Elizabeth Nourse: WWI in France

"Volendam, Head of Little Girl" by Elizabeth Nourse

"During World War I, Elizabeth and Louise Nourse kept in touch with Elizabeth's former models, whose husbands and sons were at the front, and gave them comfort - or funds - if they were needed. Elizabeth also donated money and paintings to many benefits held in Paris for war victims. She sold dolls she had fashioned from wire and plaster and dressed in Breton costumes to raise funds for her charities, and exhibited several in the Exposition des Jouets Francais held in Paris in 1915, 1916, and 1917.

In a letter printed in the 'Boston Evening Post' in September 1916, Elizabeth described the effects of the war on the village of Penmarc'h, where she and Louise had recently spent several weeks. More than sixty village women had been widowed by the war and the remaining able-bodied men had been conscripted, leaving the women all the farm work as well as the care of their homes and children. Although neither of the Nourses was young - Elizabeth was fifty-seven and Louise was sixty-four - they helped out, apparently ignoring the advice of their doctor who had ordered them out of Paris for a rest. 'It is quite a sight to see us bringing in the cows and tossing hay, besides feeding ducks, chickens, and picking off cabbage and beet leaves for the cattle,' Elizabeth wrote. She and Louise probably also helped care for the children, for  Elizabeth painted at least three watercolors of Breton babies at this time as well as the carefully modeled pastel 'Baby Asleep.'

In May 1918, in spite of the fact that the Germans were on the offensive in Amiens, within sixty-five kilometers of Paris, there was a Salon exhibition for the first time in three years. Nourse had devoted so little time to painting since the war began that she showed only a single watercolor of a Breton mother and child. By November, however, she was able to exult: 'Victory! Victory! . . . everyone is singing on the Place de l'Opera. I made my debut there, too, singing with a million others, while the avions [airplanes] whirled and shimmered over our heads.'"

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Cincinnati Societaire" by Mary Alice Heekin Burke in "Elizabeth Nourse, 1859-1938: A Salon Career)