Sarah W. Whitman
Encyclopedia
Sarah de St. Prix Wyman Whitman (1842–1904) was an American artist and illustrator
, stained glass
designer, and author
.
in 1842 to banker William Wyman, but by her third birthday the family moved her to Baltimore, Maryland in the aftermath of her father's involvement in a bank scandal, where she spent her childhood with her wealthy Wyman relatives. When she turned 11, she moved back to Lowell, in 1853 where her education was through tutoring and self-education. At the age of 24, she married Henry Whitman, a prosperous wool merchant, and moved to Cambridge
, then lived above a lively salon in a spacious townhouse in the crest of Beacon Hill. And, summered on the Beverly Farms, an exclusive section of Boston's North Shore
.
A late start for a professional artist, Sarah, at age 26, was first trained in Boston
by William Morris Hunt
, then in 1877 she went to Paris
for a year, to study with Thomas Couture
at the Villiers-le-Bel
. Within a decade, Sarah was well established, and had her studio; "The Lily Glass Works" set up at 184 Boylston Street, Boston and traveled widely, exhibiting at the National Academy of Design
, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
, and the Columbian Exposition in Chicago
.
, and became one of the leading designer of stained glass windows, including two windows in Memorial Hall
, Harvard side by side of three windows executed by Tiffany
, as well as windows in the Schlesinger Library
, and Trinity Church in Boston
.
Notable stained glass commissions:
In her 1894 book "Women Illustrators", Author Alice Cordelia Morse
says;
, John White Alexander
and James Whistler took Gold in the competition.
Sarah's notable paintings include:
. Sarah died in June 1904, at the age of 62.
Before her own death, her friend and business partner finished a literary project called "Letters of Sarah Wyman Whitman" published in 1907, three years after Whitman's passing.
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
designer, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Early years
Sarah Wyman was born in Lowell, MassachusettsLowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
in 1842 to banker William Wyman, but by her third birthday the family moved her to Baltimore, Maryland in the aftermath of her father's involvement in a bank scandal, where she spent her childhood with her wealthy Wyman relatives. When she turned 11, she moved back to Lowell, in 1853 where her education was through tutoring and self-education. At the age of 24, she married Henry Whitman, a prosperous wool merchant, and moved to Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, then lived above a lively salon in a spacious townhouse in the crest of Beacon Hill. And, summered on the Beverly Farms, an exclusive section of Boston's North Shore
North Shore (Massachusetts)
The North Shore is a region in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, loosely defined as the coastal area between Boston and New Hampshire. The region is made up both of a rocky coastline, dotted with marshes and wetlands, as well as several beaches and natural harbors. The North Shore is an important...
.
A late start for a professional artist, Sarah, at age 26, was first trained in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
by William Morris Hunt
William Morris Hunt
William Morris Hunt , American painter, was born at Brattleboro, Vermont to Jane Maria Hunt and Hon. Jonathan Hunt, who raised one of the preeminent families in American art...
, then in 1877 she went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for a year, to study with Thomas Couture
Thomas Couture
Thomas Couture was an influential French history painter and teacher. Couture taught such later luminaries of the art world as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Karel Javůrek, and J-N Sylvestre.-Life:He was born at Senlis, Oise, France...
at the Villiers-le-Bel
Villiers-le-Bel
Villiers-le-Bel is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the center of Paris.-Transport:...
. Within a decade, Sarah was well established, and had her studio; "The Lily Glass Works" set up at 184 Boylston Street, Boston and traveled widely, exhibiting at the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
, and the Columbian Exposition in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Stained glass design
In the 1890s she focused on stained glassStained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, and became one of the leading designer of stained glass windows, including two windows in Memorial Hall
Memorial Hall (Harvard University)
Memorial Hall is an imposing brick building in High Victorian Gothic style, located on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
, Harvard side by side of three windows executed by Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
, as well as windows in the Schlesinger Library
Schlesinger Library
The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F...
, and Trinity Church in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
Notable stained glass commissions:
- Congregational Church, Worcester, MA (1884)
- Christ Church, Andover, MA (1886)
- Fogg Memorial Building at Berwick AcademyBerwick AcademyBerwick Academy is a highly selective preparatory school located in South Berwick, Maine. Founded in 1791, it is the oldest educational institution in Maine and one of the oldest private schools in North America. The school sits on a 72-acre, 11-building campus on a hill overlooking the Salmon...
