Alex Poplaski 1985

    Lester Grover Chapin was born on 23 December 1885 in Springfield, Massachusetts, a son of William Grover Chapin and Janette M. Alexander. William graduated from Yale University and was employed as superintendent of a Paper Manufacturing company in Brooklyn, NY in 1910 and 1920.  Lester attended the Pratt Institute and Cornell University from 1904-1908 and graduated with a Bachelor degree in Architecture. Lester was affiliated with the YMCA and in 1910 traveled to Japan as a missionary. Lester married Marian Collins Ladner on 16 September 1914 in Springfield, Massachusetts.  (Biography in progress).

    Charles Russell Rumsey was born about 1922 in Philadelphia, PA, a son of John and Martha Coleman Rumsey. John Rumsey was a cabinet maker. Charles Rumsey attended Lasalle College, later Lasalle University in 1942, where he studied business administration. His studies were interrupted by WWII and he completed a B.S. in Business Administration in 1948 and later received an MBA from the Drexal Institute. Rumsey studied art at the Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia. Rumsey relocated to Erna, New Jersey where he became a well known local artist. Rumsey painted in watercolors and oils. An interesting article about him appeared in a 1998 publication called the Lighthouse Digest.

From the top of the lighthouse he can see the world

    Twice a week, a thoughtful yet happy man, a man awakes to the wonder and opportunities of the world around him, a man with a keen sense of past and present, mounts the 199 steps of the Cape May Point Lighthouse and experiences what is perhaps the greatest kick of his adventurous and varied life.
    Charles Russell Rumsey, 76, a Philadelphian by birth, has seen much of the world - from the waters of the Amazon to the volcanic shores of Iwo Jima. But in his opinion, the sweep of this 139-year-old watchtower by night, and the view of the sunlit beacon by day, surpasses them all. One of three sons of John, a cabinetmaker, and his wife, Martha, nee Coleman, Charles was introduced to the wonders of the Point's Lighthouse in 1988 by his brother Robert, owner of the Sea Breeze Motel, Cape May. He had grown up in the tower's shadow. As a young boy, he visited his maternal grandmother, Martha Coleman, who summered there. But as a child, Charles was busy with something else at the shore. He liked to draw - a gull, the sea, the wetland grasses. He would eventually work in watercolors.
    Now, however, he is in his 10th year as a lighthouse guide. During his four-hour shifts he welcomes many of the 700,000 men, women, and children who visit the Cape May State Park where the lighthouse stands. Before each shift he ceremoniously dons the cap and apron of the late Harry Palmer, the last lighthouse keeper to tend the great beam by hand. Mr. Rumsey's sense of wonder, breadth of view and history is - as the French would put it - a fait accompli. No seagull is happier.
    An automatic electric aviation beacon was installed in the tower in 1945.Cape May Point Lighthouse has just been restored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts - to the tune of approximately $10 million - and is now open to the public.
    Livelihood is an important factor in life, and John and Martha sent their fledgling artist to LaSalle College, now a university, in Philadelphia, to study business administration. War broke out shortly thereafter, and in 1942, 20-year old Charles, a member of the U.S. Naval Reserves, enlisted in the Navy. After receiving radio transmission training, he sailed as Radioman 1/C for Brazil to hunt German submarines along the Amazon River and search for "wolf packs," clandestine enemy radio stations along the coast. Next, with 65 others, he entered the Naval Training School in Seattle to study the Japanese wireless code and operate a typewriter with a 65-key Japanese language keyboard. Charles rolls his eyes recalling the assignment: "It was difficult," he admits. But he made it. He was then dispatched to Hawaii and Iwo Jima for service in radio interpretation among the many islands of the South Pacific. It wasn't like the musical comedy.
    World War II was over in 1945, but realizing the importance of national defense, Charles again joined the Naval Reserves. He returned to LaSalle, and by 1948 had completed his B.S. in business administration.
    Charles married Jane DeVine that year, a beautiful girl with a calm manner. They had met at a St. Patrick's Day dance. The bands were playing "How Are things in Glocca Morra?" in those days. The Rumseys will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary November 23.They have two children, Charles III and Mary Ann. Colonel David W. Rumsey, U.S. Army (Ret.) is also a brother of Charles.
    Charles was called to the Korean War in 1949, to engage in tracking down Russian military and diplomatic codes, a deterrent to Russian aid to Korea. Returning home at war's end, he got his master's degree in business administration at Drexal Institute. He also studied at Fleisher Memorial Art, an art academy in Philadelphia.
    In 1960 Charles returned to the William J. Laughlin bookbinding supply house, where he had worked briefly before going to war. He rose to treasurer, retiring only this year, having spent the last months as a consultant.
    In 1978, the Rumseys bought a small house in Erma, N.J. Charles restored it from scratch and built several extra rooms. It stands on about an acre of ground with pleasant shade and a handsome ornamental wooden fence. On the back lawn i s a much smaller building, headquarters for Charles Rumsey's amateur radio operation, licensed by the Federal Communication, as AA 2FA.
    He had traveled too far to settle down and limit his view and interest to a single town. In the little house on the lawn he is in touch with the world by wireless telegraphy several hours a day.
    "I've met people from Italy, Germany, France, Russia, Switzerland and other countries," he says a bit proudly, "and gotten to know some of them personally. We've written and communicate with some regularly."
    Thus the air of Charles' retirement is a very populated place, more varied even than war adventures. It's cordial, sociable, informative association of peace, not war.
    Nevertheless, he is not detached from the country and county where he lives. His paintings embrace it.
    A recognized and successful artist, Charles' work had been widely shown, and cited, in area galleries. Currently, the Mariner Art Gallery in Wildwood Crest is offering his "watercolors of nautical and rustic Cape May County scenery in a marvelous freehand style."
    It's time for lunch. Charles comes in from his wireless office. Jane, who has just finished the local paper, is waiting for news of that larger world. "Just heard from Erico Santiago in Naples," Charles reports, "he's had his fifth grandson." Jane smiles looking around with pleasure at their menage hung with a few of her favorite paintings by Charles: "What's new in Paris?" she asks.

