Abigail May Alcott Nieriker
Encyclopedia
May Alcott Nieriker (July 26, 1840 – December 29, 1879) was an American
artist and the youngest sister of Louisa May Alcott
. She was the basis for the character Amy (an anagram
of May) in her sister's semi-autobiographical novel
Little Women
(1868). She was named after her mother, Abigail May
, and first called Abba, then Abby, and finally May, which she asked to be called in November 1863 when in her twenties.
, Abigail May was the youngest of the four Alcott sisters. Artistically gifted from an early age, she painted decorative figures and faces throughout Orchard House
, the family home. May aided the meager family income by selling her art and teaching painting, drawing and modeling clay. She studied teaching at the Bowdoin School, a Boston
public school. Taking over for Louisa in 1861, May taught at the first Kindergarten
founded by Elizabeth Palmer Peabody for a month before returning to her own work. May later taught an early form of art therapy
at an asylum in Syracuse
, New York
, and then returned home in 1862 to begin teaching art at the Concord school run by Franklin Benjamin Sanborn
, a friend of Amos Bronson Alcott
.
At the school of design in Boston
she studied art with William Morris Hunt
and William Rimmer
, Krug, Vautier and Müller among others. She lent modeling tools to the young Daniel Chester French
and encouraged him in his work; French credits May as one of his first art teachers.
May was the illustrator of the first edition of Little Women, to a negative critical reception. Nevertheless, Louisa's financial success in 1868 allowed May to travel throughout Europe with her sister and their traveling companion and friend Alice Bartlett. After the death of Anna Alcott
's husband John Pratt in 1871, Louisa returned to Concord while May stayed in Europe to begin serious study. May performed the bulk of her studies in Paris
, London
and Rome
.
In 1877, her still life
was the only painting by an American woman to be exhibited in the Paris Salon
. Her paintings were exhibited worldwide. John Ruskin
praised her copies of Turner
, and May's Turner
copies were used by art school students. Her strength was as a copyist and as a painter of still life, in oils and watercolors, and she painted many panels featuring flowers on a black background. A panel of goldenrod
given to neighbor/mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson
still hangs in his study. Several can also be seen at the Orchard House
in Concord.
Married in 1878 at 38 to Ernest Nieriker, a Swiss businessman and violin
ist some fifteen years her junior, the couple lived in Meudon, a Parisian suburb.
She published Concord Sketches with a preface by her sister (Boston, 1869).
In her book Studying Art Abroad, and How to do it Cheaply (Boston 1879) she advised:
In 1879, she died of childbed fever six weeks after her daughter Louisa May "Lulu" was born. By her wish, Louisa May brought up Lulu until her death in 1888 (after which she was raised by her father, in Germany). Louisa's last story was a parable
written about Lulu. The story is included in a modern book The Uncollected Works of Louisa May Alcott which is illustrated by May's paintings and drawings.
Though Louisa placed a stone with her initials at the family plot at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, May is buried in Paris.
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist and the youngest sister of Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
. She was the basis for the character Amy (an anagram
Anagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
of May) in her sister's semi-autobiographical novel
Autobiographical novel
An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fiction elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction...
Little Women
Little Women
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...
(1868). She was named after her mother, Abigail May
Abby May
Abigail "Abby" Alcott was the wife of Transcendentalist Amos Bronson Alcott and mother of four daughters, including Civil War novelist Louisa May Alcott...
, and first called Abba, then Abby, and finally May, which she asked to be called in November 1863 when in her twenties.
Life
Born at the Hosmer CottageConcord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
, Abigail May was the youngest of the four Alcott sisters. Artistically gifted from an early age, she painted decorative figures and faces throughout Orchard House
Orchard House
Orchard House is an historic house museum in Concord, Massachusetts. It was the longtime home of Amos Bronson Alcott and family, including his daughter Louisa May Alcott who wrote and set her beloved novel Little Women there.-History:...
