Eugénie Sellers Strong

Portrait 1890 by Constance Phillott, Girton College collection

Eugénie Sellers Strong (née Sellers) (25 March 1860 – 16 September 1943) was a British archaeologist and art historian, and from 1905-1925 Assistant Director of the British School at Rome. Educated at Girton College, Cambridge, in 1890 she became the first female student admitted to the British School at Athens; she continued art historical studies in Germany under Adolf Furtwängler. In 1897 she married art historian Sandford Arthur Strong. She contributed to the catalogue of the 1903 Burlington Fine Arts Club "Greek Art" Exhibition, and wrote several books on classical art and sculpture.

Biography

Early life

Eugénie Sellers was born in London on 25 March 1860 to Fredrick William Sellers, a wine merchant, and his wife Anna (née Oates). Her French mother was of aristocratic descent and Eugénie was baptized in the church of St Roch in Paris. She had one sister, Charlotte, eight years younger than herself. Though her family lived primarily in London, they travelled extensively in Europe and she first attended school with Jesuit fathers in Valladolid, Spain. She subsequently attended a convent school at Dourdan in France, leaving in 1877 to travel with her family in Italy and Greece.

Undergraduate Years

Sellers matriculated at Girton College, Cambridge in 1879 where she read for the Classics Tripos. However, although she was permitted to take the Tripos, at this time, Cambridge degrees were not awarded to women. On leaving Cambridge, Eugénie took up a teaching post at St Leonards School in St Andrews, Scotland and a year later moved on to London. The faculty at the University of St Andrews awarded her an honorary degree after publication of her first book.

Selected Works

All works were authored by Eugénie Sellers Strong unless otherwise noted.

• (1895) Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture: A Series of Essays on the History of Art Adolf Furtwängler, Eugenie Strong (editor and translator) OCLC 862147616
• (1907) Roman Sculpture from Augustus to Constantine OCLC 162432
• (1915) Apotheosis and after life: three lectures on certain phases of art and religion in the Roman Empire OCLC 3520485
• (1929) Art in Ancient Rome (Ars una: species mille. General history of art) OCLC 5886932

Bibliography

• Dyson, S. L. 2004. Eugénie Sellers Strong: Portrait of an Archaeologist OCLC 52531896
• Scott Thomson, G. 1949. Mrs. Arthur Strong: A Memoir OCLC 491749363
• Toynbee, J. M. C. 2004. Strong [nee Sellers], Eugenie (1860–1943). rev. Stephen Dyson. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography [Online]. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36352.