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for ROSE HARTWELL
ROSE HARTWELL
1861-1917
CountrySalt Lake City, Utah, USA
BiographyRose Hartwell was born in Salt Lake City, November 10, 1861. She was the eighth child of twelve and would later become Utah's finest miniaturist, as well as produce paintings that measure larger than five by six feet. Her style, though more opulent and pictorial, is much like the early works of Gwendolyn John, a Welsh contemporary in Montparnasse, and sister of portraitist Augustus John. During Rose's first five years, her home life was undergoing a wrenching transition. Brigham Young told her father, Elliott, to take another wife, and when he finally did so, in 1867, the mother of his ten children "yanked the whole family out of the Church." So, Rose was not raised as a Mormon, but was a "proper Utah girl." When Rose was twenty-three, her mother died, leaving only two teenage brothers at home to care for. Rose decided to seek lessons in Harwood's A Street Studio. Rose developed her talent for art from both Harwood and J. Willard Clawson and both advised her to study abroad. She did so and met a young girl--Myra Sawyer-- with whom she would share an apartment and train and support one another. The girls worked in art school from eight to five, Monday through Friday. On Saturday's they would visit museums and learn from the old masters. After two years in Paris, the two girls went to Italy. The two met up with a niece and traveled Rome, Belgium and the Netherlands. When Rose returned to Paris for the winter at Julian school, she began working with new confidence and at the age of 37 she submitted her first painting to the Salon of the Societe des Artistes Francais. On June 25, 1914, Rose married a business man, Theodore W. Whiteley in a small family ceremony. Theodore began at once to build his dream home which was a two-story brick bungalow. In this home, filled with exquisite fabrics and pieces of fine art that Rose had collected in many countries, she settled into domestic happiness and she put off painting for awhile. She loved her "Teddy" and spent much of her time with her nieces and nephews. By the summer of 1917 she was very ill, and died of an infection after an operation on August 22. Rose Hartwell was a candid, realistic person, with humor and enthusiastic interest in others. She observed the world around her and developed the skill to record artistically colors and human condition. Some of her pastels and oils reach great heights, but her miniatures are her glory.
Information found in the "Miscellaneous H" artist binder in The Print Study Room.
Entered by: Michael Clayton, Print Study Room Staff, 2/3/06
Person TypeIndividual