ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the careers of three such anomalous women – Rosa Bonheur (1822–99), Berthe Morisot (1841–95), and Mary Cassatt (1844–1926). It considers how they shaped and composed their professional careers. The chapter is concerned with the way in which Bonheur, Morisot, and Cassatt formed deep, sustaining relationships with other women from which were drawn the support and validation so absent in the art world at large. It begins with a specific remark that altered, it was a reference to an entry by Morisot in one of her carnets: that 'the only true friendship a woman could have was with another woman'. The chapter suggests that female bonding seems to be a much-overlooked phenomenon in the development of serious women artists, and although male teachers and colleagues certainly provided encouragement and support, the presence of women allies could go a long way toward countering the gender prejudices of the period.
