After returning to the States, Bridges began painting regularly in watercolor, her preferred medium for the rest of her career.
In the 19th century journal "The New Path" a writer notes the difference in painting the natural world in this new tradition versus the existing 'still life' tradition as "…one man paints a free, wild, vigorous plant as it grows, and another paints a vase of cut flowers…" and argues that this new tradition, though not yet the fashionable one, will ultimately raise the standard.Īfter early successes throughout the 60s, and exhibitions at PAFA in 1862, 18, Bridges spent time traveling in Europe, including time in Rome with Anne Whitney and the Richards family in Lake Geneva. May Brawley Hill notes the effect of the Pre-Raphaelite school of thought on Bridges, "the idea that through faithful depiction the essence of the thing could be revealed.".
She was inspired by Richards to begin painting in the Pre-Raphaelite tradition of close and meticulous work highlighting the details of the natural word, particularly botanicals. She became closely associated with Richards at that time and formed a long-lasting relationship with the Richards family.
In 1860, she moved to Philadelphia to train at the urging of Anne Whitney, a budding sculptress teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA). Bridges became aware of trends in the work of her contemporaries, including the British Pre-Raphaelites and the writings of John Ruskin. The family left Salem for Brooklyn and Bridges became a governess for the family of William Augustus Brown, a relationship that she maintained for the rest of her life. This likely influenced the sense of nature as being infused with divinity apparent in her work. While in Salem, the Bridges were Unitarian church members. The two oldest sisters took over the main responsibilities of supporting and guiding the family, and the family remained close-knit for their entire lives. She and her three siblings were orphaned in the years of 1849-1850 when they lost both parents within a few months of each other. The tendency towards asymmetrical compositions emerged during this period as well as a departure from the 'all-over' technique present in her early works.īridges was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1834 to a sea captain working in the China shipping trade. In her mature work the influence of Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, 'prints of the floating world,' became evident in her work. One of her favorite sites was along the banks of the Housatonic River in Stratford, Connecticut.īridges was steeped in the Pre-Raphaelite tradition and spent time under the tutelage of William Trost Richards. Tags: birds, flowers, female artist, woman artist, oil paintingįidelia Bridges enjoyed a long and successful career as a painter of meticulous depictions of the natural world, particularly of birds and flowers.
Provenance: Skinner Inc., Malborough, Massachusetts, March 12, 1999, lot 328 Private Collection, Connecticut. Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right "F.
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