Julie Hart Beers (1835-1913) was part of a generation of artists whose work went unrecognized for years. In May 2010, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site opened the first known exhibit that focused on women artists that were associated with the 19th-century landscape painting movement. Along with Beers, Susie Barstow, Jane Stuart, Sarah Cole, Harriet Cany Peale, Evelina Mount, and Eliza Greatorex were featured in the exhibit.
Stories have been passed down that say one woman was not allowed to create art and her stepmother burned her paintings. Another was conducting her art career while raising her children as a single mother. As they worked during the same time as their male companions, these ladies were able to create breathtaking landscape paintings that told stories, spoke to women’s perseverance, triumph, and heartbreak.
Beers is a female icon in the painting industry. Her work, along with that of other women of her time, is finally being recognized as it should.