Austa Densmore Sturdevant (1855-1936) was an American painter.

Biography

Sturdevant née Densmore was born in

Blooming Valley, Pennsylvania Blooming Valley is a borough in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 342 at the 2020 census, up from 337 at the 2010 census. Geography Blooming Valley is located near the geographic center of Crawford County at (41.68 ...

in 1855. She married James Warner Sturdevant with whom she had two children. She studied at Allegheny College where she earned both a bachelor's and Master of Arts degree. She went on to study at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1895 she went to Paris for several years to continue her studies. In Paris she exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

. When Sturdevant returned to the United States she established the Cragsmoor Inn in Cragsmoor, New York which became part of the art colony that flourished there. She died in 1936 in Kingston, New York. Sturdevant's work is in the collection of the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

. Her papers are in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution.

References

External links

*
images of Sturdevant's work
at the Cragsmoor Free Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturdevant, Austa Densmore 1855 births 1936 deaths 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters 19th-century American women painters 20th-century American women painters People from Crawford County, Pennsylvania Painters from Pennsylvania Allegheny College alumni Art Students League of New York alumni