Collection: Elizabeth Jane Gardner

Elizabeth Jane Gardner (1837–1922) was an American academic and salon painter. Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, she became an expatriate in Paris, where she studied under Hugues Merle, Jules Joseph Lefebvre, and William-Adolphe Bouguereau. She married Bouguereau in 1896. Gardner was the first American woman to exhibit at the Paris Salon in 1866 and the first woman to receive a gold medal at the Salon in 1877.

Gardner adopted Bouguereau's subjects, compositions, and smooth facture, channeling his academic style so effectively that her work was often mistaken for his. She stated, "I know I am censured for not more boldly asserting my individuality, but I would rather be known as the best imitator of Bouguereau than be nobody!" Her oeuvre included genre scenes and portraits, such as The Shepherd David Triumphant (1895), depicting a young shepherd with a rescued lamb.

Gardner lived most of her life in Paris, exhibiting her paintings at the Paris Salon twenty-five times. She received a bronze medal at the 1889 Exposition Universelle, further establishing her presence within the French art world.