    William Harrison Truitt was born on 15 September 1886 in Trinidad, Colorado, a son of Samuel and Julia H. Welch Truitt. Samuel Truitt was a mason. The Truitts relocated to Guthrie, Oklahoma by 1910. According to the 1910 and 1920 censuses, William was working as a painter. On his 1917 WWI draft registration card his occupation was given as "Manufacturer, Potho" and he was living in Jersey City, New Jersey. He married Maisie S. (Strout?) about 1923 and they were living in Bloomfield,New Jersey in 1930 where William was working as a "craftsman". Maisie was employed as a teacher. The Truitts relocated to Bar Harbor, Maine by 1935 where William and Maisie operated the Gray Elf Studio Shop. Maisie started the Down East Fair, a crafts fair, in Bar Harbor in 1959. William appears to have worked primarily in oils painting Maine coastal scenes and landscapes.

unnamed, William Harrison Truitt (attributed), 6" x 8", oil

(better image coming)

    This painting is not signed, but was purchased at the same estate sale as the first painting, is in an identical frame, and has uses a similar color palette and style. I am attributing it to Truitt. Some of Truitt's paintings included his signed shop label, shown below.

    It is not known where Truitt studied art, but he seems to have been engaged as an artist from an early age, so may have studied in Colorado or Oklahoma. Truitt is listed in the Biographical Dictionary of Kansas Artists (active before 1945) by Susan V. Craig and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide.
    William Truitt died in September 1968 in Hull's Cove, Maine. Maisie died there on 3 November 1997 at the age of 101.

   

Examples of Truitt's signature

    Rutledge Bate was born on 2 February 1891 in Brooklyn, New York, son of Mortimer S. and Irene S. Bate. Mortimer was employed as a "Commission, Merchandise" in 1910 in Brooklyn, NY. Rutledge was a painter and teacher. Bate studied at the School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (BMFA) and with Abbott Thayer. Bate was Page Fellow in Painting at the BMFA. Bate married Virginia Edith Clark. The Bates lived and worked in Boston and Brooklyn but eventually settled in Rockport, Massachusetts. Bate taught at the Pratt Institute and conducted the Rutledge Bate Summer School in Rockport. Bate was a member of the Rockport Art Association.

    I suspect that this is an early work by Bate, possibly a sketch for a bigger, more defined painting. Most of the work by Bate that I have seen is more finely detailed, though not greatly more defined. A few pieces that I have seen were fairly loose, but nothing like this piece. The frame appears to be original and possibly 1920s of 1930s vintage, which supports my hypothesis.
    Bate died in October 1964 in Rockport, MA.

UPDATE: I was contacted by Mr. Bate's granddaughter and later his son in 2011 and learned some interesting information.

My daughter Gabby, who has been doing genealogical research, alerted me to the fact that you have a painting by my father on your web site. 

That's great!  I was really glad to see it there.

But I think you are wrong in your dating of this painting.  I believe that it was painted in 1962, toward the end of his life, when he and my mother visited me in Colorado Springs.  The painting appears to be of Pike's Peak with the Garden of the Gods in the foreground.  At that point in his life, he had, very sadly, lost much of his memory, and essentially could not function without my mother's supervision.  I recall driving him to a couple of places where he could paint.

I don't think my father ever traveled West at any other time in his life.  As you know, he had studied extensively in Europe.

I'd be curious to know how you obtained this painting.  He had no gallery exhibits that I know of this late in life.  Quite possibly my mother gave it to someone who later sold it.  You said that you have seen other work by my father and I would be curious about that, also."

    Francis Stanley Hallett was born 19 October 1905 in Newton, Massachusetts, a son of Edward Merrihew and Blanche May Stanley Hallett. Blanche was the daughter of Francis Stanley, the inventor of the Stanley Steamer. Edward was working as a "purchasing agent, auto co." in 1910 and as a "manufacturer, automobiles" in 1920. There were servants living in the Hallett home in 1910 and 1920, so the family was apparently fairly wealthy. Stanley went by either F. Stanley or just Stanley. He is only identified as Francis in two easily found primary records, both before 1930. He was identified as Stanley in the 1910 census, Francis in the 1920 census and F. Stanley in the 1930 census. Stanley married a woman named Esther C. about 1929 and they were living in Newton, Massachusetts in 1930 where his employment was reported as "agency, advertising". Stanley married next Eleanore May LaMarche on 7 June 1941. The Halletts moved to Wilton Centre, New Hampshire by 1947.

Inscription, verso

    Hallett studied the violin for 20 years  with teachers of, and at, the New England Conservatory of Music. He was a member of the first University World Cruise, sponsored by New York University, in 1926. He worked as a concert violinist and orchestra conductor until the age of 51 when he switched to painting, first working in watercolors, but soon changing to oils. He studied with Rosmond DeKalb and was advised by Sante Graziani, but was largely self taught. He was an expert in painting with a putty knife instead of brushes and was much sought after to speak on, demonstrate, and teach this technique. He became a member of the New Hampshire Art Association in 1958 and was appointed Director of the Association two years later. He later held several other offices with the Association, including President in 1969 and 1974. He was also a member of the Copley Society of Boston and Academic Art Association of Springfield, Massachusetts. He exhibited widely in New England and also had several one man shows. His work was shown with the New Hampshire exhibit at the 1964 World's Fair and at a New Hampshire State exhibition that followed. He won numerous prizes and awards for his work. He was mentioned in Who's Who in the East in 1964 and Wilton, Temple & Lyndeborough by Dell'Orto. Surprisingly, Hallett is not mentioned in any art reference resource.
    Stanley Hallett died on 14 November 1987 in Wilton, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire.

Stanley Hallett signature

Bio coming....

George Gardner Phipps

    Al Barker was born in New Jersey and grew up in the Metropolitan New York area. He earned a bachelors and masters in Forestry. He is a largely self taught artist, but well known for his miniatures. I have a thing for laundry hanging on a clothesline, flapping in the wind, so I love this painting. It hangs just inside my back door and it is the first thing I see when I get home every day. I am generally not a huge fan of miniatures, but this one is an exception.

    Minna Hilde Grumbt Webb was born June 1885 in Germany, a daughter of Hermann and Wilhelmina "Minna" Grumbt. Herman came to America in 1890 and returned to Germany bring his family to the US in 1891, first settling in Rhode Island, and later in New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Herman was working as a butcher in 1900 and was listed as a butcher in an 1890s New Bedford city directory. Minna married Edward Orlville Webb, an English immigrant or son of English immigrants, about 1907, probably in New Bedford and they settled there. Edward was employed as a "driver, laundry wagon" in 1910 and as a "mechanic, automobile repair" in 1920. His WWI draft registration gives middle names for him and his wife. The Webbs appear to be absent from the 1930 census. The Webbs did not have children in 1910 or 1920. Minna worked as an artist and decorator for the Pairpoint Glass Company of New Bedford. She studied at Swain Free School of Design in 1929 and exhibited at the Swain Free School of Design and also at the Easy Street Gallery in Nantucket in 1940. Webb is listed in Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide and Who Was Who in American Art by Falk.
    Minna Grumbt Webb died in 1969 and is buried in the Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Massachusetts.

