If you have spent a quiet moment or two on Art UK looking at artists, you might know that you can filter them by gender. However, while we have over 56,000 artists on the site, at the time of writing, over 7,000 of these are 'unknown'.

There are various reasons for this. One is – to paraphrase Virginia Woolf – that 'anonymous is a woman'. Many artists in the 'unknown' field have only been recorded by initials or surname. If we dig a little deeper, we can soon discover that many of them can be identified more fully – and that there are plenty of women artists to still uncover.

Over the past year or so, I have been checking online genealogy records and newspaper reports to see if we can put names to some of these unknowns. Here are 21 female artists whose names were lost, but are now found!

Emily Kate Derry, 1856–1933

The artist of this portrait is Emily Kate Derry, 1856–1933, although we had it as 'E. K. Derry' and no dates.

In an 1886 newspaper report (available on the British Newspaper Archive with a subscription), it mentions that 'E. K. Derry' exhibited a work called An Indian Chief at the Royal Academy in 1886.

Checking the Royal Academy exhibitions database, it's No. 542 in the catalogue for that year and that painting was sold in 2007 by Christie's.

You can just about see the signature (E. K. Derry) on the image for comparison with the one on Art UK. From that, and the address in the RA catalogue as Coombe-field, Malden, I was able to look her up in the 1891 census on Ancestry (which again requires a subscription to view images). Other records from Ancestry confirmed birth and death dates.

(Frances) Maud Porter, 1863–1942, married name Bigwood

This rather marvellous portrait of the Honourable Mrs Freeman Thomas is referred to in a couple of newspaper reports as being by 'Miss Porter, pupil of Shannon RA'.

It was originally recorded as 'W. Porter' but with a bit of searching, that turned out to be (Frances) Maud Porter (1863–1942) whose married name was Bigwood.

Frances Maud Porter and Ethel Carr Porter were sisters who were both portrait artists, but Ethel married in 1897 (her married name was Bailey) and so is unlikely to have been called 'Miss Porter' in the newspaper reports of 1900/1. They both exhibited at the RA and other places, and there are newspaper references to 'Miss Maud Porter' exhibiting.

There are some examples of work by Maud Bigwood (née Porter) and by Ethel Bailey (née Porter) across auction sites and the wider internet.

When the artist was recorded, someone had just written W instead of M in the artist name. Her dates were confirmed by records on Ancestry.

Violet Irene Adams, 1902–1956

This figure study of a standing female nude was recorded by UCL Art Museum as V. I. Adams.

The 1921 census fo England and Wales has recently become available on Ancestry, and 'V. I. Adams' turns out to be Violet Irene Adams who was studying at the Slade School of Fine Art.

Further records confirm her birth year, but also that she was married twice – firstly to Francis Dymond in 1928 and then to Gerald Hervey, dying after emigrating to South Africa, according to the probate record (under 'Hervey'). The probate further says she left her estate to Paul Adams, Master of the Supreme Court – another connection to her maiden name.

Věra Škodová, 1922–1999

This elegant still life of silverware and a book was recorded as being by 'V. Skodove'.

Knowing that Slavic female names often end in -ova, looking closer the work is signed 'V Skodova'. From that, it was serendipitous to find her mentioned more fully as Věra Škodová, as the subject of this sculpture in an episode of The Repair Shop.

The piece goes on to state that she was an artist too. In the article, her son (Martin Jochman) states she died in 1999, aged 77, giving dates of c.1922–1999.

Her work is also listed on a couple of Czech auction sites (here and here), with the same signature.

(Eagle-eyed readers will note that both of those sites say she was born in 1910, but auction sites can often get these dates wrong, working from assumptions on other sites.)

Mary Constance Lowe, 1864–1951

Identifying this artist – originally recorded as 'M. C. Lowe' – required a bit of detective work.

According to this newspaper report, this very picture was exhibited at the RA in 1896. Although the newspaper says it's by 'Mr M. C. Lowe', the RA catalogue listing says it's Miss Lowe. Her address (in the back of the catalogue) is The Red House, Barkway, Royston, Herts. That is the address of the artist's father, Rev. John Manley Lowe, confirmed by the fact he is still there in the 1901 census.

