Juliet Thompson
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Juliet Thompson (1873–1956) was an American painter, and disciple of
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
leader
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian language, Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later C ...
. She is perhaps best remembered for her book ''The Diary of Juliet Thompson'' though she also painted a life-sized portrait of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.


Early life and education

Thompson was born in or near Washington, D.C., on 23 September 1873. Her parents, James W. Thompson and Celeste, sent her to the
Corcoran School of Art The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, DC.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts and ...
(before it was renamed as a college). Her father died when she was 12 and left little money for the family, but Thompson was already able to sell paintings. Thompson was an active member of the community of artists in Washington D.C. and painted a centerpiece of the 1897
Cosmos Club The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C. that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...
annual show.


Baháʼí Faith

After learning of the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
in Washington DC near 1898 she traveled to Paris at the invitation of Laura Dreyfus-Barney's mother. Later in 1901 in Paris she met
Thomas Breakwell Thomas Breakwell (1872–1902) was the first Englishman to enter the Baháʼí Faith and the first to make the pilgrimage to Acre, Israel ( ʻAkká). He was also the first western Baháʼí to give the Huqúqu'lláh "Right of God", a voluntary c ...
, (see Baháʼí Faith in the United Kingdom), who gave her
Arthur de Gobineau Joseph Arthur de Gobineau (; 14 July 1816 – 13 October 1882) was a French aristocrat who is best known for helping to legitimise racism by the use of scientific racist theory and "racial demography", and for developing the theory of the Ary ...
's description in French of the
execution of the Báb On the morning of July 9, 1850 in Tabriz, a 30-year-old Persian merchant known as the Báb was charged with apostasy and shot by order of the Prime Minister of the Persian Empire. The events surrounding his execution have been the subject of co ...
which confirmed her faith. Paris is where
Charles Mason Remey Charles Mason Remey (15 May 1874 – 4 February 1974) was a prominent member of the early American Baháʼí community, and served in several important administrative capacities. He is well-known for an attempted schism of 1960, in which he cla ...
first met Thompson when she was taking classes on the religion from
Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl Mírzá Muḥammad ( fa, ميرزا أبوالفضل), or Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl-i-Gulpáygání (1844–1914), was the foremost Baháʼí scholar who helped spread the Baháʼí Faith in Egypt, Turkmenistan, and the United States. He is one of ...
. Among many talks ʻAbdu'l-Bahá gave in the United States he gave one at her residence on 15 November 1912 at 48 West Tenth Street, New York. At this meeting he described distinctive qualities of the religion. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
she offered talks on the Baháʼí topic of The Most Great Peace. In the 1940s Thompson made several extended trips to Mexico to promulgate the religion. (See Baháʼí Faith in Mexico.)


Contact with artists

Thompson recalled
Khalil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran ( ar, جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان, , , or , ; January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced ), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist ...
, a neighbor and acquaintance of hers, and reports several anecdotes relating to Gibran: She recalls Gibran met ʻAbdu'l-Bahá a couple times circa 1911-1912. In 1918
Mark Tobey Mark George Tobey (December 11, 1890 – April 24, 1976) was an American painter. His densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophi ...
came in contact with Thompson and posed for her. During the session Tobey read some
Baháʼí literature Baháʼí literature covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia. Sometimes considerable overlap between these forms can be ob ...
and accepted an invitation to
Green Acre Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...
where he converted. O.Z. Whitehead attended an informational meeting of the religion in Thompson's home in 1950.


Portrait of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá

And during ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's first trip to the west in the fall of 1911 she met him at
Thonon-les-Bains Thonon-les-Bains (; frp, Tonon), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is ...
, France. During the second trip he reached New York - over several days he sat for a life-sized portrait starting June 1. Of the portrait, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá said "I want you to paint my ''servitude'' to God." On another day of sitting for the portrait, June 19, Thompson witnessed
Lua Getsinger Louise Aurora Getsinger (1 November 1871, Hume, New York – 2 May 1916, Cairo, Egypt), known as Lua, was one of the first Western members of the Baháʼí Faith, recognized as joining the religion on May 21, 1897, just two years after Thornt ...
given a mission of conveying ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's status in the religion as the ''Center of the Covenant'' (see
Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá The ''Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá'' was a seminal document of the Baháʼí Faith, written in three stages by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Several sections were written under imminent threat of harm. The first section was probably written in 1906. T ...
) and that New York was the ''City of the Covenant'' (see perhaps 1992: Second Baháʼí World Congress.) The original of this life sized portrait has been lost, but there are original photographs of the portrait. A reproduction was on display at the Second World Congress, and one is housed in the Seat of the Universal House of Justice just outside its meeting room for the members.