    I am still researching this artist, as information about her personal life is scarce and her name is fairly common, particularly in New England where she lived. Luckily, an extensive professional biography was attached to this painting, along with a tag from a Rockport, MA art exhibition. I believe that she is the Martha Nickerson whose dates of birth are given in the Social Security Death Index as 16 January 1914 and 11 March 2002. Her social security number was issued in New York and she died in Needham Heights, MA. Martha Nickerson lived at various addresses in Rockport, MA, and I believe that Nickerson was her married name and that her husband's name was Lewis.

Nickerson biography

    An extensive professional biography was attached to the back of the painting.

Tag from painting

    A tag attached to the painting showed that this painting was exhibited at a 1995 Rockport Art Association exhibition. A couple examples of Nickerson's work that I have seen are in a much more impressionistic style, and better than the painting in my collection, in my opinion. Nickerson would, I think, have been in her early 80s when this painting was created.

Nickerson business card

    This is an example of Nickerson's business card from another on line auction. The address agrees with some city directory entries that also give the 16 January 1914 birth date, which I think is strong evidence that the Social Security Death Index entry is for Martha. A Massachusetts death record that gives her spouse's name as Lewis also includes the same birth date for her.

    The painting above and the painting below were sold together at a Vermont estate auction. Each has a similar price tag from a much earlier sale and appear to be by the same artist. The first painting is on an unmounted canvas and is noted to be a sketch of Picket Mt., which is in Maine. It is also signed twice, M. A. Safford. The second painting is an oil on board and is unsigned. Unfortunately, the seller of these paintings was negligent in packing them and both were badly damaged in the mails. I kept them anyway, so they would at least be preserved, since this artist's work appears to be scarce, and because I had spent a significant amount of time and effort in researching this artist.

    Martha died on 9 October 1912 in Rochester, New Hampshire, according to the 1917 Rochester City Directory.

M. A. Safford signature, verso

    Clarion Dewitt Hardy was born in June 1940 in St. Louis, Missouri a son of Clarion Dewitt Hardy II and Jane Upchurch. Clarion Dewitt Hardy II was a professor at the University of Maine, a son of Clarion Dewitt Hardy I who was a professor at Northwestern University. Dewitt Hardy attended Syracuse University. He was a well known Maine watercolor artist, art appraiser, set designer and teacher. He was married first to artist Pat Hardy and second to Deirdre Williams.
    Hardy was president of the Ogunquit Art Association at the time of his death and had been the curator of the Ogunquit Museum of Art earlier in his career. He worked as a set designer at Hackmatack Playhouse in Berwick, Maine for 35 years. He was a student of Ed Betts. He taught for many years at the Sanctuary Art Center in Eliot, Maine, the subject of my painting.
    Hardy exhibited widely, including 17 one man shows in New York City, and his art is in many collections, including 42 museums, for instance the Smithsonian, the British Museum, the Cleveland Museum and the San Francisco Museum. Hardy's web site is.
    Dewitt Hardy died on 8 July 2017 after attending an event at the Barn Gallery in Ogunquit, Maine. His work was among that of other artists being highlighted in the event.

    This is more of a pleine aire sketch, perhaps a study for a larger painting. This painting is not signed, but the frame is signed and titled, along with a price of $45 on the back. The signature is in pencil and very faint, and the title is too faint to make out, but appears to be "Name: Winter (illegible)". I messed with the images using gimp but was not able to make much out of them. It may be logical that he wrote on the frame, as the painting is on a rough board that could not be written on. The board is similar to a couple of examples of board used for other paintings by Mr. Knauth. Mr. Knauth is still living at age 91, so I sent him some images of the painting, in an attempt to see if he could confirm that this is his work and maybe get some history for it. He responded to my letter and informed that this is his work, "it is exactly right". He could not, unfortunately, remember when he painted it, or the title, not surprising since it was painted perhaps fifty or sixty years ago. Love this painting!

Signature and title in pencil on back of frame.

    Arnold Whitman Knauth II was born on 18 October 1918 in New York, New York, a son of Oswald Whitman Knauth and Anna Dixwell Clements. Oswald Knauth reported his employment as "Asst. Prof. Economics, Princeton University" in his WWI draft registration. He was employed as an "Executive, Department Store" in 1930. Arnold Knauth attended Harvard University, the National Academy of Design, the Hibbard Summer School of Painting, the Wellfleet Art School, and he studied with Xavier Gonzalez. He was a member of the Salmagundi Club, the American Watercolor Society, Philadelphia Watercolor Club, Audubon Academy, Guild of Boston Artists, Northshore Artists Association, and Rockport Art Association. He exhibited widely, including at the National Academy of Design, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, John Herron Art Institute, and Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He won numerous awards for his work. He is listed in several editions of Who is Who in American Art, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, and Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide.

Knauth framed and verso

    This was an ebay find. Several paintings by this artist were offered by a seller in Claremont, NH. As far as I can tell this artist, though seemingly accomplished, is not listed in any art reference book and I could find no information about her work as an artist. I did, however, locate records that I am now confident is for this woman, based on information found on the backs of these paintings.

Label verso

    Anne B. Stevens was born 6 July 1903 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, a daughter of George and Mathilde Maus Baumler. George was working as a baker in 1910, a route driver for a milk company in 1920, and as a clerk for a retail milk business in 1930. Census records for 1910, 1920, and 1930 give Ann's name as Anna. The 1910 census gives her middle initial as "F". She married William R. Francis about 1925. They were living with her parents in Glen Ridge in 1930. Anna was working as a bank clerk and her husband as "machinist, electrical mfg." in 1930. This marriage apparently did not last as she was married to Dr. Wayne Edson Stevens, a Dartmouth professor, in 1933. He died in 1959. She was living in the Brookside Retirement Home in Hartford, Vermont at the time of her death, according to her death record, but her burial place was listed as the Pine Knoll Cemetery, Hanover, New Hampshire, the same cemetery where Wayne Edson Stevens is buried. Her occupation was listed as homemaker and her last address as 4 North Park St., Hanover, NH 03755. Her education was given as 12 years of Elementary/Secondary, probably meaning she was a high school graduate. She graduated from the Montclair Secretarial School in Montclair, NJ in 1922 and worked as the secretary of the summer Russian Language Institute at Dartmouth 1960-1967. Sarah Hartwell, the Reading Room Supervisor at Rauner Special Collections Library at Dartmouth, searched the records available to her including the 1949, 1952, and 1954 Hanover City Directories, and the only Ann Stevens listed was the wife of Wayne Stevens, both living on North Park St.

    Ann Stevens was the President of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Auxiliary from 1941-1947, and highly praised for her performance during this period. The image above is from a history of this organization.

