built around 1700 (extant), and Crowham Manor, Westfield, which included 200 acres. Although a member of the landed gentry, Smith held radical views. He was a Dissenter, a Unitarian, a supporter of Free Trade, and a benefactor to the poor. In 1826 he bore the cost of building a school for the inner city poor at Vincent Square, Westminster, and paid a penny a week towards the fees for each child, the same amount as paid by their parents. On a visit to his sister in Derbyshire in 1826 Smith met Anne Longden, a 25-year-old milliner from Alfreton. She became pregnant and Smith took her to a rented lodge at Whatlington, a small village near Battle, East Sussex. There she lived as 'Mrs Leigh', the surname of Ben Smith's relations on the Isle of Wight. Barbara's birth created a scandal because the couple did not marry. Smith rode on horseback from Brown's Farm to visit them daily, and within eight weeks Anne was pregnant again. When little Ben was born the four of them went to America for two years, during which time another child was conceived. On their return to Sussex they lived openly together at Brown's, and had two more children. After their last child was born, in 1833, Anne became ill with tuberculosis and Smith leased 9 Pelham Crescent, which faced the sea at Hastings  Related Paintings of Barbara Bodichon :. | The Straw Hat | Les maisons Cabassud (mk11) | Trees in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital (nn04) | The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate | The Punta della Dogana |
Related Artists:
John William North,ARA,RWS
1842-1924
Ion Theodorescu Sion
Ion Theodorescu-Sion (1882-1939). Alternative names Onu Soare Teodor. Romanian painter.
Karel Purkyne
(1834-1868) was a Czech painter. He was one of the most prominent proponents of realism in Czech art in the second half of the 19th century. He was the son of the physiologist and anatomist Jan Evangelista Purkyne, and developed an interest in art while still young. Early influences included the Baroque painters Karel Škreta and Petr Brandl and the paintings of the Dutch Golden Age. He spent a year in Munich studying with Johann Baptist Berdelle before traveling to Paris, where he worked with Thomas Couture; there he copied paintings by Old Masters and encountered the work of contemporary French artists. He was particularly struck by the works of Gustave Courbet. Upon returning to Prague, Purkyne became known primarily as a portraitist, though a handful of works in other genres are known. He also made a name for himself as an organizer of artistic events and as an art critic.