Arrah Lee Gaul (1888-1980), was an American painter. She was the first woman to have a solo exhibition at the

Philadelphia Art Club The Art Club of Philadelphia, often called the Philadelphia Art Club, was a club in Philadelphia, founded on February 7, 1887, to advance the arts.

. Gaul was the official artist of the Philadelphia Sesqui-Centennial and an original member of the

Philadelphia Ten The Philadelphia Ten, also known as The Ten, was a group of American female artists who exhibited together from 1917 to 1945. The group, eventually numbering 30 painters and sculptors, exhibited annually in Philadelphia and later had traveling exh ...

Biography

Gaul was born in 1888 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She attended the Philadelphia School of Design, studying under Elliott Daingerfield, and

Henry B. Snell Henry Bayley Snell (September 29, 1858 – January 17, 1943) was an American Impressionist painter and educator. Snell's paintings are in museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Albright–Knox Art Galle ...

. Gaul pursued additional studies at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

before returning in 1921 to teach at the Philadelphia School of Design and she eventually became the head of the art department there. In 1917 she participated in the inaugural exhibition of the Philadelphia Ten. She also exhibited nationally at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

in New York. She was the first woman to have a solo exhibition at the Philadelphia Art Club. Internationally, she exhibited at

Beaux Arts Gallery Beaux Arts Gallery was a gallery at 1 Bruton Place, London, England. It was known as a preeminent center for promoting avant-garde art until its closure in 1965. Founded and operated by portrait sculptor Frederick Lessore in 1923, the gallery wa ...

in London, the Paris Salon of 1931 and the

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arro ...

des Champs Elysees. Gaul frequently traveled to foreign locations to paint including Greece, Italy, Algiers, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and India. Gaul died in Philadelphia in 1980.

References

External links

images of Arrah Lee Gaul's paintings
on artNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaul, Arrah Lee 1888 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American women artists Philadelphia School of Design for Women alumni American women painters Painters from Philadelphia