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Step into the vivid, unconventional world of Women of Influence: The Pattle Sisters, an exhibition that brings to life the legacy of seven extraordinary Anglo-Indian sisters whose influence rippled through the worlds of art, literature, photography, and society.
Nicknamed “Pattledom” by the writer William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), the sisters’ world was one of rich cross-cultural exchange, where Anglo-Indian heritage, European influence, and artistic experimentation converged in a vibrant social sphere that defied Victorian convention.
Whilst the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879) is today the most celebrated of the seven Pattle sisters, this exhibition uncovers their collective impact through artistic experimentation, intellectual exchange, and the creation of an extraordinary cultural salon at Little Holland House in Kensington. Here, artists, writers, scientists, musicians, and politicians gathered each week, drawn into the orbit of the dynamic Pattle women and the visionary painter G F Watts, who lived and worked amongst them.
Through rarely seen portraits, evocative photographs, treasured possessions, and new research, visitors will meet the wider sisterhood and discover how their influence extended from Calcutta, India (now Kolkata) to Kensington, and from the salons of Little Holland House to the Bloomsbury Group.
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The Pattle sisters were bold, imaginative, and brilliantly interconnected forces who left a cultural legacy far beyond their time. Through art and exchange, they forged a unique space for women’s influence in a male-dominated world. This exhibition brings their extraordinary story to life, revealing how they helped shape the artistic and intellectual fabric of their time, from Victorian Britain to The Bloomsbury Group. - Corinna Henderson, Exhibitions Curator, Watts Gallery
The Pattle sisters were bold, imaginative, and brilliantly interconnected forces who left a cultural legacy far beyond their time. Through art and exchange, they forged a unique space for women’s influence in a male-dominated world. This exhibition brings their extraordinary story to life, revealing how they helped shape the artistic and intellectual fabric of their time, from Victorian Britain to The Bloomsbury Group.
- Corinna Henderson, Exhibitions Curator, Watts Gallery
To say the Pattle sisters were the ‘It Girls’ of their era is an understatement. Their outgoing personalities, bohemian interests and multicultural traditions from India and France made them key players in a world determined by men. This exhibition paints a vivid portrait of the sisterhood illustrating their kaleidoscopic personalities, connected interests and female expression. It celebrates their dynamic influence both as disruptors of tradition and facilitators of change in art, fashion and high society which persisted well into the twentieth century. - Dr Gursimran Oberoi, independent scholar and Co-Curator
To say the Pattle sisters were the ‘It Girls’ of their era is an understatement. Their outgoing personalities, bohemian interests and multicultural traditions from India and France made them key players in a world determined by men. This exhibition paints a vivid portrait of the sisterhood illustrating their kaleidoscopic personalities, connected interests and female expression. It celebrates their dynamic influence both as disruptors of tradition and facilitators of change in art, fashion and high society which persisted well into the twentieth century.
- Dr Gursimran Oberoi, independent scholar and Co-Curator