ArtMuse Podcast

ArtMuse Podcast A podcast that re-examines art through the eyes and stories of the female muse Who were these women?

ArtMuse seeks to tell the stories of the women portrayed in many of Western art’s most well-known and revered masterpieces. From Renaissance to Baroque art, impressionism to pre-Raphaelite Modernism and beyond, these models and muses are often overlooked in our discussion of works of art. While many of their faces are familiar to viewers around the world, their identities have been lost. How can we analyze and appreciate these works of art in new ways; through the eyes of the women whose image stares back at us. How can we reinterpret the muse not as a passive participant but as a driving force of inspiration behind these works of art? Is the muse in actuality just as, if not more, important than the artist?

Accompanying Images for Sarah Siddons Part Two: 1. ArtMuse Logo :)2. Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mrs Siddons as the Tragic Muse...
09/04/2026

Accompanying Images for Sarah Siddons Part Two:
1. ArtMuse Logo :)
2. Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mrs Siddons as the Tragic Muse, 1789.
3. George Romney, Sarah Siddons, 1782.
4. Thomas Gainsborough, Portrait of Mrs Sarah Siddons, 1785.
5. Thomas Beach, Sarah Siddons as Lady Macbeth, 1786.
6. Gilbert Stuart, Sarah Siddons, 1787.
7. John Downman, Sarah Siddons, 1787.
8. Sir Thomas Laurence, Mrs. Siddons, 1804.
9. Henry Perronet Briggs, F***y Kemble and Sarah Siddons, 1830.
10. Statue of Sarah in Paddington Green.
Part Two of Sarah Siddons’s story can be found, anywhere you get your podcasts✨.

09/03/2026

Enjoy this trailer for Part Two of ArtMuse’s episode on the famed English actress and Queen of Tragedy, Sarah Siddons.

She was the most famous tragic actress of the Georgian age, with performances so powerful that several members of her audience fainted with fear. Over her forty-year long career she captured the hearts of all of England. She was painted by some of the greatest masters of art history, including Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, and George Romney, using her portraits to promote her self-image. Though she was known for her tragic roles on the stage, she persevered through personal tragedies off the stage as well. She had to overcome unimaginable heartbreak, and she held her head high in the face of adversity. As the renowned English writer William Hazlitt once declared, “She raised Tragedy to the skies, or brought it down from thence…Power was seated on her brow, passion emanated from her breast as from a shrine. She was Tragedy personified”. 

ArtMuse’s Two Part episode on Sarah Siddons can be found anywhere you get your podcasts.

Accompanying Images for Sarah Siddons Part One: 1. ArtMuse Logo :)2. Thomas Beach, Portrait of Sarah Siddons, 1781.3. Th...
08/21/2026

Accompanying Images for Sarah Siddons Part One:
1. ArtMuse Logo :)
2. Thomas Beach, Portrait of Sarah Siddons, 1781.
3. Thomas Beach, Portrait of Mrs. Siddons in the character of Melancholy from Milton’s ‘Il Penseroso’, 1782.
4. William Hamilton, Sarah Siddons as Isabella from ‘The Fatal Marriage’, 1782.
5. Portrait of David Garrick by Thomas Gainsborough, 1770
Part One of Sarah Siddons’s story can be found, anywhere you get your podcasts✨.

08/20/2026

Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World is one of the most iconic paintings in the history of American art, but did you know the woman pictured was a real woman from history with her own name and story to share?

Grace Anna here, host of ArtMuse, a podcast that shares the life stories of the women pictured in famous works of art, and today we’re exploring the extraordinary life of Christina Olson.

Christina Olson was born on May 3rd, 1893 in Cushing, Maine. As a young child, Christina showed signs of an undiagnosed degenerative disease that slowly took away her mobility, including her ability to walk. While this presented unimaginable challenges, Christina never let her disability stop her from living a robust life nor compromise her unparalleled dignity and strength.

Though Christina’s world was inevitably small, mostly confined to her family’s farmhouse in Maine, she would in her lifetime become world famous. When Andrew Wyeth was introduced to Christina Olson in 1939 through his wife Betsy, both Wyeth’s and Christina’s worlds were forever changed. Wyeth was immediately captivated by Christina’s perseverance and self-respect. Wyeth would spend the next 28 years visiting Christina and spending time in her unique world.

But Christina’s story deserves to be honored in its entirety, beyond Wyeth and the painting that turned her into an icon. Christina was a remarkable woman in her own right, who showed extraordinary resilience in the face of continued challenges. Andrew Wyeth once said of Christina, “The challenge to me was to do justice to her extraordinary conquest of a life which most people would consider hopeless. If in some small way I have been able in paint to make the viewer sense that her world may be limited physically but by no means spiritually, then I have achieved what I have set out to do”.

