Holly Brigham
Holly Trostle Brigham is a figurative painter whose work explores feminist themes through symbolism and research-based interest in her subjects. Her paintings combine mythology, religion, theatre, and historical subjects with biographical references and personal experience. Often, Brigham creates portraits of historical women artists based on her own likeness, exploring her relationship to these important foremothers.
Fidelia Bridges’ Summer in Bethlehem, PA, 2026, Serigraph & Hand-coloring, 22 × 30 in
In writing about a recent series of works called Seven Sisters, Brigham said, “In many cases, I seek to recreate a lost painting from an artist's career. By doing so, I enjoy the ultimate role-playing. I am simultaneously artist, model, and historian. Calling upon my training in art history, I meticulously research the artist's career as well as the material culture of her era: interiors, painting materials and methods, clothing, and things that she might have owned.” Seven Sisters focused on recovering the life stories of women artists from the Renaissance to the twentieth century.
Her next series, Sacred Sisters (also known as Seven Sisters II), depicted seven historical nuns in the act of creating poetry, music, paintings, and more. One figure who inspired this series was Plautilla Nelli, an Italian 16th-century sister who painted large works for her convent and patrons. Brigham collaborated with award-winning poet Marilyn Nelson for this project. While Brigham imagined each sister in the process of creation, Nelson gave each a voice with a poem phrased as a prayer. Together, Brigham and Nelson produced an artist’s book to document the collaboration and launched the book at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in November 2016.
Mother Monument, 2018, Artist book, 17 1/2 x 10 x 10 in
Fidelia Bridges’ Summer in Bethlehem, PA
Fidelia Bridges’ Summer in Bethlehem, PA, 2025
In February 2026, we released Fidelia Bridges’ Summer in Bethlehem, PA, with Brigham. The serigraph edition features unique hand-colored details by the artist. Fidelia Bridges (1834-1923), who inspired Brigham, was a 19th-century American artist known for her watercolor and oil paintings of nature, especially her detailed birds, flowers, and other woodland scenery.
According to Printmaker Coty West, “One of the most exciting aspects of this collaboration was incorporating hand-drawn elements into the printmaking process. These details added a layer of immediacy and authenticity that elevated the final piece beyond a purely technical achievement. Instead, the work feels alive—rich with texture, movement, and intention.”
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Brigham has collaborated with Curlee Raven Holton before, when she was an artist-in-residence at the Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI) of Lafayette College in 2012. The residency concluded with the release of T. de Lempicka: On Autopilot, which was later donated to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) by EPI and founding director Curlee Raven Holton. The work is a detailed etching with chine collé, watercolor, and hand-embellishment, part of Brigham’s focus on historical narratives that honor other female artists, such as Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka.
T. de Lempicka: On Autopilot, 2012, Etching, chine collé, watercolor, and hand embellished, ed. 1/10, 22 3/4 x 22 5/8 in
Brigham is a Philadelphia-based artist, but grew up in Carlisle, PA. She attended Smith College, where she studied Art History and Italian. After Smith, she obtained a Master's in Art History at the University of Pittsburgh and then attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). Afterwards, she earned an MFA in Painting from George Washington University. Her work is part of numerous private collections, the Smith College Museum of Art, George Washington University, the student collection at PAFA, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Beinecke Library at Yale University.
While Brigham’s practice is primarily rooted in watercolor, her work ranges from drawing to oil painting, and includes a recent collaboration in printmaking, as well as painted sculptural assemblage.
Listen to Brigham discuss her career and practice with the Delaware Art Museum to learn more.