THE tribulations and trials – and a few triumphs – of women artists in the 18th-century are set out in a new book by biographer and picture researcher Caroline Chapman, who lives in North Yorkshire.

Eighteenth-Century Women Artists was launched at the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, which the author knows well having previously published a biography of founders John and Josephine Bowes.

Women in that era seeking a career in art were setting out on a hard path. Though the middle classes had the money and leisure to enjoy and support the arts, it was very much a man’s world.

Women were expected to marry, have children and conform to rigid social conventions. Becoming a professional artist meant being an object of gossip at best, often the subject of open hostility.

Many female artists struggled to make a living but some with talent, ambition and a capacity for hard work – as well as charm and good looks – and achieved success.

Among them were Angelica Kauffman, the Swiss-born artist who was one of the two female founder-members of the Royal Academy in London, and Elisabeth Vigée le Brun, who worked throughout Europe and in Russia.

Ms Chapman, who lives in Grewelthorpe, near Ripon, considers the lives of 24 women artists, looking at their studios, problems of obtaining training, how their art was sold and the role of patrons. She also discusses their relationship with lady amateur artists and changes that occurred in the 19th century.

She said: "Women artists produced exceptional work at a time when society disapproved of their profession. Each of them, from the famous to the obscure, deserves more attention and appreciation. I hope readers will be surprised and impressed by the range of their work and level of achievement."

Eighteenth-Century Women Artists is published by Unicorn Publishing Group at £20. It is available at Amazon.co.uk and from The Little Ripon Bookshop and White Rose Books, Thirsk.

Other works by Caroline Chapman include biographies of Lady Elizabeth Foster, mistress to the 5th Duke of Devonshire and close friend of his wife Georgiana, whom she succeeded as duchess, William Howard Russell, of The Times, as well as John and Josephine Bowes.