Daisy Maud Bellis (February 16, 1887 – 1971) was an

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painter. Bellis was a native of Waltham,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

; her birthplace has also been given as Branford,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, where she later lived. She studied at the Massachusetts College of Art, the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

, and the Breckenridge School of Painting, and had further lessons at institutions in

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and

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. She was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

in 1936. Bellis was involved with the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

for some of her career, painting around eighty pieces for the Federal Arts Project; these were executed mainly in oils and watercolor, and were parceled out to the Laurel Heights, Undercliff, and Cedarcrest Sanatoria, the Connecticut State Farm for Women at Niantic, the Middlesex County Temporary Home, and Fairfield Hills Hospital. She also taught art under the auspices of the WPA. During her career she also taught art at Salem College and at Macdonald College of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. The Connecticut State Library has cataloged much of her work.

References

1887 births 1971 deaths American women painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists People from Waltham, Massachusetts People from Branford, Connecticut Painters from Massachusetts Painters from Connecticut Works Progress Administration in Connecticut Federal Art Project artists Massachusetts College of Art and Design alumni University of Vermont alumni Salem College faculty McGill University faculty American women academics {{US-painter-1880s-stub