Celebrating the Art of the Alcotts - May Alcott Nieriker
When visitors walk into the William Munroe Special Collections, they are greeted by May Alcott Nieriker's painting Lake Avernus: The Fates and the Golden Bough, her copy of the J.M.W. Turner masterpiece. Another painting, Suspension Bridge in Haze from Iron Grille Balcony, hangs in the Reading Room. It seems fitting that, as we begin our celebration of the two new Alcott collections acquired by the Concord Free Public Library, the addition of more work by Nieriker is a highlight among the acquisitions, and her work serves as one of the visual representations of these materials.
Abigail May Alcott Nieriker (July 26, 1840 – December 29, 1879), known as May, was the youngest daughter of Bronson and Abigail May Alcott. May was immortalized in her sister Louisa May Alcott's seminal work, Little Women, as Amy, a free-spirited artist; May also illustrated the first edition. May was widely considered Concord's artist for many years, particularly after the success of Little Women enabled her to study in Europe. In 1877, her still life was the only painting by an American woman to be exhibited at the Paris Salon, selected over Mary Cassatt's work. She taught several other artists in Concord at a small art school, including Daniel Chester French. She also wrote a travel guide for women hoping to study art in Europe. She married Ernest Nieriker in London on March 22, 1878, and had a daughter, Louisa May, known as Lulu, on November 8, 1879. She died from complications of childbirth on December 29, 1879.
Among the reasons for acquiring the Kent Bicknell Alcott Family Collection, which was purchased through the generosity of the Concord Free Public Library Corporation and its donors, the trove of materials related to May Alcott was high on the list. In particular, Bicknell had acquired four of Nieriker's paintings, bringing the number in Special Collections to eight and making the Concord Free Public Library the largest collection of her work outside of the Alcotts' Orchard House, as well as being the largest collection of works by a female artist in Special Collections' holdings. One of the paintings, Sunset: A Fish Market on the Beach, exemplifies Nieriker's love of J.M.W. Turner, and her copies of his work showcase her sense of color and light. Another painting, Garden Cottage near Kenilworth, illustrates the work she was creating while living in Europe following the success of her sister Louisa's Little Women. The new works will be part of the exhibition on the acquisitions of the two new Alcott collections. While the in-person event on March 28, 2026, detailing these acquisitions is full, interested parties can sign up to view the live stream.