Edyth Starkie

Edyth Starkie (1867 – 1941) is an Irish painter who produced a pictorial work of international quality and relevance, even though she is remembered above all for being the wife of  Arthur Rackham, painter and one of the most important illustrators of England.  The fame of her husband was precisely, along with her poor health, one of the major difficulties in her artistic career, given that in the United Kingdom she was seen as "the wife of".

She exhibited on numerous occasions in the Royal Academy of London. At various times she caught the attention of the critics, above all foreign, and she won awards and recognitions at Spanish and French events.  Precisely, the painting The Black Veil that nowadays is in the Museu Nacional because it won the Gold Medal of the 6th International Exposition of Barcelona and was acquired by the City Council.

As a teenager, Edyth Starkie went to London and subsequently to Paris for her artistic education, given the fact that in Ireland it was practically impossible for a woman to access the studies of Fine Arts.  In many schools they weren't admitted, and even in the Académie Julian, the Parisian school where Edyth went, there was an affiliated school exclusively for women.

* Work exhibited in the area I.7. of the Modern Art rooms.

The Black Veil, Edyth Starkie Rackham, circa 1911