10 winter paintings by women artists

For those of us in the Northern hemisphere, cold days and long winter nights have well and truly arrived. To keep spirits up, we have chosen 10 winter paintings by 10 different women artists, as a reminder of the beauty of this season.

1. Rosa Bonheur (1822-99)

The French artist’s Deer and doe in a snowy landscape was painted in 1833. Bonheur was the leading animal painter of the 19th century (even Queen Victoria admired her work). She lived unconventionally at the time - wearing her hair short, smoking, and living with her romantic partner, Nathalie Micas.

Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 67.2 cm, private collection (Image: Christie’s)

2. Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842)

In this portrait, made in 1786, Madame Molé-Reymond is all wrapped up for a cold wintery day - with a smile on her face! Le Brun painted 660 portraits (mainly of women) over the course of her career in the late 18th-early 19th centuries. She also served as the portrait painter for Marie Antoinette!

Oil on panel, 1 x 0.7 m, Louvre Museum, Paris (Image: Wikipedia)

3. Giovanna Garzoni (1600-1670)

This painting, A Hedgehog in a landscape, was made by Italian painter Giovanna Garzoni, who gained fame for her observational and precise botanical paintings in watercolour and tempera. Although this hedgehog is more of an autumnal creature here, it is too sweet to miss out of our selection!

Bbodycolour on vellum, 23.5 x 38 cm, private collection (Image: Meisterdrucke)

4. Berthe Morisot (1841-95)

Morist painted this personification of Winter (also known as Woman with a Muff) in 1880. Morisot tended to paint what she experienced on a daily basis, depicting intimate, domestic scenes of family, children and women. She married the brother of famous painter Édouard Manet, and her only child, Julie, went on to be a painter in her own right.

5. Anna Bilinska (1854-93)

This evocative wintery scene (entitled View from the Conservatory or Saska Kępa during winter) was painted by the Polish painter Bilińska in 1877. She was best known for her portraits in the realist style, and is considered the first internationally known woman artist from Poland.

Oil on board, 27 x 43 cm, National Museum, Warsaw (Image: Wikipedia)

6. Mary Delany (1700-88)

English artist Delany made this exquisite paper collage of a twig of holly probably shortly before her death. Aged only 72 when she started as an artist, she went on to make 985 detailed ‘paper mosaicks’ of flowers. The accuracy of her work was remarked upon by a botanist Joseph Banks, who sent her flowers from Kew Gardens to imitate.

Paper collage, British Museum, London (Image: Wikipedia)

7. Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907)

This painting Boy in the snow was made by German expressionist painter Paula Modersohn-Becker around 1905. Despite her premature death aged only 31 years old following birth complications, Modersohn-Becker produced more than 700 paintings and over 1000 drawings over her life, and is considered one of the most important representatives of early expressionism.

Oil on canvas, 48 x 64.3 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen, Bremen (Image: Wikipedia)

8. Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757)

Carriera depicts herself as Winter in this pastel self-portrait made in 1731 - the softness of both the pastel textures and the blue/white tones seem to give this portrait a particularly wintery feel. Carriera was a Rococo artist from Venice, who would play a key role in popularising the medium of pastels in 18th-century Europe. She also specialised in miniature portrait painting.

Pastel on paper, 46.5 x 34 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden (Image: Wikipedia)

9. Kitty Lange Kielland (1843-1914)

This painting, called Kongsgård, was made by Lange Kielland. She was a Norwegian landscape painter who was only allowed to train as a professional artist at the age of thirty. Lange Kielland was also an eager advocate of women’s rights. Although this scene shows an ordinary corner of a town, the shadows of the bare branches, pale blue tones and clear sky above all epitomise a cool winter’s day.

Oil on canvas, 44.5 x 61 cm, Stavanger Kunstmuseum, Stavanger (Image: Crotos)

10. Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)

Cassatt painted this cosy scene (called The Tea) around 1880. It was one of a number of paintings made by Cassatt during this period which depicted women taking part in the domestic and social ritual of drinking tea. Cassatt is seen as one of the great women painters of Impressionism.

Oil on canvas, 64.77 x 92.07 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Image: MFA Boston)

Bonus artist! We have just been informed about another woman who dedicated her artistic career to landscapes: Fern Isabel Coppedge (1883-1951). Some of her works can be seen at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, PA. Find out more here!

(Written by Esme Garlake on behalf of Athena Art Foundation, November 2022)