Ruth Payne Burgess, (October 11, 1865 in Montpelier,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

– March 11, 1934 in New York), was a naturalistic painter of portraits, still lifes, and

genre work Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...

Personal life

Ruth Payne Jewett was born in Montpelier, Vermont in 1865, the daughter of Elisha P. Jewett and Julia Kellogg Field Jewett.Albert Nelson Marquis.
Who's who in New England: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men and Women of the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut
'. A.N. Marquis; 1915. p. 185. Her grandparents were Captain Nathan Jewett and Ruth Payne and her great-grandfather was

Elisha Payne Elisha Payne (7 March 1731 – 20 July 1807) was a prominent businessman and political figure in the states of New Hampshire and Vermont following the events of the American Revolution. He is best known for serving as Lieutenant Governor of ...

. She attended school in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

, at the Mary A. Burnham School. Ruth Payne Jewett met John William Burgess in Vermont through a mutual friend, the artist

Thomas Waterman Wood Thomas Waterman Wood (November 12, 1823 – April 14, 1903) was an American painter born in Montpelier, Vermont. Early life and education Thomas Waterman Wood's father, John Wood, came to Montpelier from Lebanon, New Hampshire in 1814. The Wo ...

.Joseph A. Citro.
Green Mountains, Dark Tales
'. UPNE; 1 April 2001. . p. 72. Burgess founded the

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

's political science department.''Ruth Payne Burgess.''
Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved March 17. 2014. She married John William Burgess on September 2, 1885.John F. Ohles.
Biographical Dictionary of American Educators
'. Greenwood Publishing Group; 1978. . p. 204. Burgess was previously married on August 24, 1869, to Augusta Thayer Jones, who died in 1884. She was described as an artist who was "highly intelligent, well educated, and an accomplished musician." Ruth and her husband had one child, Elisha Payne Jewett Burgess,Jan Onofrio.
Tennessee Biographical Dictionary
'. North American Book Dist LLC; 1 June 1999. . p. 142. and in 1905 had houses in New York City and Montpelier, Vermont. After John Burgess retired from Columbia, the couple lived in Newport, Rhode Island in a house named "Athenwood" and in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

. John William Burgess died of a heart attack in Brookline, Massachusetts on January 13, 1931. Ruth Payne Burgess died in March 1934 and her funeral was held on March 14. It was interrupted when her son, Elisha, a mining engineer, was arraigned after evading arrest for non-payment of spousal and child support for three years. Following the funeral her body was taken to a crematory in New Jersey. She was buried at

Green Mount Cemetery Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as many ...

in Montpelier.

Education

Burgess studied at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

the National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fine ...

and 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 ...

under

George de Forest Brush George de Forest Brush (September 28, 1855 – April 24, 1941) was an American painter and Georgist. In collaboration with his friend, the artist Abbott H. Thayer, he made contributions to military camouflage, as did his wife, aviator and artist ...

Kenyon Cox Kenyon Cox (October 27, 1856 – March 17, 1919) was an American Painting, painter, illustrator, muralist, writer, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York. He was the designer of t ...

, and

James Carroll Beckwith James Carroll Beckwith (September 23, 1852 – October 24, 1917) was an American landscape, portrait and genre painter whose Naturalist style led to his recognition in the late nineteenth and very early twentieth century as a respected figure in ...

. She also studied in Europe and made paintings in Italy and Germany, where she painted the portrait of Prince August Wilhelm.

Career

Burgess painted portraits, including

Nicholas Murray Butler Nicholas Murray Butler () was an American philosopher, diplomat, and educator. Butler was president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the deceased Ja ...

, the president of

;

A. Barton Hepburn Alonzo Barton Hepburn (July 24, 1846 – January 25, 1922) was an American politician from New York (state), New York, famed for being the Chairman of the New York State Legislature's eponymous The Hepburn Committee, Hepburn Committee of 1879 th ...

; and Admiral Charles E. Clark. Her work was shown in nine exhibitions at the National Academy of Design from 1897 to 1906 as well as from 1924 to 1933. A report of the Newport Annual Exhibition in 1915 records a visitor as saying, "The picture I like best is this head by Mrs. Burgess, it's more natural and lifelike than any picture in the whole show". Her work contains orientalist themes. In 1899 Burgess joined the

National Association of Women Artists The National Association of Women Artists, Inc. (NAWA) is a United States organization, founded in 1889 to gain recognition for professional women fine artists in an era when that field was strongly male-oriented. It sponsors exhibitions, awards ...

and the

Woman's Art Club of New York The Woman's Art Club of New York was founded in New York City in 1889 and provided a means for social interaction and marketing of women's works of art. The club accepted members from the United States and abroad. In 1913, the group changed its name ...

, where she served as the organization's president from 1905 to 1910 and contributed to its financial growth. She was able to call on friends for money as well as make personal donations. Her donation of five hundred dollars contributed to the association offering a one hundred dollar prize for five years. Burgess was also president of the Art Students League for a period of time. Additionally, Burgess was a member of groups such as the Academy of Fine Arts of Hartford, the

American Water Color Society The American Watercolor Society, founded in 1866, is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States. Qualifications AWS judges the work of a painter before granting admission to the soc ...

, the Society of New York Painters, and the Allied Artists of America. Burgess was a patron of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

Works

* ''Green Chinese Jar,'' oil on canvas, 1924 * ''Floral and Chinoiserie still life,'' oil on canvas, 1929 * ''Floral Still Life,'' oil on canvas, 1928 * ''Maderno, Lake of Garda, Italy,'' oil on canvas, 1931 * ''Poppy in a Vase,'' oil on canvas * ''Portrait of a Gentleman'', 1927 * ''Portrait of Dr.

Daniel Bliss Daniel Bliss (August 17, 1823 in Georgia, Vermont, United States – July 27, 1916 in Beirut, Lebanon) was a Christian missionary from the United States and the founder of the American University of Beirut. Life and work Born in the town of Geor ...

,''

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

* ''Portrait of

,'' the president of

* ''Portrait of Jennie Churchill (

Lady Randolph Churchill Jennie Spencer-Churchill (; 9 January 1854 – 29 June 1921), known as Lady Randolph Churchill, was an American-born British socialite, the wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, and the mother of British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. Early ...

)'', 1894 * ''Portrait of Admiral Charles E. Clark'' Treasury Building, Washington, D.C.
American Art Directory
'. R.R. Bowker.; 1918. p. 442. * ''Portrait of Honorable A. B. Hepburn,'' * ''Portrait of Professor

Francis March Dr. Francis Andrew March (October 25, 1825 – September 9, 1911) was an American polymath, academic, philologist, and lexicographer. He is considered the principal founder of modern comparative linguistics in Old English. Also known as the "G ...

'', Amherst College * ''Portrait of Judge Pierson,'' Public Library,

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

* ''Portrait of His Royal Highness, Prince August William,'' Potsdam, Berlin, Germany * ''Portrait study of a young woman,'' exhibited in 1915 at an annual art exhibition in Newport, Rhode Island. * ''Young Woman with Violin and Hat,'' watercolor, 1903''Young Woman with Violin.''
Live Auctioners. Retrieved March 17, 2014.

Personal life

Education

Career

Works

Notes

References

Further reading