Elizabeth Nourse: New York

"Head of a Girl" by Elizabeth Nourse

"In 1882 several events took place that greatly affected Elizabeth Nourse's life. Her father's death on April 21 was followed by the death of her mother on August 27, the same month that her twin sister Adelaide married sixty-year-old Ben Pitman in Sandusky, Ohio. Elizabeth was fhus forced to separate from her twin, heretofore her devoted companion, the same year she lost both parents.

A fortunate circumstance for Elizabeth during her stay in Sandusky was her acquisition of a patron in the person of Mrs. John Harrison Hudson, a wealthy Ohioan who was herself a watercolorist. Having previously purchased twelve of Nourse's paintings at an exhibition in Cincinnati, Mrs. Hudson decided that summer to make it possible for the young artist to study for a few months in New York City.

She finally decided to study at the Art Students League in a life class with William Sartain, a Philadelphia artist who had studied with Leon Bonnat in Paris and who also taught Cecilia Beaux. She apparently stayed only one term, and one can only surmise that she did not find the class worthwhile because she never included this study in her official biographies. 

In enthusiastic letters to her sisters, Nourse described her visits to artists' studios in New York. On a visit to the studio of Edward Moran, she especially admired a Normandy peasant scene painted by his son Leon because it reminded her of a Millet. She delivered letters of introduction (probably written for her by John Twachtman) to William Merritt Chase and J. Alden Weir. 

Elizabeth returned to Cincinnati, probably in the early spring of 1883 to live with her sister Louise, who at this time assumed the role she was to play throughout the artist's life, that of surrogate mother, housekeeper, hostess, and full-time business manager. Louise was warm and outgoing - she enjoyed entertaining and kept in touch with innumerable friends and relatives, and she was tireless in promoting her sister's work. She earned some money by her carving, but her great contribution to the career of her shy, reserved sister was her unfailing moral and practical support. It is not known if Elizabeth ever saw Mrs. Hudson again, but she did remain in touch with her until the latter's death in 1910."

To be continued

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