    A second painting by this artist was offered along with my painting, but I did not bid on it. Both works are very nice, so it may be assumed that she had worked as an artist for some time, whether as an amateur or in some other capacity. Looking back in the seller's history, I determined that he offered a third signed painting and a lot of unsigned paintings, a watercolor and five oils, that were purchased together with the first two paintings, and assumed to be by the same artist. The seller speculated that the unsigned lot was composed of preliminary sketches for larger works. The unsigned lot of paintings is much cruder in nature, but uses the same color palette as the first two paintings, so I think the seller is likely correct. I am including images of the other paintings at the bottom of this biography, since so little is known about this artist.

    Both paintings are apparently Nantucket, MA scenes, painted in two different years, so she was apparently serious enough about her art to spend time traveling to locations where she could find scenery she felt significant enough to paint.

    Ann B. Stevens signed her paintings almost illegibly, so it is lucky that she wrote more clearly on the backs of them. I'll update this biography as I discover more about her.

unsigned lot, watercolor upper left, all 10" x 14"

    Russel Whitten is a Maine artist who was born 7 June 1962. He studied at the Maine College of Art, the Art Student's League, and with DeWitt Hardy, Norman West and Richard Brown Latham at Heartwood College of Art in Kennebunk, Maine. He has a web site.

    Jan Gendron was born on 11 November 1949 in New York City. He studied at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston, with Henry Henche at the Cape School of Art, and with Robert Cormier. Gendron is mentioned in The New Renaissance, Volume 6 by Louse T. Reynolds. Jan has a blog.

Jan Gendron signature

    Olin Farrell Vought was born in February of 1870 in Dover, Morris County, New Jersey, the only child of William Allen and Emily "Emma" Farrell Vought. Allen, as he seems to have preferred using his middle name, was a druggist. He died before 1894 and Olin was living with his mother in Dover, Morris County, New Jersey 1900-1920. Emma probably died before 1930, as Olin was living alone in Roxbury, New Jersey in 1930. His occupation in each census was given as artist, though the type of artist varied from just plain artist, to " artist, watercolors" and "artist, paintings". His name is sometime spelled "Vaught" in census records. He is listed as an artist in various Morris County, New Jersey directories as early as 1894. There is a permanent exhibit of his art at the Silas Riggs Saltbox House Living Museum in Roxbury, NJ. Vought was a well known local artist who worked in glass plate photographs, drawings, pen and ink sketches, and watercolors of the canal area in northern New Jersey. He focused on the area from Rockaway-Hibernia to Phillipsburg. His photographs are prominent in the local histories of the canal, including "The Morris Canal: across New Jersey by water and rail" by Robert R. Goller, which is available, in part, on Google Books. His photographs were also used extensively in books by James Lee, a New Jersey historian who specialized in the Morris Canal. Vought was a member of the Dover Camera Club in 1899 and exhibited his photographs at the Club's exhibitions.
    I do not know where Vought trained as an artist. It is peculiar that an artist so well known is not listed in any art reference book, except for Mallett's Index of Artists and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide, where he is misidentified as "Olif" Vought. His death was reported in the New York Times on 12 July 1940:

Olin F. Vought

Succasunna, N.J., July 12 (AP) - Olin F. Vought, landscape and floral painter, died at his home here today of a heart ailment at the age of 70. He had been ill since February.

Vought's signature

    Peter Koster was born on 31 May 1891 in the village of Zaamslag, in the Netherlands. He immigrated to the US in 1910, but does not appear in the 1910 US census. His first appearance in US records is the record of his arrival in New York on the ship Potsdam from the port of Rotterdam on 21 May 1910. He was apparently traveling with two other men as all three were from Holland and their destination was Grand Rapids, Michigan. The other men were Cornelis A. Kaag, aged 16, a baker, and Johannes van Herp, aged 25, a painter. Koster gave his occupation as "painter" and his father's name as J. Koster. On 5 June 1917, he supplied information for his WWI draft registration. He was working as a sketch artist for Myercord Co. in Chicago at the time, but residing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was married, but did not give the name of his wife. The 1930 census indicates that Koster married about 1913. His status was given as "Alien - First papers". Koster was still living in Grand Rapids in 1920, working as an artist in a furniture studio. The census that year reported that he had become a naturalized citizen in 1917, but I have not been able to locate his naturalization papers. He was married to a woman named Nellie who was born in Michigan of Dutch parents. They had a 1 1/2 year old daughter, Vivian. This marriage apparently did not last as Koster was living as lodger in a boarding house in Grand Rapids working as an artist "at home" in 1930. His marital status was reported as single. His ex-wife, Petronella E., had remarried to a man named Peter Bajema and they were still living in Grand Rapids. Vivian J. Koster was listed as Bajema's step-daughter. Peter Koster traveled to the Netherlands and his arrival was reported in New York City on 14 September 1930, on the ship Rotterdam which had departed from the port of Rotterdam on 6 September 1930. The address recorded on the passenger list was 159 Bostwick St., Grand Rapids, Michigan, and once again gave his naturalization year as 1917 in Grand Rapids. This is also the same address he was residing at during the 1930 census.  According to Koster's WWII draft registration card, he was a resident of Bearskin Neck, Rockport, Essex County, Massachusetts. He was self employed in Rockport and then married to a woman named Lena.

Notation, verso

    Koster's biography appears in American Landscape and Genre Paintings in the New York Historical Society by Koke. I have not yet been able to examine this book, but the snippet view on Google Books reveals that Koster received his training as an artist in the Netherlands. Koster was a member of the Rockport Art Association and North Shore Art Association. He is not listed in any art reference book that I have examined, though I suspect he appeared in one of the pictorial histories of the Rockport Art Association that this society periodically generated. A P. Koster, a 20th Century Gloucester, Massachusetts artist, is listed in Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide. As this is the only artist I have encountered with this first initial and last name, I suspect they may be the same artist. Koster worked in oils and my paintings appear fairly typical of his work.

Koster biography and RAA application

    A copy of Koster's biography and application to the Rockport Art Association were taped to the back of the Cape Ann painting.

"Bayshore", P. Koster, 9" x 12", oil, 1975

     The second painting is likely Koster's work, as well. The signatures are very similar, though the second painting is signed "P. Koster". The painting is inscribed verso "Bayshore 1975". Bayshore (Gardens) is in Sarasota, Florida. Peter Koster died on 18 July 1978 in Sarasota, Florida, so this is a very late work for him.

    Helen Marie Stockton was born on 18 April 1889 in New Jersey, a daughter of John Potter and Lynda Thorndyke Low Stockton. John was a lawyer and son of a US Senator. John was a descendant of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Helen graduated from Columbia University Teachers College with a Special Diploma in Fine Arts in 1908, and in 1912 with a Special Diploma in Education. I have found several references of her contributions of articles to various art and educational journals, the earliest in 1914. Helen was living with her mother and sisters in Westfield, New Jersey during the 1920 census. Her occupation was given as "Supervisor of Training, Westfield Schools". Her sister Margaret was occupied as "Supervisor of Domestic School, Woodbridge, N.J.". Helen contributed several articles to Industrial Arts magazine in the 1920s. She was described as Supervisor of Fine and Industrial Arts at the State Normal School of Trenton, New Jersey in the credits. Helen was living with her widowed mother in 1930 in Westfield, New Jersey, employed as a school teacher. Her occupation is listed as “artist" in the 1938 Polk's Directory of Westfield, New Jersey. She contributed several articles to American Artist magazine in the 1950s. She also wrote several books, for instance one called Drawing and Picture Making. She also collaborated on several books intended for children and students. Her younger sister, Janet, was also an artist who painted in oils, and was a member of the Westfield Art Association. Her sister, Edna Margaret, graduated from the Columbia Teachers College in 1908 with a BS degree in Teacher of Household Arts.
    The December 1920 edition of the New Jersey Education Bulletin reported:

To succeed Miss Taylor, Miss Helen M. Stockton has been appointed. Miss Stockton's special training was taken at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts; at Teachers College, Columbia University; at New York University, and through extension work at Rutgers College. She has held the positions of supervisor of art at Morgantown, West Virginia; supervisor of art and hand work at Westfield for the past eight years, and director of fine and industrial arts at Rutgers College summer session for the last five years. Miss Stockton has also been engaged in various activities in the field of art outside the schoolroom, having served as director of a base hospital craft club, and president of the Art Teacher's Association, and the Manual Arts Association, of Union County.

(Note: “Miss Taylor” was instructor in the art department at the Trenton State Normal School. The New York School of Fine and Applied Arts was founded by William Merritt Chase and is now known as the Parsons school.)

    She is mentioned several times for her work as an artist in the local Westfield newspaper. From The Westfield Leader, 8 December 1955:

Helen Stockton's Landscapes Exhibited

Several of the landscapes of Miss Helen M. Stockton of 117 North Euclid avenue, artist and author, will be among a display of her works this month sponsored by the Verona-West Essex Art Association in the Verona Public Library.

The Westfield artist recently exhibited her paintings in the Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. Several art centers in New Jersey and New York have presented her awards.

Miss Stockton also has written and illustrated a number of children's books and has taught at several art schools in the state.

    Katherine M. Mallett Howe was born in Norwich, Connecticut in February 1895 a daughter of James W. and Jennie A. Mallett. James was employed as a sign painter in 1900-1910. Though aged 63 in 1920 and 73 in 1930, his occupation was listed as "Awning Maker, Awning Shop" and "Manufacture, Awnings". James was born in Nova Scotia and Jennie in Maine. James was a naturalized US citizen who came to the US in 1860. Katherine's name is sometime spelled with  a "C" in census records and her middle initial is consistently given as "M.", though it appears as "L." in other records. She was an artist, illustrator, and author. She studied at the Norwich Academy Art School, the Boston Museum Fine Arts Academy School, the Art Students League and with Philip Hale, Henry Hunt Clark, George Brant Bridgman, and John Bindrum. Katherine received a scholarship from the Boston Museum Fine Arts School in 1915. It was noted that she resided in Norwich. Her occupation in 1920 was "Art Teacher, Public School". She was a teacher at the Norwich Art School in 1928. Katherine married Marshall Victor Howe on August 25, 1928 in Norwich. The Howes were living at 504 West 136th Street in New York in 1930. Marshall's occupation was "Artist Designer, Stained Glass" and Katherine was not employed. Both later worked as artists and designers for the Norcross Company, a New York City greeting card company. Katherine also authored and illustrated children's books.  I have found numerous references to Katherine's work as an illustrator and watercolor artist. One reference notes that her work is part of the permanent collection of the Slater Museum, Norwich.
    Howe was a member of the National Association of Women Artists and the Mystic Art Association. She is mentioned in Who's Who in the East (1962), Who's Who in America (1950), Artists Directory (1928), Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Artists as Illustrators by Castagno, and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide. Falk cites Mallett as a reference, but I could not find Katherine listed under either her maiden or married name.
    Katherine died on 23 September 1957 and I have found a reference to her obituary in the New York Times, though I have not been able to locate it.

    Charles Ernest Pont was born on 6 January 1898 in St. Julien, France the son of Francoise Pont and an unknown father. His mother came to America with him on 16 May 1898 on the ship SS La Gascogne. She gave her nationality as Swiss, her occupation as teacher, and it was noted that her father had paid for her fare. Francoise reportedly abandoned her son to a German couple shortly after her arrival and in 1900 was living in Tuxedo, New York working as a "ladies maid" for a "Capitalist" couple named Walker and Maude Smith. She was born in Dec 1874, according to the census. Charles Pont was raised by the German couple until the age of 17 when he was told of his adoption, at which time he returned to using his birth name. There is an extensive biography of Pont on Wikipedia, though I have not been able to confirm all of it. It contains numerous citations of source information, though. 

    I am not sure what the notations on the back of Pont's paintings mean. Of the three fields he used the third is obviously the title, though in the case of the painting above the first two fields may have provided more helpful description information. He obviously had a system for cataloging his work.
    Both of these paintings came from a seller on ebay who purchased them at an auction in Plainville, CT. They were among several lots from the estate of Joan D. Pont, the daughter of Charles Ernest and Dorothea Ford Pont. She apparently did not marry and died in the home her father built in Wilton, CT. Charles Pont died

    Serge E. Rossolowsky was born 18 August 1895 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He arrived in New York City in October of 1951 aboard the USNS General W. G. Haan. Though technically a US Navy ship, the Haan was operating under control of the International Refugees Organization from 1950-1953, carrying displaced East Europeans from northern European ports to the U.S. Rossolowsky gave his destination in New York as 150 5th Avenue, as did several other passengers. This was probably some kind of temporary housing for refugees. Rossolowsky became a naturalized U. S. citizen on 8 November 1957. He was residing at 1412 Wilkins Avenue, Bronx, NY at the time. Sometime after this date Rossolowsky moved to Portland, Maine.
    Photographs of four of Mr. Rossolowsky's paintings are part of the collection of the Photographic Archives of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. One of these paintings is untitled but the other three are titled, "Old City - France", "Old Street - France", and "France - Am Rheine". This may indicate that Rossolowsky traveled to France before or after coming to the U. S. Rossolowsky is one of only two Russian artists mentioned as examples of prominent Russian-American artists in Russian Americans by Paul Robert Magocai. This book was part of the Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America and was published 14 years after the death of Rossolowsky.

