Jennie Byrd Bryan Payne (1857–August 1, 1919) was an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, artist and society figure. She was a member of the

Barbour family The Barbour family is a prominent American political family of Scottish origin from Virginia. The progenitor of the Barbour family was James Barbour, who emigrated to Virginia from Scotland in the middle of the 17th-century. Notable members T ...

Biography

Thomas Barbour Bryan with children 45151821

Born Jennie Byrd Bryan in 1857 in Elmhurst,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

(at the time known as "Cottage Hill"), she was the daughter of

Thomas Barbour Bryan Thomas Barbour Bryan (December 22, 1828 – January 26, 1906) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. Born in Virginia, a member of the prestigious Barbour family on his mother's side, Bryan largely made a name for himself in Chi ...

and the elder Jennie Byrd Bryan. She was a member of the esteemed

through her paternal grandmother. She was a student of artist

George Peter Alexander Healy George Peter Alexander Healy (July 15, 1813 – June 24, 1894) was an American portrait painter. He was one of the most prolific and popular painters of his day, and his sitters included many of the eminent personages of his time. Born in Boston ...

, who, for six years, lived in a cottage adjacent to her family's Eagle Nest estate in Cottage Hill (Elmhurst). As an adult, residing in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, she was prominent in the city's society, and was a notable

. Bryan continued to be an artist, establishing renown. She had portraits displayed in collections across the country. She joined her older brother

Charles Page Bryan Charles Page Bryan (October 2, 1855 – March 13, 1918) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat. Biography Bryan was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 2, 1855. He was the son of Thomas Barbour Bryan. Through his father, he was a memb ...

, a diplomat, on many of his assignments abroad. For several years, she acted as a hostess at the United States Embassy to Japan while her brother served as

United States ambassador to Japan The is the ambassador from the United States of America to Japan. History Since the opening of Japan by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, in 1854, the U.S. has maintained diplomatic relations with Japan, except for the ten-year period between the at ...

. In 1913, she married

John Barton Payne John Barton Payne (January 26, 1855January 24, 1935) was an American politician, lawyer and judge. He served as the United States Secretary of the Interior from 1920 until 1921 under Woodrow Wilson's administration. Early life and career Payne w ...

, taking his surname. The Paynes never had any children. Payne died on August 1, 1919 at her

summer house A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden ...

in Elmhurst. She had been sick or two weeks before her death. She was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in

After her father's death, many of the paintings from his large collection of George Peter Alexander Healy's works had been inherited by her. In 1920, her widowed husband gave a collection of forty masterpieces to the State of Virginia, a gift valued at time at over $1 million. In this gift were several of the paintings by Healy. This gift, which was given by her widowed husband alongside a financial gift of $100,000 for a museum to house the art, came with a stipulation that the state must match his gift. This was eventually done in 1932, and construction began on the

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the su ...

. The gift had been made in memory of both Jennie Byrd Bryan Payne and her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Barton Payne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Jennie Byrd Bryan 1857 births 1920 deaths Barbour family Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) People from Elmhurst, Illinois Philanthropists from Washington, D.C. Philanthropists from Illinois Artists from Illinois Artists from Washington, D.C.