BONHEUR, ROSA (MARIE ROSALIE) (1822-1899), French animal painter, was born at Bordeaux on March 22 1822, the daughter of an Raymond Bonheur (d. 1849). She was the eldest of four children, all of whom were artists, and studied in Paris. Rosa Bonheur's paintings of animals were remarkable for the firm handling of the subjects, and the extraordinary accuracy of the drawing. She had regularly exhibited in the Salon from 184o onwards, but her fame dates from the Paris exhibition of Of her many works the most famous are perhaps : "Ploughing in the Nivernais" (1848), in the Luxembourg gallery; "The Horse Fair" (18J3) in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (replica in the National Gallery, London) ; and "Hay Harvest in Auvergne" (18J5). Rosa Bonheur was the first woman to receive the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour. She died at By, near Fontainebleau, on May 25 See Laruelle, Rosa Bonheur, sa vie, ses oeuvres (1885) ; Roger-Miles, Rosa Bonheur (i900).