    Rossolowsky overcame a very tragic life to become a prominent New York and Portland, Maine artist, though largely forgotten today. A story about his life was published in The Portland Evening Express on 11 February 1964:

    I am including the frame in the image of this painting as most of the works I have seen by Serge were only displayed in a mat. Not sure if the frame is original, but this painting came from the same source as the other paintings, so my guess is that it is original. It is also not an oil like the others but seems to be ink, gouache, and possibly acrylic.

    Phyllis E. Blair was born in New York in 1923. She is a teacher and painter in oils, acrylics, and watercolors and studied at the Art Student's League in New York City, Skidmore College, and Westminster College. She first worked as an illustrator for General Electric and later as a fine artist and sculptor in bronze and marble. Her artist statement says, in part, "my main objective is to transmit a mood which in turn determines the techniques and medium". She was living in New Castle, PA in the 1990s and early 2000s where she served on the board of the Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts. Blair donated a large oil painting titled "Midtown Manhattan, 1975" to the Butler Institute of American Art in 1983. This painting and her biography were used in a series of art books for grade school children. She helped to found the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D. C. Blair exhibited at The Butler Institute of American Art, Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts, and Westminster College. Blair moved to the Sweetwood Retirement Community in Berkshire County, MA about 2004, where she continues teach and pursue her art. Blair was active as late as 2006 when her work was exhibited at museums and galleries in Delray Beach and Palm Beach, Florida. This painting was framed by M. Thomas framers in New Castle, PA according to the label verso.

    Tom Cox is a watercolor artist and resident of Sunapee, New Hampshire. He is a native of North Carolina where he graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Architecture. Tom has a web site and also sells his art on ebay under the id of onefamilyart.

"Trap line", Tom Cox, 8" x 10", watercolor




"Tug", Tom Cox, 8" x 10", watercolor

    Saul Hanig was born 3 November 1914 in Scranton, Pennsylvania the son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants Benjamin and Matilda Feuerstein Hanig. Benjamin Hanig worked as cap maker in Scranton for many years after immigrating to the US by way of New York City on 15 June 1902. Saul was in his family's home in 1920 and 1930. His name was given as "Solomon" in 1930. He had four sisters. Mr. Hanig married a woman named Theresa who was 2 years his senior. She died in Wilmington, Delaware on 15 December 2005. The paintings in my collection came from a sale of her possessions that was held at Kemblesville, PA. Prior to this sale the family donated about thirty of Hanig's paintings to the University of Delaware.

Saul Hanig, New Castle, Delaware, ca 1968

(photo by Harvey Hanig)

    I was able to locate the son of Saul and Theresa Hanig who has provided information that I am including in this biography. I have not been able to discover where Hanig trained as an artist, but he studied under Nicolo Cortigilia, Roy C. Nuse, and Rosell Weidner according to his biography from an exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum in 1966. According to Hanig's son, his father had a scholarship to a university to study art, but did not attend. Mr. Hanig's son believes that his father was largely self taught, though I suspect he did attend some institution where he received formal training, but he probably did not graduate. Saul Hanig moved to Wilmington, Delaware about 1941 where he was employed as a sign painter in the advertising department of the Hercules Powder Company. He exhibited at the Everhart Museum, Delaware Art  Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, the Warehouse Gallery, and the University of Delaware. Mr. Hanig's son remembers that his father also had several one man shows. Hanig's work is part of the permanent collection of the University of Delaware. A 1942 edition of American Artist magazine notes that Hanig had won second prize in a pencil drawing competition.

    Hanig is not listed in any major art reference book that I have searched. Judging by the list of his teachers I believe that Hanig may have attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts for a time. If so, he probably attended between 1935 and 1940. I really like the colors that he uses, and the sense of motion in some of his works. I normally do not like seeing pencil lines in watercolors, as they are usually just a guide for the artist, but in Mr. Hanig's work I feel they are part of the action of the works.
   

    Zaidee Lincoln Morrison was born 12 November 1872 in Skowhegan, Maine, the daughter of Lucius L. and Stella E. Morrison. Her father was a merchant and rug manufacturer and her mother a teacher. Her mother was deceased by 1900 and she was living with her father, brother, and sister and already occupied as a artist. Her sister was a school teacher and her brother was attending college, so she apparently had financial advantages that allowed her to pursue a career as an artist. Lucius Morrison was aged 78 in 1910, still living in Skowhegan and still proprietor of a rug factory, with all three of his children and an unmarried sister in his home. It does not appear that any of the Morrison children married. Zaidee was still listed as an artist, her brother a violin instructor and her sister an "accompanist, piano". Zaidee was on her own in 1920, living at the Art Students League on West 57th in Manhattan, New York City. Her immediate neighbors were William J. Whittemore, Ilse Bischoff, Charles Avery Aiken, Margery Hawley, and several other well known artists. Many successful artists were her student peers in 1920.
    Morrison worked as a painter and illustrator. She studied at the Cooper Union Art School, National Academy of Design, Art Students League, and was a student of Frank DuMond, John Henry Twachtman, William Merritt Chase, and R. H. Nichols. She exhibited widely and her work is part of the permanent collections of Mt. Holyoke College, the History House of Skowhegan, the Smithsonian Institute, Boston University, and the Municipal Gallery in New York City. She is listed in Dictionary of Women Artists by Petteys, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk,  Mallett's Index of Artists, Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers by Fielding, and Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide.

    I am guessing at the title of this painting. There is a partial label attached to the back of the painting with just enough of the title remaining to suggest it is "Morning Glories". Morrison also wrote her name and address on the back of the painting which appears to be in the original frame. Zaidee Morrison died on 29 August 1953.

