THE CLUB

A Parisian refuge.

Art historian Dasal draws generously on letters, memoirs, and contemporary reports to recover the history of the American Girls’ Club, which opened in 1893 as a home base for American women studying art in Paris. Those aspiring artists faced challenges in the U.S., where society frowned upon women wanting to make a career in art, and where parents were reluctant to allow their daughters to travel abroad. Many, nevertheless, had studied at prestigious American art schools, and they considered further instruction in Paris as “the last step toward professionalism.” Once they managed to make their way there, they faced new challenges: living on a strict budget, finding a hospitable atelier, and learning to navigate in a new milieu. The Club, then, met a real need for a growing number of women, which by 1888 had reached more than 800. It was established by two Americans, Helen Newell, a minister’s wife, and Elisabeth Mills Reid, the wife of diplomat Whitelaw Reid who had fond memories of studying in Paris as a teenager. Started as a small gathering space where women could stop in for a cup of tea, the Club expanded into a full residence two years later, offering bare-bones but comfortable housing for some 40 residents, a reasonably priced restaurant, an English-language library, a social space, and free daily afternoon tea. “The ability of Club-goers to speak a common language, both literally and metaphorically,” Dasal writes, “eased the pain of adjusting to an unfamiliar land and culture and thus provided women with a near instant social circle.” Dasal brings to light a cast of talented, courageous women whose lives, and art, defied expectations; her engaging history pays homage to the singular space that nurtured them.

A fresh look at female artists.