Shoen Uemura, Japan (1875-1949). Waiting for the Moon, A Painting.

Uemura was perhaps the most important female painter of her day, and her status and wealth were commensurate comparable/on par with her male contemporaries. Her focus was "bijin-ga" (portraits of beautiful women) and she helped elevate the genre to the top echelons of Nihonga, Japanese art.  Though her work was largely conservative, sharing Meiji Era (1868-1912) the ideals of femininity of the Meiji Era (1868 - 1912) that embraced familial roles and domesticity, Uemura's personal social situation as a single mother was a striking in contrast. Her son, born in 1902, was thought to have resulted from an affair with her teacher, Suzuki Shonen (1849-1918) — a married man. Care of the boy was left to her mother, and Uemura supported the family through painting.