    Mayo Sorgman was born 29 March 1912 in Brockton, Massachusetts, the son of Swedish immigrants Max and Lena Sorgman. He was a watercolor painter, designer, teacher, and art educator. Sorgman graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art (MCA), and studied at the Parsons School of Design and Kansas Art Museum, before obtaining a Masters degree at New York University. After graduating from MCA, he took a teaching job with the Stamford Connecticut School Systems and later became the head of the Art Department there. After completing his Master's degree he wrote an art education book, Brush and Palette: Painting Techniques for Young Adults, which became a popular high school text book which was reprinted five times. I have a copy in my library.
    He is mentioned in Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide, and Who Was Who in American Art by Falk. Sorgman was member of the Connecticut Watercolor Society, Rockport Art Association, and Eastern Art Association. He exhibited widely.
    Sorgman died on 13 September 2006 in Harwich, Massachusetts. His obituary appeared in the 22 September edition of the Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, MA:

Mayo Sorgman, 94

Well-known painter; influential arts educator

    HARWICH - Mayo Sorgman, 94, died in his home Sept. 13.
     He was the husband of Eleanor Rashbaum Sorgman for 58 years.
     Born and raised in Brockton, Mr. Sorgman was a veteran of World War II. After the war he became an influential arts educator. He taught and lectured at Silverman College of Art in Stamford, Conn., as well as in adult education programs.
     In 1965 he published a book of painting techniques for young adults, ''Brush and Palette: Painting Techniques for Young Adults,'' which became a popular high school text. Mr. Sorgman's paintings were widely shown, most notably in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Santa Fe, N.M.; and throughout New England.
     His most recent museum exhibition showcased his watercolors from the 1940s and 1950s at the Cape Ann historical Association in Gloucester. In 2003, a retrospective of Mr. Sorgman's work was displayed at the Cape Cod Museum of Fine Arts in Dennis.
     In 1997, Mr. Sorgman and his wife began living year-round in their Harwich summer house. He was painting lyrical, semi-abstract Cape Cod landscapes at the time.
     Besides his wife, survivors include a son, Bram Sorgman of Chapel Hill, N.C.; a daughter, Dara Mark of Lamy, N.M.; three grandchildren and six nieces.

    Louis Kinney Harlow was born 28 March 1850 in Wareham, MA, son of Ivory Hovey Harlow and Mary Kinney. He was educated at the Pierce Academy, Middleboro, MA and Phillips Academy, Andover, MA. He married Julia A. Coombs in 1873 in Middleboro, MA. Harlow worked as a watercolor artist from 1875. He also worked as an illustrator and book designer, most notably for the L. Prang & Co., Fine Art Publishers of Boston. His works were reproduced by many leading publishing houses of the time in England and Germany. Harlow resided in Newton, MA, Dedham, MA and Brooklyn, MA with offices in Boston, MA. He traveled and painted extensively in the US and Canada. He seems to have signed his work several ways, i.e., monogram LKH, L. K. Harlow, Louis K. Harlow, Louis Kinney Harlow, etc.
    Harlow was mentioned in Marquis' Who's Who in America 1903-1905. John W. Leonard ed., Marquis' Who Was Who in America 1943, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide. Harlow exhibited at the Boston Art Club from 1883 through 1894, the Jordan Gallery (Jordan Marsh Department Store), and at the Newton Club in Newtonville, MA.
    Harlow may have changed the spelling of his name, as it is spelled “Lewis” in the 1850-1870 censuses. Harlow died before 1920. His wife was a widow in 1920 census. I have seen one death date of 1913 for him. The style of his work seems to have varied greatly. I have seen everything from very loose impressionist style watercolors to those done in a realistic, almost photographic style.
    This painting has a bit of mat burn that I may or may not mat out. It came in an amazing period frame and wavy glass, but it is so huge that I have decided to re-frame it. I show it mat burn and all here.
    It appears that someone may have been cranking out counterfeit Louis K. Harlow paintings like the one shown below. The work is very crude compared to that of Louis Kinney Harlow. I purchased the painting below for a small amount on ebay and sent an image of it to a knowledgeable collector of his work and his opinion was that it was definitely not by Louis Kinney Harlow, though it is signed "L. K. Harlow, Loretto, Toronto '10". After looking at many of Louis Kinney Harlow's works, I have to agree. At first I thought maybe this was a coincidence of names, but later several other nearly identical paintings surfaced, some signed "Louis K. Harlow", "Louis Harlow", etc. Other paintings in the same style and with some variation of signatures have also surfaced. Most appear to be old so are probably not recently created. I now believe that these are outright fakes meant to fool buyers.

    Cooper Dragonette is a painter in oils from Cape Elizabeth, Maine. He holds a BFA from the University of Southern Maine and a BA from Prescott College. He moved to Maine in 1996 and pursued a career in teaching art while operating his own studio before becoming a full time artist in 2006. His first exhibition was in 1998. He has been a member of the Provincetown Artists Association, co-president and founder of the Midcoast Artists Association, and member of the Maine Art Educators Association. He still teaches painting and drawing.
    Cooper has both a web site and a blog site. I like his use of color and light and the ruggedness of Maine landscapes that he paints.

    John Clifford Huffington was born 5 February 1864 in Brooklyn, New York and died 3 May 1929 in Darien, Connecticut on his houseboat on Five Mile River. He is an interesting guy. His father, John Worthington Huffington, was an art dealer and John associated with artists who came into his father's store and through that association became a self taught artist. At the height of his career he became blind, but about 1925 his vision was somehow restored and he resumed painting. I found him employed as an artist in the 1900-1920 Federal censuses and employed as a clerk in 1880. His father's occupation in 1880 is indecipherable, but does not appear to be "art dealer", so John C. must have started painting between 1880 and 1900.
    John Clifford Huffington was a marine painter, illustrator, and teacher. Who Was Who in American Art notes that he exhibited at the National Academy of Design while still a school boy. He was member of the New York Watercolor Club and Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts and exhibited at both places. He is also listed in Mallett's Index of Artists.

    Charles Jewett Page was born 6 August 1837 in Boston, MA, the son of a prosperous mason, Gilman Page and his wife Louisa Robinson. Page had many occupations, bank teller in 1861, cap and hat salesman in 1870, etc., before settling on real estate around 1880, which occupation he pursued for many years. He was listed as both a real estate and insurance agent in Boston City Directories from 1882 through 1893. He was also listed as an auctioneer and Treasurer of the Real Estate and Building Co. several times.
    When Page developed an interest in art or where he received his training is not known, though he was a subscriber to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1890. He was listed as a member of the Boston Art Club in 1908 (Clark's Boston Blue Book) and by 1910 he appeared in the artist category of the Boston City Directory. I have been unable to locate him in the 1910 Federal census, which may show if that was his primary occupation then.
    Charles married Kate Chase Norcross on 26 December 1859 in Boston and they had one son, Walter Gilman Page, who later became a prominent professional artist and writer. The 1880 census lists Walter G. Page as an invalid, which may be why he pursued a career as an artist. This may also be why his father developed an interest in painting. The first mention of Walter Gilman Page as an artist is in the 1890 Boston City Directory, and he was a member of the Boston Art Club in 1893, and was occupied as an artist while living in his parent's home during the 1900 Boston Federal census. Both Walter and his father were listed as painters in the 1908 American Art Annual Volume VI, which was published by the American Federation of Artists, New York. Walter Gilman Page attended the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School, studied in Paris, and served on the Massachusetts Art Commission in the 1920s. I was also unable to locate Walter Page in the 1910 census, though he married about 1901. It may be that father and son were traveling together when the census was taken.
    Charles Jewett Page was a member of the Boston Watercolor Society, Boston Art Club, and is mentioned in Who Was Who in American Art by Falk and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide. One of his paintings sold at auction for nearly $4000. Page died on 5 July 1916 in Boston, MA and his death was reported in the New York Times.

