Sally Talaga, from the Wayne County Historical Society, will give a talk on the art and career of Honesdale native, Jennie Brownscombe (1850-1936) on Tuesday evening, September 19, at 7:00 pm. Sally is a former executive director of WCHS and has curated exhibits of Brownscombe’s works at their museum in Honesdale, as well as at the University of Scranton.
Jennie Brownscombe grew up in a small farmhouse on the top of a hill overlooking the village of Honesdale in the mid-1800s. As a child, she loved the outdoors and started drawing flowers at the age of seven. She didn’t have a paint box so she used the petals and leaves of flowers to rub against the paper to color her drawings. Her mother recognized her artistic talent and bought her an inexpensive used paint set, which she used to illustrate a book by her aunt Nellie.
In 1871 at the age of 21, Jennie set out for New York City to attend art school. Not all art schools at the time would accept women, but she was able to enroll at the Cooper Institute School of Design for Women in New York. After graduation, she studied at the National Academy of Design where she sold her first painting, and later continued her studies in Paris, the art capital of the nineteenth century.
In 1899 Jennie Brownscombe was described by New York World as “one of America’s best artists.” She is most known for her portraits and depictions of historic events, especially from colonial times. One of her most famous paintings, “The First Thanksgiving,” is familiar to many of us. She also sold the reproduction rights to more than 100 of her works, which were produced for greeting cards, calendars and prints. Jennie was one of the few artists at the time who was able to make a living from her art.
Jennie called her work “great fun” and often painted rural scenes remembered from her childhood. Many of her works are in the collection of the Wayne County Historical Society.
Light refreshments will be served following Sally’s talk. The program was sponsored by GDHS Business Partner, Honesdale National Bank.
