Wild Duck Shooting by [CURIER & IVES pub.] PALMER, F. F. (1812-1876) - 1852

New York: N. Currier, 1852. Hand-colored lithograph by Frances Palmer after her own painting. Provenance: Donaldson, Lufkin &Jenrette Americana Collection Classic Currier & Ives hunting print by Fanny Palmer Fanny Palmer (1812-1876) was the first woman in the United States to work as a professional artist, and to make a living with her art. She produced more Currier and Ives' prints than any other artist, and she was the only female in a business dominated by men. Painting was not considered a suitable occupation for a woman, nor, of course, was lithography. Hers was a story common for Victorian wives who were expected to keep house and be supported by their husbands. She however pursued a career in printmaking in England and later in America, virtually supporting her family as her husband sank deeper into alcoholism and then supporting it in fact when he fell to his death on a hotel stairway in 1857. Her shooting prints show a fine understanding of the appeal the sport had for men: with their dogs, shotguns and hunting attire, wading among the reeds in a swamp with a companion. Mrs. Palmer's husband, Samuel, was fond of shooting and kept dogs, and these served as models for her hunting scenes. Gale 7208.