, South Berwick, ME (1890–1894) - Trinity Church, BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
(1895) - Memorial Hall, Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1895–1897, 1900) - First Church Unitarian, Brookline, MA (1898–1901)
- Memorial Hall, Bowdoin CollegeBowdoin CollegeBowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
(1903)
Book illustrations & graphic design of book covers
In the course of 20 years, she worked with many authors designing the illustrations and covers of over 200 books, with authors such as;- "Our Hundred Days In Europe" by Oliver Wendell Holmes.
- "The Story of a Bad Boy" by Thomas Bailey AldrichThomas Bailey AldrichThomas Bailey Aldrich was an American poet, novelist, travel writer and editor.-Early life and education:...
. - "An Island Garden" by Celia ThaxterCelia ThaxterCelia Laighton Thaxter was an American writer of poetry and stories. She was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.-Life and work:...
. - "The King of Folly Island" by Sarah Orne JewettSarah Orne JewettSarah Orne Jewett was an American novelist and short story writer, best known for her local color works set in or near South Berwick, Maine, on the border of New Hampshire, which in her day was a declining New England seaport.-Biography:Jewett's family had been residents of New England for many...
. - "Betty Leicester" by Sarah Orne Jewett.
- "Stangers and Wayfarers" by Sarah Orne Jewett.
- "The Queen's Twin" by Sarah Orne Jewett.
In her 1894 book "Women Illustrators", Author Alice Cordelia Morse
Alice Cordelia Morse
Alice Cordelia Morse was a designer of book covers.-Early life:Morse was born in Hammondsville, Jefferson County, Ohio. She lived with her parents, Joseph and Ruth Perkins Morse, her brother Joseph Jr., and her sister Mary in Jefferson county for the first few years of her life...
says;
Mrs. Sarah W. Whitman of Boston and Margaret N. Armstrong have taken a firm hold on the publishers, and won recognition from the public, by their appropriate, tasteful, well-studied book decoration.
Painting
According to the August 7, 1901, New York Times article called "Art Awards at Buffalo", Sarah was honored with a Bronze Metal for her submitted work in the Pan-American Exposition: 'Paintings in oil, water color, pastel, and other recognized mediums; Miniatures, cartoons' category. Artist, such as; Edwin Austin AbbeyEdwin Austin Abbey
Edwin Austin Abbey was an American artist, illustrator, and painter. He flourished at the beginning of what is now referred to as the "golden age" of illustration, and is best known for his drawings and paintings of Shakespearean and Victorian subjects, as well as for his painting of Edward VII's...
, John White Alexander
John White Alexander
John White Alexander was an American portrait, figure, and decorative painter and illustrator.-Biography:thumb|“Isabella and the Pot of Basil”, oil on canvas, 1897, [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]]...
and James Whistler took Gold in the competition.
Sarah's notable paintings include:
- "Afternoon on the Essex River"
- "Roses—Souvenir de Villier le bel" (1877 or 1879) displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
- "Autumn Marshes" (1882) displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
- "Song" (1883) displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
- "A Warm Night" (1889) displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
- "Niagara" (1892) displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
- portrait of Martin BrimmerMartin BrimmerMartin Brimmer was an American businessman and politician, who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, in the Boston Board of Alderman, and as the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts.-Early life:...
(1892) displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
- portrait of Oliver Wendell Holmes (1892) displayed at the Moody Medical Library, University of Texas.
- portrait "Evelyn" (1896)
Author
Among her other talents was writing, as she authored;- "The making of pictures: twelve short talks with young people"
- "Robert BrowningRobert BrowningRobert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
in his Relation to the Art of Painting"
Later years
In the later years, Sarah, having no children, moved in with her sister Mary Rice, where they shared a home on Portland Street in South Berwick, MaineSouth Berwick, Maine
South Berwick is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,220 at the 2010 census. South Berwick is home to Berwick Academy, a private, co-educational university-preparatory day school founded in 1791...
. Sarah died in June 1904, at the age of 62.
Before her own death, her friend and business partner finished a literary project called "Letters of Sarah Wyman Whitman" published in 1907, three years after Whitman's passing.
External links
- Sarah Wyman Whitman Bindings The Boston Public Library's collection of Sarah Wyman Whitman bindings on Flickr.com