, the family home. May aided the meager family income by selling her art and teaching painting, drawing and modeling clay. She studied teaching at the Bowdoin School, a Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
public school. Taking over for Louisa in 1861, May taught at the first Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
founded by Elizabeth Palmer Peabody for a month before returning to her own work. May later taught an early form of art therapy
Art therapy
Because of its dual origins in art and psychotherapy, art therapy definitions vary. They commonly either lean more toward the ART art-making process as therapeutic in and of itself, "art as therapy," or focus on the psychotherapeutic transference process between the therapist and the client who...
at an asylum in Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and then returned home in 1862 to begin teaching art at the Concord school run by Franklin Benjamin Sanborn
Franklin Benjamin Sanborn
Franklin Benjamin Sanborn was an American journalist, author, and reformer. Sanborn was a social scientist, and a memorialist of American transcendentalism who wrote early biographies of many of the movement's key figures...
, a friend of Amos Bronson Alcott
Amos Bronson Alcott
Amos Bronson Alcott was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and avoided traditional punishment. He hoped to perfect the human spirit and, to that end, advocated a...
.
At the school of design in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
she studied art with William Morris Hunt
William Morris Hunt
William Morris Hunt , American painter, was born at Brattleboro, Vermont to Jane Maria Hunt and Hon. Jonathan Hunt, who raised one of the preeminent families in American art...
and William Rimmer
William Rimmer
William Rimmer was an American artist born in Liverpool, England. He was the son of a French refugee, who emigrated to Nova Scotia, where he was joined by his wife and child in 1818, and who in 1826 moved to Boston, where he earned a living as a shoemaker...
, Krug, Vautier and Müller among others. She lent modeling tools to the young Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor. His best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Life and career:...
and encouraged him in his work; French credits May as one of his first art teachers.
May was the illustrator of the first edition of Little Women, to a negative critical reception. Nevertheless, Louisa's financial success in 1868 allowed May to travel throughout Europe with her sister and their traveling companion and friend Alice Bartlett. After the death of Anna Alcott
Anna Alcott Pratt
Anna Bronson Alcott Pratt was the elder sister of American novelist Louisa May Alcott. She was the basis for the character Margaret "Meg" of Little Women , her sister's classic, semi-autobiographical novel...
's husband John Pratt in 1871, Louisa returned to Concord while May stayed in Europe to begin serious study. May performed the bulk of her studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
In 1877, her still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
was the only painting by an American woman to be exhibited in the Paris Salon
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
. Her paintings were exhibited worldwide. John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
praised her copies of Turner
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
, and May's Turner
Turner
Turner is a common surname of English 12th Century origin, meaning "one who works with a lathe". Turner is the 28th-most common surname in the United Kingdom.-List of people with surname Turner:...
copies were used by art school students. Her strength was as a copyist and as a painter of still life, in oils and watercolors, and she painted many panels featuring flowers on a black background. A panel of goldenrod
Goldenrod
Solidago, commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are herbaceous perennial species found in the meadows and pastures, along roads, ditches and waste areas in North America. There are also a few species native to Mexico, South...
given to neighbor/mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
still hangs in his study. Several can also be seen at the Orchard House
Orchard House
Orchard House is an historic house museum in Concord, Massachusetts. It was the longtime home of Amos Bronson Alcott and family, including his daughter Louisa May Alcott who wrote and set her beloved novel Little Women there.-History:...
in Concord.
Married in 1878 at 38 to Ernest Nieriker, a Swiss businessman and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist some fifteen years her junior, the couple lived in Meudon, a Parisian suburb.
She published Concord Sketches with a preface by her sister (Boston, 1869).
In her book Studying Art Abroad, and How to do it Cheaply (Boston 1879) she advised:
"There is no art world like Paris, no painters like the French, and no incentive to good work equal to that found in a Paris atelier."
In 1879, she died of childbed fever six weeks after her daughter Louisa May "Lulu" was born. By her wish, Louisa May brought up Lulu until her death in 1888 (after which she was raised by her father, in Germany). Louisa's last story was a parable
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
written about Lulu. The story is included in a modern book The Uncollected Works of Louisa May Alcott which is illustrated by May's paintings and drawings.
Though Louisa placed a stone with her initials at the family plot at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, May is buried in Paris.
Further reading
- Erica E. Hirshler, A Studio of Her Own: Women Artists in Boston 1870-1940 ISBN 0-87846-482-4
- The Uncollected Works of Louisa May Alcott ISBN 0-9655309-9-X
- Caroline Ticknor, May Alcott: A Memoir
- Selected Letters of Louisa May Alcott
External links
- Orchard House Museum May is discussed at the end of this article about her father.
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