Alexander, Francesca (1837–1917)

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Alexander, Francesca (1837–1917)

Author, artist, folklorist and charitable worker. Name variations: Esther Frances Alexander; Francesca or Fanny Alexander. Born Francesca Alexander, Feb 27, 1837, in Boston, Massachusetts; died in Florence, Italy, Jan 21, 1917; dau. of Lucia Gray (Swett) and Francis Alexander.

Settled in Florence and attended the Christian Evangelical Church; dedicated life, as well as money earned from portraits and drawings, to assisting poor and sick; collected folklore of the Italian peasants, which she recorded in art and writing; made 1st contact with John Ruskin (1882), who promoted her works, including the illus. "Roadside Songs of Tuscany" (pub. by Ruskin as Roadside Songs in 1884–85), earning her international renown. Other writings include The Story of Ida (1883), Christ's Folk in the Apennines (1887–89), Tuscan Songs (1897) and The Hidden Servants and Other Very Old Stories Told Over (1900).

See also Constance Grosvenor Alexander, Francesca Alexander: A "Hidden Servant" (1927); Lucia Gray Swett, John Ruskin's Letters to Francesca and Memoirs of the Alexanders (1931).

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Alexander, Francesca (1837–1917)

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