Triumphant Careers

141 Cambridge Street Boston, Mass. 02114-2702 Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Boston, Massachusetts Permit No. 58621

by NANCY CARLISLE Senior Curator of Collections

Two recent acquisitions reflect

Historic New England’s commitment to expanding the story of women’s lives in the region. Both also complement the paintings in the exhibition Artful Stories at the Eustis Estate in Milton, Massachusetts, which ends October 31 (visit the exhibition online at eustis. estate/location/artful-stories/). The stories these two pieces tell, as well as those of several paintings in the exhibition, are about talented, determined, and fortunate women who created successful careers as artists.

Sarah Goodridge (1788-1853) painted the first work shown here, an 1833 miniature of Mary Quincy Donnison, a member of a wellconnected Boston family. Goodridge was one of nine children born into a farming family in Templeton, Massachusetts. According to her sister, Goodridge initially learned to paint from a book. After moving to Boston, she gained the attention of the notoriously irascible Gilbert Stuart, who is believed to have painted one of his few miniatures to demonstrate the technique for Goodridge. By 1830 she was one of Boston’s most successful miniaturists, able to support herself and her family.

Gertrude Fiske (1879-1961) painted the second piece, an unfinished portrait c. 1930. Her career, nearly a century after Goodridge’s, was quite different. Born into a prosperous Boston family, Fiske spent the first few years of her adulthood pursuing various sports before enrolling in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her career quickly took off and her paintings were shown in exhibitions around the country. By 1930 she was a full member of the National Academy of Design.