The First Actresses book.

The First Actresses book. Women first appeared on the legitimate stage in England following the.

Gillian Perry is professor of history of art at the Open University. The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons - Press Release. National Portrait Gallery, 19 October 2011.

Gill Perry with Joseph Roach and Shearer West. The First Actresses explores the vibrant and sometimes controversial relationship between art, gender and the theatre in eighteenth-century England. Organised thematically, sections include: ‘Painting Actresses’ Lives’, ‘Nell Gwyn and Covent Garden Goddesses’, ‘Divas, Dancing and the Rage for Music: Painting Women in Musical Performance’, ‘Beauty, Ageing and the Body Politic of the Eighteenth- Century Actress’ and ‘Star Systems’.

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Bibliographic Details. Title: The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah. Featuring a range of large-scale, public and more intimate portraits of actresses, The First Actresses provides a vivid spectacle of femininity, fashion and theatricality from Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons. Publisher: National Portrait Gallery. Publication Date: 2011. Ranging from oil paint to porcelain, these portraits illustrate the enduring popularity of portraits of women performers. Crucially the book seeks to reassess the traditional association between actress and'prostitute', and the moral ambiguity of women playing male roles.

Featuring a range of large-scale, public and more intimate portraits of actresses, The First Actresses provides a vivid spectacle of femininity, fashion and theatricality from Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons.

Gill Perry and Lucy Peltz, curators. interest in the first women to carve out public professional careers, and the early stages of the culture of celebrity.

The richly illustrated book combines both well-known and seldom-seen portraits with fascinating essays that explore the ways that actresses used portraiture to enhance their reputations, deflect scandal, and increase their popularity and professional status. The featured works include paintings by major artists such as Johann Zoffany, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, and Thomas Lawrence.