Pilgrimages

Over her life she made two
Baháʼí pilgrimage A Baháʼí pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, Acre, Israel, Acre, and Mansion of Bahjí, Bahjí at the Baháʼí World Centre in Northwest Israel. Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼís do not have access to other places de ...
s. Her first was in July, 1909 when she began her diary which was eventually published. Her work is a main source on ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West when he was in Europe in 1911 as well as some of his travels in the United States in 1912. Thompson's second pilgrimage was in 1926.


Death

Thompson died on December 4, 1956
photo of gravestone
at home in New Rochelle, NY. At the memorial service held for her at the
Baháʼí House of Worship A Baháʼí House of Worship or Baháʼí temple is a place of worship of the Baháʼí Faith. It is also referred to by the name ''Mashriqu'l-Adhkár'', which is Arabic for "Dawning-place of the remembrance of God". Baháʼí Houses of Worshi ...
in Wilmette, several notable people spoke or sent messages - several
Hands of the Cause Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands of ...
and Paul E. Haney,
Charles Mason Remey Charles Mason Remey (15 May 1874 – 4 February 1974) was a prominent member of the early American Baháʼí community, and served in several important administrative capacities. He is well-known for an attempted schism of 1960, in which he cla ...
, Horace Holley, and Amelia Engelder Collins, and later
Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate o ...
member
Charles Wolcott Charles Frederick Wolcott (September 29, 1906 in Flint, United States – January 26, 1987 in Haifa, Israel) was a music composer who served as a member of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Baháʼí Faith, between 19 ...
, as well as many notable Baháʼís.


Painting

Thompson's first show as a portrait painter was at the Knoedler's galleries. Thompson worked as a portrait painter for years in Washington D.C. and later in New York though she also had interests in other arts. Circa 1898 to 1900 she undertook studies while in France and showed her work while there. On return to the States, Thompson moved to New York circa 1902. She was on the Board of Control of The Pastellists founded in 1910, which included
Jerome Myers Jerome Myers (March 20, 1867 – June 19, 1940) was an American artist and writer associated with the Ashcan School, particularly known for his sympathetic depictions of the urban landscape and its people. He was one of the main organizers of the ...
, and
Everett Shinn Everett Shinn (November 6, 1876 – May 1, 1953) was an American painter and member of the urban realist Ashcan School. Shinn started as a newspaper illustrator in Philadelphia, demonstrating a rare facility for depicting animated movement, a ...
-the president was
Leon Dabo Leon Dabo (July 9, 1864 – November 7, 1960) was an American tonalist landscape artist best known for his paintings of New York, particularly the Hudson Valley. His paintings were known for their feeling of spaciousness, with large areas of the ...
. She also donated of her art for support of various causes - an early
free clinic A free clinic or walk in clinic is a health care facility in the United States offering services to economically disadvantaged individuals for free or at a nominal cost. The need for such a clinic arises in societies where there is no universa ...
,
Women's Suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
, a project for minding children off street life, and relief for women and children in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Among the portraits she created are: Julia Dent Cantacuzène Spiransky-Grant, Hallie Davis, (wife of
Stephen Benton Elkins Stephen Benton Elkins (September 26, 1841January 4, 1911) was an American industrialist and politician. He served as the Secretary of War between 1891 and 1893. He served in the United States Congress as a Delegate from the Territory of New Mexi ...
), Rev. Percy Stickney Grant, Baroness Von Freytag-Loringhoven,
Grace Coolidge Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
,
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian language, Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later C ...
and
Bahíyyih Khánum Bahíyyih Khánum (1846 – July 15, 1932) was the only daughter of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and Ásíyih Khánum. She was born in 1846 with the given name Fatimih Sultan, and was entitled "Varaqiy-i-'Ulyá" or "Greate ...
Drawing from 1926.


Writing


Books

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Articles

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References

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External links


Miss Juliet Thompson, July 1, 1921
(picture of her painting)
Miss Juliette Thompson, full-length portrait, standing, facing front, with her portrait of Mrs. Coolidge.Miss Juliet Thompson
portrait photo by
Arnold Genthe Arnold Genthe (8 January 1869 – 9 August 1942) was a German-American photographer, best known for his photographs of San Francisco's Chinatown, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and his portraits of noted people, from politicians and sociali ...
.
Miss Juliet Thompson with dog
portrait photo by
Arnold Genthe Arnold Genthe (8 January 1869 – 9 August 1942) was a German-American photographer, best known for his photographs of San Francisco's Chinatown, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and his portraits of noted people, from politicians and sociali ...
.
Knoedler GalleryAskArt Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Juliet 1873 births 1956 deaths American Bahá'ís American portrait painters Converts to the Bahá'í Faith 20th-century Bahá'ís People from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists