Suzanne Valadon was the illegitimate daughter of a sewing maid whose formal education ended
at age eleven. She worked as a circus acrobat and artists’ model and gleaned what she could
about painting by watching and listening to the men who put her image on canvas. Toulouse-
Lautrec and Degas were her most important artistic influences. Under their tutelage she began to
paint and created powerful, unconventional images, principally of women. Although mostly
unknown today, she is regarded by scholars as an important chronicler of women’s experiences.
Her paintings remain fresh and modern, cementing her legacy as a significant figure in the
history of art.

Janet Mandel taught in New Jersey’s public schools for 32 years, where she taught English, art
history, World Languages and Cultures. Now retired, Janet presents illustrated talks on a variety of art history

topics at adult schools, libraries, museums, senior centers, community centers, and similar venues.

This is the first in a series of 4 Fabulous Women artists, to be followed by Florine Stettheimer (Feb 7th),

(Augusta Savage March 22nd), and Ruth Asawa (April 19th).

This series is brought to you by the Chilmark and VH libraries. Please contact tthorpe@clamsnet.org

or amcdonough@clamsnet.org for the Zoom link.