It means the artist is Mary Constance Lowe, 1864–1951. Further Ancestry records show that she married Thomas Bates in 1896, had nine children(!) and then they emigrated to Australia, where she died in the early 1950s.

Emilie Frederica Wilhelmina Gordon Shee, née Seiler, c.1865–1932

With notable sitters, it's more likely that a portrait might have been reported in a newspaper. This portrait is of William Court Gully, Lord Selby, who was Speaker of the House of Commons.

William Court Gully (1835–1909), Lord Selby, as Speaker of the House of Commons (1895–1905)

Although it had been recorded as being by 'M. Shee', the painting is mentioned in this newspaper report as being by Mrs Henry Shee. Perhaps indicative of being a woman artist at the time, her own name was not mentioned – just that of her husband.

Henry Shee was Henry Gordon Shee (1847–1908) and his wife was Austrian-born Emilie – both are listed on the 1901 census. According to this newspaper report they married in Vienna in 1888, and it says she was the daughter of Adam Seiler of Vienna, giving us her maiden name. In the 1911 census, when she's widowed, her birth year is given as 1865.

Her death was reported in 1932, and gives her full name as Emilie Wilhelmina Gordon Shee (so she's taken his middle name into her own surname). Her probate record has the name 'Frederica' too so we've recorded her as Emilie Frederica Wilhelmina Gordon Shee, née Seiler (c.1865–1932).

Hilda M. Kidder, 1921–2017

This portrait of Professor George Henry Wooldridge had been recorded as being by 'H. Kidder'.

However, she is named as Miss Hilda Kidder in various newspaper reports – she also was the youngest member of the United Society of Artists (and there's a picture of her in this report too).

She is listed in the 1939 Register on Ancestry (a kind of census taken before the Second World War), which gived her birth date of 1917. Then she moved to the USA and married a famous comedian (Frank Kidder, who took her name) – you can read a brief bio of her in this piece.

A Facebook notice recorded her death in 2017, aged 96, and there's also a video online of her speaking at her husband's wake.

Violet Priestley Albrecht, 1886–1951

Sometimes an unusual name can narrow a search down considerably. The artist of this painting was recorded as 'V. E. Albrecht'.

But searching for records on Ancestry, there are not many people called 'V Albrecht' at all. I found her in 1911 as an art student in Bushey, but born in Leeds. This is probably why the Art UK artwork is in Leeds. She's also mentioned as an artist in a Leeds exhibition in 1910.

Birth and baptism records give birth year of 1886, and then she's recorded as marrying Norman MacLean Dempster in 1919. They emigrated to Australia, where Violet died in 1951.

Marthe Jouanne-Hugonet, 1868–1953

Occasionally you can find an artist in a UK collection who is more famous abroad. This is true of Marthe Jouanne-Hugonet (1868–1953) is well enough known to have her own Wikipedia page in French.

She is the artist of this portrait in the collection of Castle Fraser in Aberdeenshire, run by the National Trust for Scotland.

Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Mackenzie Fraser (1831–1897)

Catalogued originally as by 'M. Jouanne', in this instance it was easy enough to find other works by her, with matching signatures.

Digging deeper, it looks like her maiden name was Jouanne and then she hyphenated it when she was married, as per the entry (both Mlle and Mme) in the French National Archives.

Annie Frost Shenton, 1874–1964

Signatures can be difficult to read on paintings, and are often mistranscribed. This portrait had been catalogued under an artist named 'Shenlon' – but that name turns up no records on any search.

With a bit of logic (what could the name be?), we can find Annie Frost Shenton in the 1901 census as a portrait painter. Her baptism record gives her full name and records that her father was a sculptor.

Making sure we have the right person, there's a work by her on an auction site with the name Shenton and Brent (the owning collection) changed their own records to Shenton too.

