A Celtic Huntress – nikhil.io

George De Forest Brush

1855–1941

Oil on canvas

Museum purchase, partial gift of Roderick McManigal and funds from the Fine Arts Museums Foundation, Art Trust Fund, and the Ethel M. Copelotti Estate

Inspired by the international Celtic Revival movement, which embraced Irish history, mythology, and folklore, this painting would have resonated with Americans of Irish heritage, who numbered four million, including the artist, in the last decade of the nineteenth century. The subject's flowing auburn hair and low-cut buckskin dress-combined with her role as a hunter, a traditionally male occupation-reflects the contemporary fascination with women, preferably from the past, who challenged traditional gender roles.