Lilian Westcott Hale was one of Boston's must successful and respected artists. The title for the exhibition arises from a quote of William McGregor Paxton, who said that Lilian Wescott Hale drew with butterfly's wings.
The painter in last 1890s. Hale was admired both for her elegant and graceful oils and charcoal drawings.
In 1900 Lilian Westcott attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, entering with a scholarship from the Hartford Art Society. At the School, she enrolled in Edmund C. Tarbell's advanced painting class. She met an instructor named Philip Hale while at the School, whom she later married. Philip served as a teacher and mentor to Lilian throughout their marriage.
"The Open Door" (Unknown date)
In 1906 Hale exhibited "The Convalescent" (now titled Ziffy in Bed - see left) at the prestigious Fenway Studios in Boston. This painting received favorable reviews in the Boston press, favoring Lilian's composition over that of her husband. Hale's steadfast model, Rose Zeffler, was the subject of many drawings and paintings. "Zeffy," as she was known by Hale, was the model for a group of drawings at the Fourth Annual Water Color Club Exhibition in Philadelphia, held at the Pennsylvania Academy in April, 1907. Soon after the Philadelphia exhibition, Hale earned further acclaim at a 1908 show at the Rowlands Galleries in Boston.
"Ziffy in Bed" (1906)
"Spring Morning" (1908)
"L Edition de Luxe" (1910)
In 1915 Hale sent six drawings to the Panama-Pacific Exhibition in San Francisco, winning a medal of honor for her drawings. Her painting Lavender and Old Ivory (see right) won a gold medal there.
"The Burnous" (1907)
Later in her career, Hale painted portraits, still lifes and landscapes -- home in the winter and in Rockport in the summer. At the age of 83 Hale won her last prize at the Rockport Art Association's summer exhibition, passing away later that year.
"Song of the Spheres" (Unknown date)
For further biographical information on selected artists cited above please see America's Distinguished Artists, a national registry of historic artists.
