Page:Women in the Fine Arts From the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentiet.djvu/163

96 Damer, Mrs. Anne Seymour. Family name Conway. 1748-1828. She was a granddaughter of the Duke of Argyle, a relative of the Marquis of Hertford, and a cousin of Horace Walpole. Her education was conducted with great care; the history of ancient nations, especially in relation to art, was her favorite study. She had seen but few sculptures, but was fascinated by them, and almost unconsciously cherished the idea that she could at least model portraits and possibly give form to original conceptions.

Allan Cunningham wrote of her thus: "Her birth entitled her to a life of ease and luxury; her beauty exposed her to the assiduity of suitors and the temptations of courts; but it was her pleasure to forget all such advantages and dedicate the golden hours of her youth to the task of raising a name by working in wet clay, plaster of Paris, stubborn marble, and still more intractable bronze."

Before she had seriously determined to attempt the realization of her dreams, she was brought to a decision by a caustic remark of the historian, Hume. Miss Conway was one day walking with him when they met an Italian boy with plaster vases and figures to sell. Hume examined the wares and talked with the boy. Not long after, in the presence of several other people, Miss Conway ridiculed Hume's taste in art; he answered her sarcastically and intimated that no woman could display as much science and genius as had entered into the making of the plaster casts she so scorned.

This decided her to test herself, and, obtaining wax and the proper tools, she worked industriously until she