Catherine D. Wentworth Explained

Catherine D. Wentworth
Birth Name:Matilde Catherine Denkmann
Other Names:Mrs. Edward S. Wentworth
Birth Date:1865
Birth Place:Rock Island, Illinois, US
Education:Wellesley College

Matilde Catherine Denkmann Wentworth (1865 – March 3, 1948) was an American artist known for her portraits of women and a benefactor of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Early life

Wentworth, born as Matilde Catherine Denkman and known as Catherine, was born in 1865 in Rock Island, Illinois, the daughter of the lumberman Frederick C. A. Denkmann and his wife (Anna) Catherine Bloedel Denkmann.[1] She was one of the seven children in the family.[2] [3] Her first art lessons were at St. Katherine’s School in Davenport, Iowa.[4] She graduated from Wellesley College in 1886[5] and had her early training at the Art Institute of Chicago. She then went abroad and studied both in Paris at the Julian Academy and in Munich under Carl Marr.[6] Later, one of her masters was William-Adolph Bouguereau.[7]

In 1898 she married Edward Spencer Wentworth,[8] an opera singer.[9] In 1910 they moved to Paris where they would live for many years.

Career

Wentworth was known for her portraits of both men and women, portraits that featured prominent personages of the time, including women,[10] [11] opera stars, composers such as Alexandre Georges,[12] other artistic people, and friends or acquaintances.[13] Wentworth had portraits exhibited in the Paris Salon,[14] news that reached the United States in 1914[15] and again in 1921.[16] She also exhibited her portraits in the United States.[17] In 1925,[18] [19] she exhibited paintings and small bronze statues at the Galerie Jean Charpenter.[20] News on exhibits of her portraits was covered in Paris and the United States.[21] [22]

Wentworth's portraits around in the permanent collections of museums, including museums in Clermont-Ferrand and Toulouse.[23] Her portrait of Letitia (Mrs. Wentworth Sr.) is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[24] Her portrait of Mrs. McLaughlin was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1940.[25] Her painting of the French singer Léon Melchissédec[26] was first shown at a gallery in Paris and has since been exhibited at the Museum at Clermont-Ferrand.[27]

She moved back to the United States and in 1935, she purchased an estate in Montecito, California,[28] [29] and there she became involved in the Santa Barbara annual flower show sharing tropical fruits grown on her property.[30] [31] In 1940 Wentworth's portraits were exhibited at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.[32] [33]

Wentworth died in 1948.[34] [35] She bequeathed a portion of her estate to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art,[36] [37] which included a donation to construct a room on a lower level to permanently display her collections of French fabrics, lace, ceramics, 18th century French silver[38] and pictures.[39] The collection was described in 1949.[40] The Pasadena Art Institute has a room called the Catherine D. Wentworth room which holds 16th century linen fold paneling.[41] [42]

Awards and honors

Wentworth was the first woman to win the Julian Academy's prize for figure drawing.[43] Wentworth was a member of the French Academy of Arts and Science.[44]