    Elizabeth Rupp Withington was a Rockport, Massachusetts illustrator and artist in watercolors, gouache and oils. She was born on 6 September 1883 in Roxbury, Massachusetts to John Rupp and Emily Wiswell Wilder Withington. Her father was a long time Jamaica Plains, Boston resident who worked for several decades as a Boston customs house clerk. The Withington family came to Massachusetts in the 1630s. Elizabeth was attending art school while residing at her parent's home at 22 Burroughs Avenue, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA during the 1900 census. By 1910 she was employed as an artist and illustrator and was thus occupied in the 1920 and 1930 censuses. She was listed in Rockport city directories as an artist residing at 105 Main Street in Rockport from the 1930s until her death in 1962.
    It is not known, for certain, where Elizabeth was a student in 1900, but by 1903 she was listed in the American Art Directory as a teacher at Pape's School of Art in Boston and was listed as an assistant there in 1905.  Eric Pape started his school in Boston in 1898, so it is possible that Elizabeth was enrolled there in 1900. Such famous artists as N. C. Wyeth attended Pape's school at the time that Elizabeth was there. Pape was a well known and successful educator, artist, and illustrator. Elizabeth must have continued her training while at Pape's school as she was also listed as a student there in 1905 and won an award for "Composition Sketches".
    Elizabeth became a member of the Rockport Art Association in 1923 and was a member until 1960. She was also a member of the American Watercolor Society. She exhibited her paintings frequently at the Rockport Art Association, and also at the American Watercolor Society and Art Institute of Chicago. She illustrated many books. Most of these books were published by the Boston publishers Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard (LLS) and L. C. Page & Co. (LCP). I have included a list of all of these books I have been able to identify at the end of this biography. The last credit for her as an illustrator that I can find was in 1930, when she would have been 47. She continued working as an artist for many years, so may have continued as an illustrator, as well, but without credit for her work.
    One book that may or may not have been her work is different from all of the others. This book, Lullabies of Many Lands, was published by the H. M. Caldwell Co., New York and Boston, in 1908. What makes this book atypical is that it was completely the work of Elizabeth Withington, drawn and compiled by her. It is not a large book, only 30 pages, but contains 13 beautifully done, full page illustrations and many smaller illustrations. I have a copy of this book but I have not been able to determine if it was done by Elizabeth Withington of Boston and Rockport, MA. I obtained a copy of Mr. Tuckerman's Nieces, which was illustrated the year before this book was published and the illustrations are done in the same style. In my opinion, the book is her work.
    Elizabeth's paintings appear frequently at the yearly Rockport Art Association Auction, and at auction houses and galleries in Essex and Suffolk counties. She is mentioned in Lost Colony: The Artists of St. Augustine, 1930-1950 by Torchia, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide, Index of Artists by Mallett, Who's Who in American Art, and other art reference books.
    The painting in my collection was titled under the mat, but I was unable to decipher Withington's writing. A visitor to my web site identified the location depicted in the painting and it is now easy to understand the title.

 
  One of Withington's illustrations:

Illustration from Anne of Green Gables by Elizabeth Withington, 1925

Books illustrated by Elizabeth:

Those Thornton Girls (LLS, 1930), The "Icicle" Melts (LLS, 1929), Barbara Winthrop Abroad (LCP, 1927), Barbara Winthrop at Camp (LCP 1926),  Homer Bright's New Adventure (LCP, 1925), Anne of Green Gables (LCP, 1925), The Adventure's of Joan (LLS, 1924), Nan's Christmas Boarder (LCP, 1924), Denise of the Three Pines (LCP, 1922), Blue Bonnet Keeps House (LCP, 1921), Marjorie's House Party (LCP, 1921), When Gretel was Fifteen (LLS, 1921), Blue Bonnet: Debutante (LCP, 1921), The Independence of Nan (LLS, 1916), A Real Cinderella (LLS, 1915), Making Mary Lizzie Happy (LLS, 1914), Laddie: The Master of the House (Little, Brown & Co., 1913), The Long Way Home (LLS, 1912), Hester's Wage Earning (LLS, 1912), Girl from Arizona (LLS, 1911), Lost on the Trail (LLS, 1911), Maisie's Merry Christmas (LLS, 1911), Victorine's Book (LLS, 1911), Dorothy Brown: A Story for Girls (1909), Mother Tucker's Seven (LLS, 1909), The Browns at Mt. Hermon (LLS, 1908),   Mr. Tuckerman's Nieces (Houghton Mifflin, 1907), Four Girls at Chautauqua (LLS, 1904), Little Queen Esther (LLS, ?), Ester Reid (LLS, ?)

    Samuel B.  Chapman was born about 1866 in Wayne Township, Wayne County, Indiana. He and his brother Charles E. Chapman, b. ca 1857, worked as professional artists for more than 30 years, painting in Wayne County, Indiana, New Orleans, and Lexington, MA. The brothers were sons of George A. and Annie B. Chapman, born in Scotland and England, respectively. They moved to New Orleans about 1903. While in New Orleans, both men first appear in censuses with the trade of "painter". Charles is also listed as a "Decorator". According to a descendant, Charles had an architectural business in New Orleans, and numerous of his architectural paintings and drawings survive. The brothers moved to Lexington, MA before 1918 when Samuel was listed as a farmer and Charles as an architect in the Lexington city directory. Both brothers were listed as managers of Ryder's Stock Farms in the 1922 city directory. The 1924 directory lists Charles as an architect and assistant manager at Ryder's Stock Farms and Samuel as manager. The 1928 directory shows both men and their wives living at the same address as they had for several years, but occupied with "The New England Fruit & Rural Development  Co.". Both men were thusly occupied in 1932 and were living at the same address in 1942. Charles had a studio in Lexington for many years and gave his occupation as "artist" in the 1920 and 1930 censuses. Where the brothers received their training as artists in not known.
    A large number of works by both artists was passed down in the family until they were sold by a grandson in 2006. Neither artist is listed in any of the major art reference books, but must have achieved some measure of success in order to have worked for so long as professional artists. They may have enjoyed good reputations locally. Both men seemed to have worked almost exclusively in watercolors. The painting above was probably painted in Indiana.