Louisa Starr

Louisa Starr, later Louisa Canziani (1845 – 25 May 1909) was a British painter.^[1]

Louisa Starr Canziani
Louisa Starr c. 1900
Born	Louisa Starr 1845 (1845) London, United Kingdom
Died	25 May 1909(1909-05-25) (aged 63–64) 25 May 1909 London, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Known for	Painting
Spouse	Enrico Canziani

Biography

Starr was born in London in 1845. Her parents were Anna (born ) Cowan and Henry Starr. They were cousins of Italian heritage but they had been born in London and America respectively.^[2] They lived on Russell Square and she became a copyist at the British Museum.^[3] Studying at the Royal Academy Schools, she showed her first work there in 1866 and by 1876 showed 17 paintings.^[3] She won a gold medal at the Royal Academy for history painting in December 1867.^[1] She was the first woman to do so and was followed by Jessie Macgregor's gold medal in 1871, but the next woman to do so was not until 1909.^[4]

She married the Italian civil engineer Enrico Canziani (1848–1931) and thereafter signed her works with her married name. Her daughter Estella Canziani also became an artist.^[5][2]

She exhibited her work at the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.^[6]

Her painting Sintram and his mother was included in the 1905 book Women Painters of the World.^[7]

Starr died in London in 25 May 1909^[2] and was buried in the Starr family grave (plot no.19975) on the western side of Highgate Cemetery near the grave of Elizabeth Siddal.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

• 
  Cold Spring - The Alien (1906; Aberdeen Art Gallery)
• 
  Sintram and his Mother, from a story by De la Motte Fouqué
• 
  Grave of Louisa Starr in Highgate Cemetery