Magdalena Mira

[3] As a painter, she worked with oils, creating portraits, usually in profile, which were warmly depicted with a good understanding of her subjects.

[citation needed] Often prepared for display in an oval frame, her portraits exhibit a fine appreciation of form and excellent technical execution.

One of her finest works, La Viuda (The Widow), is enhanced by careful representation of the details surrounding the subject.

[4] At a time when it was unusual for women to paint professionally, Chilean society was taken aback when the two sisters began to exhibit in the salon of the Museum of Fine Arts in the 1880s under José Manuel Balmaceda's presidency.

Competing with such established artists as Pedro Lira, Juan Francisco González and Alfredo Valenzuela Puelma, Magdalena was awarded the Salon's Gold Medal in 1884.