Tracing her further into the twentieth century, she marries to Carl Anton Fahrmbacher in 1908, which we can confirm as she's named in her sister's probate in 1957 under her married name. Annie then died in Eastbourne in 1964, aged 89.

Helen May Smetham, 1878–1925

Another example of how women artists were just recorded with initials, this painting of the interior of Eastgate House in Rochester was originally catalogued under 'H. M. Smetham'.

Entrance Hall, Eastgate House, Rochester, Kent

Smetham is a reasonably rare name, and so she was easy to find in the 1911 census as an art student – even though she was at the relatively older age of 32.

Details of her birth and death are through other Ancestry records, but perhaps more interestingly, her grave says she was an ARCA (Associate of the Royal College of Art), and the notes say she was an art mistress at a school in Bath in the 1910s. Her death (in Durham, where she was teaching) was reported in a Bath newspaper.

Nina Margaret Grischotti, 1873–1948

This portrait is of the first female mayor of Hereford, Louise Henrietta Luard MBE, who first took office in 1929.

Louise Henrietta Luard, Mayor (1929 & 1936)

Perhaps fittingly, it is painted by a woman artist, Nina Margaret Grischotti, which you can read from the signature (N. M. Grischotti). It had been catalogued as 'M. Grischetti'.

Various Ancestry records give her vital dates but she is mentioned as an artist in other places, including this newspaper article and auction sites featuring a charcoal drawing of a woman and a jug of oxeye daisies.

Julia Matilda Clay (1860–1952)

The sitters in portraits can give a clue in identifying artists. The man depicted here is John James Charles Irby, Major and Adjutant at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

The collection told us that Major Irby, late 47th Regiment of Foot, was the Adjutant at the Royal Hospital between 1856 and 1896. He lost his leg in the quarries before Sebastopol and worked his leg with a string!

He's here in the 1881 census, but we had the artist as 'I. Clay'. However, also living in the hospital in 1881 is Julia Matilda Clay, stepdaughter to Thomas Lighterwood (on the same census page).

Having a hunch that she was the artist of this portrait (and the I we have in the artist's name is actually a J), I discovered that the Royal Collection also holds a portrait by her, of a Chelsea Pensioner. Although there is no image, there is an image of a glass plate negative of the portrait.

Her birth and death dates, and full name, are confirmed by Ancestry records.

Anna Rose Grace Cunnington, 1899–1982

Another portrait that originated close to home is this work, originally listed as being by 'A. R. G. Cunnington'.

When the sitter and artist's name is the same, it can indicate that the artist is a relative, and in this case, Anna Rose Grace Cunnington was the daughter of the sitter.

Her listing in the 1939 Register shows she was an art teacher, and also confirms her year of birth, but the 1911 census gives her full name, matching the initials, and shows she's the daughter of the sitter. Other Ancestry records give her death date.

Alice Osborne Clay, 1861–1937

The artist of this work was a bit of a muddle, as it's actually a copy of another portrait (by Martin Archer Shee).

Sir Anthony Carlisle (1768–1840), Surgeon

Searching up the artist name we had – 'A. O. Clay' – in records led to Alice Osborne Clay, who was living with her widowed mother in 1911 (although no occupation was given). That record led to her 1901 census entry, where her occupation was 'Teacher of Drawing School' in Woodford, Essex – linking her to an artistic profession.

A 1913 news report says she was the copyist of another portrait, of Rev. Joseph Cartwright, which we had catalogued under the name and dates 'Alice Clay (1743–1811)'.

However, those dates are of the sitter, and at some point they became confused with the artist's own. Clay's birth and death dates are confirmed by Ancestry records.

Edith Mary Bateman, nee Lush, 1879–1968

The artist of this work was listed as E. M. Bateman, but it was also a gift from 'Mrs E. M. Bateman'.

I discovered that E. M. Bateman was a vicar's wife in Oxfordshire (which links up with the Bampton Morris, which the sitter was part of). Here he is in the paper, becoming vicar of Bampton in the 1930s.

