Background
Eugénie Sellers was born in London on 25 March 1860 to Fredrick William Sellers, a wine merchant, and his wife Anna (née Oates).
anthropologist archaeologist art historian
Eugénie Sellers was born in London on 25 March 1860 to Fredrick William Sellers, a wine merchant, and his wife Anna (née Oates).
Educated at Girton College, Cambridge, in 1890 she became the first female student admitted to the British School at Athens. She continued art historical studies in Germany under Adolf Furtwängler. She contributed to the catalogue of the 1903 Burlington Fine Arts Club "Greek Art" Exhibition, and wrote several books on classical art and sculpture.
Her French mother was of aristocratic descent and Eugénie was baptized in the church of Street Roch in Paris.
She had one sister, Charlotte, eight years younger than herself. She subsequently attended a convent school at Dourdan in France, leaving in 1877 to travel with her family in Italy and Greece.
Undergraduate Years
Sellers matriculated at Girton College, Cambridge in 1879 where she read for the Classics Tripos. However, although she was permitted to take the Tripos, at this time, Cambridge degrees were not awarded to women.
On leaving Cambridge, Eugénie took up a teaching post at Street Leonards School in Street Andrews, Scotland and a year later moved on to London.
The faculty at the University of Street Andrews awarded her an honorary degree after publication of her first book
German Archaeological Institute.
