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Merritt, Anna Lea (1844-1930) Eve.
New York: Klackner, 1887.
Etching printed in sepia ink on parchment, signed in pencil, lower left, with the serpent and ground fowl remarqué lower left; 332 x 478 mm; 13 x 18¾ in.
Merritt was primarily a self-taught artist from a wealthy Quaker family. During her formative years, she attended progressive schools where she studied classics, languages, mathematics, and music, and later took anatomy lessons at the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. In 1865, Merritt moved to Europe with her family and actively pursued her interest in art through formal training. In London she met her mentor and future husband, painter Henry Merritt. She exhibited regularly at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, and the Paris Salon. Merritt was also a prolific writer and illustrator who wrote about issues facing women artists.
In 1885, she exhibited the Pre-Raphaelite painting, Eve Overcome by Remorse at the Royal Academy in London, the basis for this etching. Just after it was published, Merritt was elected to the London Society of Etchers.
