Studio photograph of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Studio photo of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson by Walery 1880-1889, with facsimile signature. The portrait shows Anderson seated to the left beside a table and reading a book. The photo is inscribed "Walery, Photographer to the Queen. 164, Regent Street, London".

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) was the first woman in Britain to qualify as a surgeon. Rejected from numerous British universities, she became a nurse at Middlesex Hospital in London. Although she wasn’t allowed to enrol in their medical school, she was permitted to attend Latin, Greek and pharmacology classes, and employed her own tutor in anatomy and physiology. After passing the Society of Apothecaries entrance exam with the highest marks on that day, she was admitted in 1862 which gave her a license to practice medicine; the Society immediately changed their rules to prevent other women from doing the same. She co-founded and acted as Dean for the London School of Medicine for Women in Bloomsbury, London, which was Britain's first medical school to accept female students. In 1908, after retiring to Aldeburgh in Suffolk, she also became the first female mayor in England. This photograph was taken by Stanislaw Julian Ostrorog, under his professional name Walery, between 1880 and 1889. It shows her reading a book with deep concentration, drawing on established motifs to present Anderson as an intellectual and scholar.