The French painter Marguerite Gérard (1761-1837), who apparently never demonstrated any interest in joining the Academy, and never married, had a tremendously successful career. She won three medals for her work, which she exhibited regularly once the Salons were opened to women in the 1790s. Her pictures were acquired by luminaries such as Napoleon and King Louis XVII. Prelude to a Concert was painted in 1810. Here is more about her on a blog called Towards Emancipation: Women in Modern European History.