MURRAY, Elizabeth. Sixteen Years of an Artist`s Life in Morocco, Spain, and the Canary Islands. London, Hurst and Blackett, 1859.
Two volumes, 8vo. Original red cloth, spines lettered in gilt, covers ornamented in blind; pp. vii, 352; iv, 344, 15 (publisher's advertisements), two tinted lithographic frontispieces (the one in volume one with tissue guard); cloth a little rubbed at extremities, light offsetting to and from frontispieces, otherwise only very light toning or spotting; a very good copy.
First edition. The daughter of the artist Thomas Heaphy went on a trip to Tangiers and married the British consul there. She was a watercolourist and describes the scenery and history of the places her husband was stationed. Elizabeth became friends and gained the confidence of several 'Moorish' ladies and was invited into their homes where she gained an insight into their lives. The Tenerife volume caused a stir, as she criticized the injustices and inefficiency of the Spanish government of the Canary Islands. Despite her having set up the academy of arts in Tenerife her husband (with her) had to look for a new diplomatic post, which led them to settle in New England. During visits to England Elizabeth Murray founded the Society of Female Artists in London, serving on its first committee. In Tenerife she had been an honorary member of the newly founded Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Miguel Arcángel.
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