In addition to the art galleries along Newbury Street, many displaying the work of women artists and some owned or managed by women, is the Guild of Boston Artists. It is an association of painters, sculptors, and printmakers founded in 1914. Women have always been active in the guild and were among the charter members. One of its goals is to bring to public attention the work of young greater Boston artists. In addition to its public gallery, the guild sponsors art classes in its building.Among women members was Bostonian Lilla Cabot Perry (1848-1933), whose paintings are included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. She studied in Paris and was influenced by Claude Monet. She was his neighbor in Giverny for ten summers, beginning in 1889. Perry also taught and painted in Tokyo for three years. Other Boston women painters include Adelaide Cole Chase (1868-1944), who also studied in Paris and painted still life and portraits, especially of women and children; and painter Gertrude Fiske (1878-1961), who was a founder of the guild and was the first woman named to the Massachusetts Art Commission. In 1930, Boston sculptor Amelia Peabody (1890-1984) held a major exhibition at the Guild. Her sculpture End of an Era, depicting the last of the Boston one-horse cabs, was very popular and was acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts. Although she continued to create and exhibit her sculpture, Peabody was also a philanthropist. An ardent sportswoman and lover of animals, especially horses, she provided support to the new Tufts Veterinary School. She divided her time between her home at 120 Commonwealth Avenue and her farm in Dover. Peabody continued creating sculpture late in life, turning to the medium of ceramics. She served on the boards of many Boston hospitals, donating funds—and sculptures—to them.
