Anna Whelan Betts (May 15, 1873 – February 6, 1959) was an American illustrator and

art teacher Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

who was noted for her paintings of Victorian women in romantic settings. Betts is considered one of the primary artists of the golden age of American illustration during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Art historian Walt Reed described Betts' work as "characterized by its great beauty and sensitivity."

Early life and education

Betts was born on May 15, 1873 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, the oldest of three children of the physician Thomas Betts and Alice Whelan. Her sister, Ethel Franklin Betts, would also become an artist. Betts studied art at the

Pennsylvania Academy The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and Private university, private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

in Philadelphia with

Robert Vonnoh Robert William Vonnoh (September 17, 1858 – 28 December 1933) was an American Impressionist painter known for his portraits and landscapes. He traveled extensively between the American East Coast and France, more specifically the artists c ...

. After graduating, she moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

where she was tutored by the French painter

Gustave-Claude-Etienne Courtois Gustave-Claude-Étienne Courtois, also known as Gustave Courtois (; 18 May 1852 in Pusey, Haute-Saône – 1923 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French painter, a representative of the academic style of art. Life Courtois was born 18 May 1852 i ...

Career

Upon returning to the United States, she studied illustration under

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

, who was teaching the first classes in illustration art at Drexel Institute (now Drexel University) in Philadelphia. He later founded the Howard Pyle School of Art in Wilmington, Delaware. Betts's first published illustration was for '' Collier's'' magazine in 1899. Her work later appeared in many of the popular magazines of the early 1900s including ''

Century Magazine ''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associati ...

'', '' Harper's'', '' The Ladies’ Home Journal'', and '' St. Nicholas Magazine''. Her earliest book illustrations appeared while she was still a Howard Pyle student. For example, Betts illustrated

Sarah Orne Jewett Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett (September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909) was an American novelist, short story writer and poet, best known for her local color works set along or near the southern coast of Maine. Jewett is recognized as an important ...

's 1899 publication of
Betty Leicester’s Christmas
' published by Houghton Mifflin Company. And in 1900 she was one of the community of illustrators chosen to provide illustrations for
The Complete Writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne
' in 22 volumes by Houghton, Mifflin Company. Betts created the illustrations for volume 1. Betts was honored as a fellow at the

Pennsylvania Academy The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and Private university, private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

and won several medals, including a bronze medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915) in San Francisco. After her eyesight began failing in 1925, Betts was advised to retire from illustration. She joined the faculty of the small private boys' school, Solebury School, where she worked as an administrator, hostess and

Later life and death

In 1944, Betts retired from teaching and moved to

New Hope, Pennsylvania New Hope is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. New Hope is located approximately north of Philadelphia, and lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. ...

, to live with her sister Ethel. Betts died at their home in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on February 6, 1959 and was buried at the Solebury Friends Cemetery in

Solebury, Pennsylvania Solebury is an unincorporated community in Solebury Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. Solebury is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 263 Pennsylvania Route 263 (PA 263) is a north–south stat ...

References

External links

"Biography for Anna Betts"
American Illustrators Gallery, (August 2006)
Betts, Anna Whelan
Schoonover Schools Ltd. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Anna Whelan 1873 births 1959 deaths American women illustrators American illustrators Artists from Philadelphia Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni Drexel University alumni