Nellie George Stearns (July 10, 1855 – February 9, 1936) was an American artist and teacher of art. She taught and held exhibitions in the leading towns and cities of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Early years and education

Nellie George was born in

Warner, New Hampshire Warner is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,937 at the 2020 census. The town is home to Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts, Rollins State Park and Mount Kearsarge State Forest. The town's centra ...

, July 10, 1855. She was the daughter of Gilman C. and Nancy (Badger) George. Her siblings included sisters Mrs. Hannah Colby and Mrs. C. H. Bennett, and a brother, Frank G. George. Stearns inherited from her mother an inclination toward art. Even in her childhood, she sketched as a constant amusement. Her parents engaged art tutors for her in their own home. Stearns was graduated with high honors from Simonds Free High School, Warner. She took a thorough course in the

Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

, and later studied

portrait painting Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

with Mr. Emilie Lonigo, where she gained a wide knowledge regarding technique.

Career

After leaving school, she taught art in its various branches for several years. Her summers were devoted to classes throughout the New England States. During the season of 1891, she had charge of the art department in the Chautauqua Assembly of East Epping, New Hampshire. Stearns' favored form of painting was the human face and form. Her painting of ''The Great Rid Pipe Stone Quarry'', a scene immortalized in

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

's ''

The Song of Hiawatha ''The Song of Hiawatha'' is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which features Native American characters. The epic relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his l ...

'', was exhibited in the

World Cotton Centennial The World Cotton Centennial (also known as the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition) was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States in 1884. At a time when nearly one third of all cotton produced in the United Sta ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in 1884, and at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1893. She also painted a portrait of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Nehemiah G. Ordway Nehemiah George Ordway (November 10, 1828July 3, 1907) was an American politician who was a New Hampshire state senator and the seventh Governor of Dakota Territory. Ordway was regarded as one of Dakota Territory's most controversial governors. ...

, which was hung in the

Pittsburg, New Hampshire Pittsburg is a town in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 800 at the 2020 census. It is the northernmost town in New Hampshire and the largest town by area in New England. U.S. Route 3 is the only major highway in th ...

Library. At Warner, on December 24, 1882, she married George Frederic Stearns. From 1894, they made their home in Boston, and her studio was located there as well. She was a member of the

Order of the Eastern Star The Order of the Eastern Star is a Freemasonry, Masonic List of fraternal auxiliaries and side degrees, appendant Masonic bodies, body open to both men and women. It was established in by lawyer and educator Rob Morris (Freemason), Rob Morris, ...

. By religion, she was a Congregationalist. Stearns died February 9, 1936, in

, and is buried in that city's Pine Grove Cemetery.

References

Attribution

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stearns, Nellie George 1855 births 1936 deaths People from Merrimack County, New Hampshire Artists from New Hampshire American women painters Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century