The 2022 Ann W. Olin Endowed Lecture was given by Diana Seave Greenwald, William and Lia Poorvu Interim Curator of the Collection at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and author of Painting by Numbers: Data-Driven Histories of Nineteenth-Century Art.
Diana Seave Greenwald blends historical and social scientific methods to provide fresh insights into 19th-century art. In particular, she focuses on a case study that combines theory from labor economics with data about works by 19th-century women artists. This insight into how artistic form and content change in response to demands on women’s time highlights structural barriers that still hamper 19th-century women artists’ posthumous reputations and continue to limit women artists’ accomplishments and recognition today.