Lot 23410: ELIZABETH JANE GARDNER BOUGUEREAU (American

ELIZABETH JANE GARDNER BOUGUEREAU (American 1837-1922) Jeune fille au Lys (Young Girl with Lilies) Oil on canvas 9 x 6-1/2 inches (22.9 x 16.5 cm) Signed upper left: Elizabeth Gardner Provenance: Private collection, Bordeaux, France Private collection, Paris, France Elizabeth Gardner was an American-born woman raised in privileged circumstances and received a proper young lady's education. In pursuit of more rigorous artistic training, she followed a teacher to Europe and became a student of William Bouguereau, and eventually, his wife. She became the first woman to exhibit in the Paris Salon in 1866, and in 1877 she was the first woman to win a gold medal. According to her obituary in the New York Times , this remarkable artist "literally opened Paris ateliers to the women of the world."