Mrs. (Anna) Jameson

Born Anna Brownell Murphy in Dublin in 1794, she grew up in an artistic family and spent part of her early life working as a governess. After her marriage to Robert Jameson, she increasingly supported herself through writing, building a remarkable career as a critic, essayist, and traveler.

She is especially remembered for writing on Shakespeare, women's character and culture, and the meaning of religious art. Her studies of sacred and legendary art were widely read and helped introduce many English-language readers to Christian iconography and Italian painting.

Jameson also wrote memorable travel books, including an account of her time in Upper Canada in the late 1830s. Across her work, she combined learning with an accessible style, and she is often recognized as an early feminist voice as well as one of the first major female art historians in English.