The artist's first name Edith, as recorded in the 1939 Register (as a vicar's wife, no occupation), but her maiden name was Edith Mary Lush – here's their marriage from 1912. She was an artist and studied at the Slade, as evidenced by her entry the 1911 census. I also discovered that she was already on Art UK under her maiden name, with a work in the UCL Art Museum.

Unlike some of the women listed here, she still painted as a married woman, as I found she exhibited (including a portrait of her husband) in 1950. Finding this evidence meant we were able to merge the records, list both her maiden and married names, and fill in her full dates.

Edith Trantom, 1872–1954

Once again, a fancy signature has led a cataloguer down the wrong path. This artwork is signed (which is great)...

...but we had it listed as 'T. E. Banton' (which is incorrect). It is in fact 'E Trantom', with the E and T intertwined. She's listed on the ArtBiogs site as Edith Trantom with the dates 1873–1954 (although it should be 1872) and on auction sites, but she also features in newpaper reports, including one where she had won a prize for pastels. The 1911 census lists her as 'Painter (Artist)', and other Ancestry records confirmed her exact dates.

Rosemary O'Callaghan-Westropp, 1896–1982

Even some of the most well-documented people can be misidentified. This work is in the collection of Chartwell, Winston Churchill's house.

However, it had been catalogued as R. H. Ranaghan (or Yanaghan) Westoff.

The artist is Rosemary O'Callaghan-Westropp and you can find her here on The Peerage (as Rose Mary Hope O'Callaghan-Westropp) and on auction sites like this, which also record her dates as 1896–1982. You can see she painted horses as subjects – she seems to be from an Irish landowner family, and it is possible that Churchill knew her in some way (the painting is of a horse he owned).

Gertrude Eva Whinfield, 1873–1961

Another case of having a relatively rare name meant that G. E. Whinfield, artist of this portrait, is more fully Gertrude Eva Whinfield.

The 1911 census records her occupation as 'Artist Painter' and other Ancestry records confirmed her vital dates. She's also mentioned as passing various exams at the Richmond School of Art in the 1890s.

Mildred Baynon Copeland, 1891–1968

Another example of an artist who mixed with the great and the good, we originally had this artist's name as 'M. Baynon Copeland'.

Searching up that name led to a photo of her in the process of painting. The text on that page says her name was 'Mrs R. C. Anderson' and she was a friend of Wallis Simpson (Edward VIII's wife)!

There is some more info on this site, giving her full name as Mildred Baynon Copeland, and stating she was born in El Paso, Texas. She became a favourite at the Paris Salons from 1911 to 1914. She studied in New York under Kenyon Cox and in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

Looking an Ancestry, she's in the 1911 census as an artist, living with her widowed mother in Kensington. By 1921 she is married and living in Earls Court, where her occupation is the rather less exciting 'home duties' – although we know she was painting at least until the late 1930s.

This tree collates her records, and gives her dates as 1891–1968.

Antonia de Bañuelos y Thorndike, 1855–1909

This portrait of Lucy Ellen Towneley was originally catalogued as painted by 'A. de Barmelov'.

However, the artist's signature has been misread. The 'rm' was in fact 'ñu', and the final 'v' is an 's'. Searching for a combination of those letters gives results of an artist called Antonia de Bañuelos y Thorndike, who appears on auction sites with the same signature as the painting in Burnley.

Further research on Ancestry shows that despite quite an exotic surname, she was in fact living in Torquay in 1871 (she was 15, not 75 as transcribed), and she is listed in this family tree.

This image from a book about the Thorndike family gives the full listing of her pedigree (the full Spanish version of the name is Dona Antonia Bañuelos y Thorndike, as her mother's name was Thorndike, and Dona is an honorific as she's the daughter of a count). There is some confusion online over her death date, possibly as one of her daughters was also called Antonia – but the Thorndike family publication appears to be the most thoroughly researched.

So there you have it: 21 more women artists added to Art UK through checking records and a bit of online research – how many more are waiting for us to discover them?

Andrew Shore, Director of Content at Art UK

This content was supported by the Christie's Education Trust