Bessie Wessel Posthumous Portrait Oil Painting "Samuel F. Pogue, Sr.," C 1950

Item Details

Bessie Hoover Wessel (Ohio/Indiana, 1889 – 1973)
Samuel F. Pogue, Sr., circa 1950
Oil painting on canvas
Signed to the lower left
Inscribed on the verso
Plaque with title attached to the front

American artist Bessie Hoover Wessel was born in Indiana in 1889. As a young child, her family moved to Cincinnati where she would live and stay for the rest of her life. At the encouragement of her father who was a school teacher, Hoover Wessel enrolled at the Cincinnati Art Academy in 1906. She was instructed by Lewis Henry Meakin and later Frank Duveneck who would become a lifelong mentor and friend. She completed her studies in 1915, and was hired the same year as an instructor at the Academy. However, Hoover Wessel preferred to work on her own creative career and resigned from her position in 1917. Alongside painting, Hoover Wessel served as President of the Women’s Art Club in Cincinnati from 1917 to 1919. She shared a studio with her husband, fellow artist Herman Wessel, near their home in Eden Park, and they spent their summers traveling together across the United States and Europe. Hoover Wessel exhibited much of her work throughout the span of her career, known for a versatile output including colorful still lifes and landscapes. In the 1960s, she was especially known for her child portraiture. After the passing of her husband in 1969, Hoover Wessel focused on a series titled Portraits from the Plains . Bessie Hoover Wessel passed soon after the opening of the exhibition in 1974; she left behind a legacy as artist and champion of women’s art careers. Her work is included in the permanent collections of major institutions including Cincinnati Art Museum and Indianapolis Museum of Art.

• Item not examined outside of mounting

Condition

- some abrasions and scratches to the frame; minimal scratches to the surface; examined under UV light, no apparent retouching no note.

Dimensions

- measures the frame; sight measures 21.25" W x 25.25" H.

Item #

ITMGD70086