The Red Rose Girls: Violet Oakley, Pt. 3

"The Virgin Mary," a study by Violet Oakley
for "The Redemption"

"When Arthur Oakley's health began to fail, the family's European idyll was cut short and they returned home. In later years Violet described his malady as a nervous breakdown brought on by financial reverses, anxiety and overwork. 

With her father's mounting medical expenses Violet and her sister Hester began to think seriously about practical careers. Hester focused her ambitions on writing, while Violet, still unsure of how she could translate her artistic ability into economic independence, took the train to Philadelphia to study with Cecilia Beaux, the first female instructor ever hired to teach at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. She enrolled in two courses: the portrait course taught by Beaux, 'Drawing and Painting from Head,' was the Academy's most expensive offering at $25 per term, and the slightly less expensive $20-per-term 'Day Life Drawing Class' with Joseph DeCamp. 

Hester's novel, 'As Having Nothing,' was progressing well but would not be published until 1898. In the interim she enrolled in Howard Pyle's 1897 illustration class at the Drexel Institute. Pyle was a writer as well as an illustrator, and Hester Oakley thought she might follow in his footsteps. She loved the class and raced home to her sister exclaiming, 'Violet, you must come too. He is simply wonderful!' Violet, who was struggling with the financial burdens of the Academy tuition heeded her advice and left the Academy after one semester. Because admission in Pyle's school was competitive, Violet prepared her portfolio carefully. She was elated when the famous artist looked at her work and told her, 'I think I can help you.' 

Anxious to secure a space where they could begin working in earnest, the two sisters rented a studio. In spite of the family's desperate financial problems, their mother sacrificed her own comfort and loaned her daughters enough family furniture to make the place livable. Violet was twenty-two when she moved into the new studio and began her training at Drexel. She was a slender young woman with voluminous dark hair, hazel eyes and an inclination to dress in shades of violet whenever possible. She was undeniably clever, but very shy and unsure of herself. She was never able to conquer her shyness."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Red Rose Girls: Art and Love on Philadelphia's Main Line" by Alice A. Carter.)