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Susan Catherine Moore Waters (May 18, 1823 – July 7, 1900), self-taught painter of animals and resident of Bordentown, New Jersey. == Biography == On May 18, 1823, Susan Catherine Moore Waters was born in Binghamton, New York. A self-taught artist with little formal training, Waters did attend seminary school in Friendsville, Pennsylvania, where she paid her tuition by producing drawings. At seventeen she married William Waters, whose Quaker connections determined the destinations of their frequent relocations. William, who had health problems, was unable to work enough to provide sufficient income for both of them, which left Susan in the position of provider. Her career as an artist began with commissioned portraits and lessons. Soliciting sitters as she moved between New York and Pennsylvania, Waters employed her talents to support herself and her husband. While some of these early portraits survive, Waters herself made it clear that she had loftier artistic goals in an 1851 letter written to an art world connection.〔Waters, Susan C. and Paul D. Schweizer. “A Letter by Susan Waters Provides New Information on her Career.” American Art Journal. Vol. 19, No. 1 (1987): 76-77.〕 Waters’ early paintings were enough to ensure herself and her husband some financial security, but she was interested in expanding her range of subject matter. She stopped referring to herself as an itinerant portrait painter and instead she started producing landscapes. This shift in her practice and self-presentation stands as evidence of Waters’ ongoing artistic development. As financial security allowed her to move away from contractually constrained portraits, she had more freedom to experiment and explore other forms of expression. In 1866, the Waters moved to Bordentown, New Jersey, a final destination after years of temporary residences. It was here in Bordentown where Waters would create some of her most well-known paintings of domesticated animals in pastoral settings. Among her favorite subjects were sheep, which she conveniently had living models of in her own yard. The works she produced in Bordentown would garner her recognition in her own lifetime, getting attention from outside the local community. In 1876, Waters was honored with an invitation to show some of her paintings at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Waters’ initiative in taking up the role of primary income earner between herself and her husband was a remarkable trait for a married woman in her time. She was also forward-thinking in her involvement with the women's suffrage movement and animal rights activism. In the male-dominated world of painting, Waters proved to be ahead of her time by finding success and staking out a place of her own in art history. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Susan Waters」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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