ArtMuse has an episode on Christina Olson sharing her full life story. ArtMuse can be found anywhere you get your podcasts.

08/20/2026

Enjoy this trailer for Part One of ArtMuse’s episode on the famed English actress and Queen of Tragedy, Sarah Siddons.

She was the most famous tragic actress of the Georgian age, with performances so powerful that several members of her audience fainted with fear. Over her forty-year long career she captured the hearts of all of England. She was painted by some of the greatest masters of art history, including Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, and George Romney, using her portraits to promote her self-image. Though she was known for her tragic roles on the stage, she persevered through personal tragedies off the stage as well. Though she had to overcome unimaginable heartbreak, she held her head high in the face of adversity, channeling her grief into her potent performances. As the renowned English writer William Hazlitt once declared, “She raised Tragedy to the skies, or brought it down from thence…Power was seated on her brow, passion emanated from her breast as from a shrine. She was Tragedy personified”. 

ArtMuse’s episode on Sarah Siddons can be found anywhere you get your podcasts.

08/01/2026

Grace Anna here, host of ArtMuse, a podcast that shares the life story of the women pictured in famous works of art, and today we are exploring the life of Laure, pictured in Manet’s Olympia.

If you have not yet watched our companion video sharing the life story of the other woman pictured in Olympia, you can find it on our page.

ArtMuse can be found anywhere you get your podcasts ❤️.

Accompanying Images for Sada Yacco Part Two: 1. ArtMuse Logo :)2. Sada on the cover of Harper’s Bazar in March of 1900.3...
07/24/2026

Accompanying Images for Sada Yacco Part Two:
1. ArtMuse Logo :)
2. Sada on the cover of Harper’s Bazar in March of 1900.
3. Sada on the cover of Le Theatre, in October of 1900.
4. Sada Yacco in a poster for the 1900 Paris Exposition by Alfredo Müller.
5. Leonetto Cappiello, Portrait of Sada Yacco, 1900.
6. Pablo Picasso’s sketch of Sada made in 1901.
7. Pablo Picasso, Sada Yacco, 1901.
8. William Nicholson, Sada Yacco, lithograph, 1902.
9. Ramon Casas, Portrait of Sada Yacco, 1902.
10. Sada as Ophelia in 1903.
11. Sada as Ophelia in 1903.

Part Two of Sada Yacco’s story can be found, anywhere you get your podcasts✨.

07/23/2026

Enjoy this trailer for Part Two of ArtMuse’s episode on the geisha turned actress Sada Yacco.

In Part Two, we aim to honor episode we aim to honor Sada as the remarkable woman she was. From her days as a famous geisha who caught the attention of Japan’s most powerful men, to her breakout as a performer in America and later in Europe where she became a superstar, to her fight to open new avenues of opportunity for women in Japan, and finally, to her decision follow her heart and love the man she desired despite societal scorn, Sada chose to live her life both fiercely and freely and was unafraid to dance to the beat of her own drum.

ArtMuse’s episode on Sada Yacco can be found anywhere you get your podcasts.

07/14/2026

Édouard Manet’s Olympia marked the birth of modern art. Olympia, which caused one of the greatest uproars in the history of art, is now celebrated as the first modernist painting. However it was not just Manet’s artistic innovation, but the genius of his favorite model that created such a masterpiece.masterpiece.

Victorine Meurent was Manet’s favorite artist’s model who is featured in many of his most famous paintings. Manet painted Victorine more than 9 times, and she can be found in all of Manet’s best works.

But Victorine was not just an artist’s model, she was also a musician, playing both the guitar and violin, and an established painter herself, who showed her work at the Salon six times. In fact in 1876, her painting was selected to be included in the salon, when Manet’s own submission was not.

The next time you see Manet’s Olympia, remember that it was not just Manet’s artistry, but Victorine’s presence as the sitter that created the works that would forever change the history of art. And that Victorine was herself an established artist who exhibited her work at the salon on numerous occasions.

If you would like to learn more about Victorine Meurent, our podcast ArtMuse has an episode sharing her full life story. You can find ArtMuse anywhere you get your podcasts.

Accompanying Images for Sada Yacco Part One: 1. ArtMuse Logo :)2. Momusuke Iwasaki (Sada’s first love) in adulthood.3. I...
07/10/2026

Accompanying Images for Sada Yacco Part One:

1. ArtMuse Logo :)
2. Momusuke Iwasaki (Sada’s first love) in adulthood.
3. Itō Hirobumi, Japan’s first Prime Minister, who deflowered Sada and became her patron.
4. Kawakami Otojiro, Sada’s husband.
5. Sada pictured next to Kawakami Otojiro in 1903.

Part One of Sada Yacco’s story can be found, anywhere you get your podcasts✨.

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