Notes and References

  1. News: 20 January 1910 . Life Story of Library Donor . The Rock Island Argus . Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections . 2024-04-15 .
  2. News: 1905-03-20 . The Denkmann will probated . 2024-04-15 . Quad-City Times . 7.
  3. News: Mohr . Lisa . 1995-02-12 . Sorting out the Weyerhaeusers and the Denkmanns . 2024-04-14 . The Rock Island Argus . 59.
  4. News: 1925-08-02 . Former Tri-City Girl Wins International Fame as a Portrait Artist . 2024-04-14 . Quad-City Times . 15.
  5. Web site: Wellesley College Digital Repository . Wellesley college.
  6. Book: Annual Exhibition of Paintings by Prominent Artists . 1902 . H. Ricker & sons . en.
  7. Web site: July 29–30, 2023 . AN AMERICAN IN PARIS . 2024-04-15 . Estates Auction . en.
  8. News: 1898-09-02 . Marriage of Denkmann / Wentworth . 2024-04-15 . Quad-City Times . 1.
  9. News: Coulter . Melissa . 2007-05-20 . Rock Island holds clues to artist's life . 2024-04-15 . Quad-City Times . 95.
  10. Sill . Louise Morgan . 1927 . Paris Notes . The American Magazine of Art . 18 . 7 . 397–398 . 2151-254X . 23930766.
  11. News: 1913-04-13 . Two paintings by Americans at the Paris Salon . 2024-04-15 . The New York Times . 19.
  12. News: 1927-07-16 . Composer as subject of artist's brush . Musical America . Musical America Publications . English . 46 . 13.
  13. Book: Art Digest . 1926 . Art Digest, Incorporated . en.
  14. News: 1914-12-07 . To spend winter in Boston . 2024-04-16 . Boston Evening Transcript . 3.
  15. News: 1914-04-19 . Pictures exhibited at the Paris Salon . 2024-04-15 . The Sun. (New York [N.Y.]) . 9 . 1940-7831.
  16. News: 1921-06-23 . American artists display talents in Paris Salon . 2024-04-15 . Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) . 6 . 2378-850X.
  17. News: July 13, 1916 . Boston Artists Work Shown. April 16, 2024 . Boston Daily Globe . NewspaperARCHIVE.com.
  18. Web site: 1926-09-19 . The Paris Times . 2024-04-17 . Gallica . EN.
  19. Web site: February 1925 . The Paris Times . 2024-04-17 . Gallica . EN.
  20. News: 1925-02-06 . Art and Arists. The Paris Times . 2024-04-17 . EN.
  21. News: 1922-05-28 . Article clipped from St. Louis Globe-Democrat . 2024-04-15 . St. Louis Globe-Democrat . 94.
  22. News: 1922-08-06 . Most interesting picture in Paris salon this year work of former local girl . 2024-04-15 . Quad-City Times . 11.
  23. News: 1940-06-09 . Metropolitan Museum purchases portrait by Catherine Wentworth . 2024-04-15 . Santa Barbara News-Press . https://www.newspapers.com/article/santa-barbara-news-press-metropolitan-mu/145404354/,https://www.newspapers.com/article/santa-barbara-news-press/145404375/.
  24. Web site: Catherine D. Wentworth Letitia (Mrs. Wentworth, Sr.) American . 2024-04-14 . The Metropolitan Museum of Art . en.
  25. News: 1940-06-23 . Museum buys pictures . 2024-04-15 . The Los Angeles Times . 50.
  26. Book: Le Ménestrel . 1925 . fr.
  27. Book: The Art News 1925-05-30: Vol 23 Iss 34 . 1925-05-30 . Brant Publications . English.
  28. News: 1939-03-13 . Visitors from many lands find this city answer to their quest for ideal home place . 2024-04-16 . Santa Barbara News-Press . 3.
  29. News: 1935-06-16 . Painter buys Knott Estate . 2024-04-16 . The Morning Press . 5.
  30. News: 1941-10-19 . Tropical fruits to be displayed . 2024-04-16 . Santa Barbara News-Press . 25.
  31. News: 1941-10-29 . Fruit display taken south . 2024-04-16 . Santa Barbara News-Press . 4.
  32. News: 1940-03-17 . Article clipped from The San Francisco Examiner . 2024-04-15 . The San Francisco Examiner . 47.
  33. News: Paulding . Litti . 1940-02-25 . Works of Santa Barbara artists winning acclaim . 2024-04-15 . Santa Barbara News-Press . 14.
  34. Web site: Catherine Wentworth – Illinois Women Artists . 2024-04-15 . en-US.
  35. News: 1948-03-04 . Catherine D. Wentworth, noted artist, dies at 83 . 2024-04-15 . Santa Barbara News-Press . 7.
  36. News: ART MUSEUM BENEFICIARY; Mrs. Catherine P. Wentworth Left Institution $4,412,322 . 2024-04-14 . The New York Times . en.
  37. News: 1950-11-03 . Wentworth will details given . 2024-04-15 . The Los Angeles Times . 35.
  38. News: DISPLAY OF SILVER AT MUSEUM TODAY; Metropolitan to Show French Collection Willed to It by Catherine D. Wentworth . 2024-04-14 . The New York Times . en.
  39. News: Turner . Jonathan . 2007-05-20 . Discovering Denkmann . 2024-04-14 . The Dispatch . https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-dispatch-discovering-denkmann/145371636/,https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-dispatch/145371724/.
  40. 1949 . The Wentworth Collection . The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin . 7 . 10 . 266–271 . 10.2307/3257383 . 3257383 . 0026-1521.
  41. News: Millier . Arthur . 1949-05-22 . Southland Residential Architecture Shown . 2024-04-15 . The Los Angeles Times . 96.
  42. News: 1952-08-24 . Pasadena Art Institute ends active year . 2024-04-15 . The Los Angeles Times . 96.
  43. News: 1925-02-01 . The Woman of the Day . The Paris Times . 2024-04-17 . EN.
  44. News: Estate lists snuff boxes at $128,000. Los Angeles Times . 68 . 1948-12-04 . English.

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