Nelly Erichsen - A Hidden Life
Nelly Erichsen had everything needed to become a successful and well-known artist. She was a brilliant, pioneering woman student at the Royal Academy, picking up medals and awards. Her work regularly appeared in major exhibitions, particularly the RA's Summer Exhibition. She was mentored by one of the leading art tutors of her day and although her family was wealthy she supported herself by illustrating books and magazines. Even Nelly's death was heroic and remarkable - she succumbed to Spanish 'flu while volunteering in a camp for WW1 refugees.
Yet few outside her family knew anything of Nelly until Sarah Harkness began a 15 year mission to uncover Nelly's work and personal story.
The book has been nominated for the WM Berger 2019 prize for Art History writing by the British Art Journal. The winner will be announced in November.
About the author
Sarah Harkness graduated from Oxford University in 1983 and had a twenty year career in finance in the City, but has always been fascinated by Victorian art and literature. She is married to Peter, a former journalist and publisher, and has three adult children and a small dog. She now lives in the Cotswolds, near to Chipping Campden, at one time the home of Nelly Erichsen. When she isn’t reading and writing she gardens and quilts – not terribly successfully but with enormous enthusiasm. This is her first book.