There's an article on the BBC website about the artist Annie Swynnerton, who "forced open the male art world", which might be a bit much, but she was the first female member of the Royal Academy, though they didn't let her in until she was 77. Fortunately she lived a good few years following that honour! Frankly I think most of her work as shown on the BBC site suffers from Victorian awfulness, but she did a nice portrait of Millicent Fawcett, making her look as if one could happily raise a glass with her in the Bluestocking.
www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-43243536