Corbaux, Fanny (1812–1883)

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Corbaux, Fanny (1812–1883)

English artist. Name variations: Fanny Corbeaux. Born Marie Françoise Catherine Doetter Corbaux in 1812; died in 1883.

Fanny Corbaux' father was reduced to poverty when she was 15. Though she was without any formal artistic training, she was determined to support herself and her father by painting and won the gold medal of the Society of Arts by the time she was 18. Staying primarily with portraits, she painted small pictures in oil and watercolors. A self-taught artist, she was among the first to advocate on behalf of women for their admission as students to London's Royal Academy. Corbaux was also a distinguished Biblical scholar who wrote a series of letters on "The Physical Geography of the Exodus."