Our Walker Women video series gives a brief insight into the lives of the women artists in our collection. First we explore the tragically short, yet uniquely successful life of Elisabetta Sirani (1638-65). Taking over her father’s workshop at the age of 24 she became one of the most pioneering and innovative artists of the Baroque period, establishing her own art school for women at a time when women were denied academy training. Following her untimely death she was remembered as ‘the gem of It

Today we celebrate the first self-made female millionaire, Madam C.J. Walker. Suffering from hair loss triggered by her difficult living conditions, Walker invented a scalp healing lotion. That lotion started what would become a multi-million dollar cosmetics business. #BecauseOfHerStory Learn more about Madam C.J. Walker's hair care business here, from NMAAHC Smithsonian National Museum For African American History And Culture: https://s.si.edu/2IDDHjo | Smithsonian Channel