Greta Kempton
Greta Kempton | |
|---|---|
 Kempton with her portrait of President Harry Truman; courtesy of the Kempton Foundation | |
| Born | Martha Greta Kempton March 22, 1901 |
| Died | December 9, 1991(aged 90) |
| Resting place | Church of the Transfiguration, New York City |
| Nationality | Austrian-American[1] |
| Education | Academy of Fine Arts Vienna |
| Known for | Painting |
| Spouse | Ambrose M. McNamara[2] |
Martha Greta Kempton(March 22, 1901 – December 9, 1991) was theWhite Houseartist during theTruman administration.
Biography
[edit]Kempton was born in Vienna and came to theUnited Statesin the 1920s.[3]She studied at theVienna Academy of Fine Artsbefore emigrating to theUnited Statesand in the 1930s was a student at theNational Academy of DesignandArt Students League,both inNew York City.[2]
By the 1930s Kempton was living in California and a well-established portrait painter.[3]Her style was reminiscent ofRembrandt,Rubens,and otherEuropeanmasters. By the 1940s, she had compiled a list of subjects, includingDagmar Nordstrom,one of theNordstrom Sisters,the families of someHollywoodresidents ofNew Orleans,where she lived with her then-husband, the businessman Ambrose M. McNamara. Kempton became well known inWashingtonfollowing the unveiling in 1947 of her portrait of Drucie Snyder, the daughter of Treasury SecretaryJohn W. Snyder.Through Snyder, Kempton gained introductions to other high officials of the Truman administration. Later in 1947, she painted a portrait ofBess Truman,and that same year was commissioned to paint a portrait of thePresidenthimself - the first of five Kempton paintings for which Mr. Truman posed. The 1947 painting became the official White House portrait of President Truman.
She remained active as a painter well into her eighties and restored many paintings at Church of the Transfiguration, "TheLittle Church Around the Corner"in New York City. Her works are in the collections of the White House, theU.S. Department of the Treasury,theU.S. Supreme Court,theHarry S. Truman Library,theFranklin D. Roosevelt Library,theNational Portrait Gallery,and a number of museums. Her papers, which include a number of portraits, now form a collection at theHarry S. Truman LibraryinIndependence, Missouri.
She died in New York City from heart failure in December 1991,[2][3]and her ashes were placed in thecolumbariumin theChurch of the Transfiguration, Manhattan.
References
[edit]- ^Fernandes, Andréa."The Capital's Court Painter: Greta Kempton".Mental Floss.Mental Floss, Inc.Retrieved12 June2017.
- ^abc"Greta Kempton Dies; A Portrait Painter, 89".The New York Times.12 December 1991. p. D 20.Retrieved1 April2022.
- ^abc"Truman Portrait Artist, Greta Kempton, 89".Chicago Tribune.December 15, 1991.Archivedfrom the original on October 25, 2015.Retrieved2014-08-20.
External links
[edit]
- gretakempton.org
- Truman Library - Greta Kempton Papers
- Greta Kempton papers, 1945-1977, in the Archives of American Art,Smithsonian Institution
- "Portrait Artist Greta Kempton",Chicago Tonight, May 21, 2013
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1901 births
- 1991 deaths
- Painters from Vienna
- 20th-century American painters
- American portrait painters
- Austrian emigrants to the United States
- National Academy of Design alumni
- Art Students League of New York alumni
- Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni
- Painters from New York City
- 20th-century American women painters