Fidelia Bridges
Encyclopedia
Fidelia Bridges was one of the minute population of
successful female artists in the 19th century and early 20th century. She painted small aspects of nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...

: flowers, birds, and other plants in their natural settings. She first was an oil painter and later took up watercolor painting
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...

. She was known for her delicately detailed paintings. She was considered an expert and specialist in watercolor painting
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...

. She was the only woman of six men in the group of notable 19th century artists in the American Watercolor Society
American Watercolor Society
The American Watercolor Society is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States. It was founded in 1866 by eleven painters and, originally, was known as the American Society of Painters in Water Colors...

.

Life and Education

Fidelia Bridges was born in Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...

 to a sea captain and his wife. She was orphaned by age fifteen after her mother and father died approximately six years apart. She was then supported by an older sister. She became a mother's helper in the household of William Augustus Brown who was a Salem ship- holder. In 1854 the Browns moved to Brooklyn, New York. Bridges and her sisters moved with them. She lived with the Browns in order to take care of the children, but she also opened a school with her sisters. Bridges later studied art, after being inspired by sculptress Anne Whitney
Anne Whitney
Anne Whitney was an American sculptor and poet. She was born in Watertown, Massachusetts on September 2, 1821 and died in Boston, Massachusetts on January 23, 1915.-Early years:...

, at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia with William Trost Richards
William Trost Richards
William Trost Richards was an American landscape artist associated with both the Hudson River School and the American Pre-Raphaelite movement.-Biography:...

 and became very close to his family . He was a Pre-Raphaelite advocate and her style was greatly influenced by him. After the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 she studied for a year in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, but later returned to The United States in the 1860s
1860s
The 1860s were an extremely turbulent decade with numerous cultural, social, and political upheavals in Europe and America. Revolutions were prevalent in Germany and the Ottoman Empire...

. This was a time when water coloring was a very respected style and she quickly gained popularity with her exquisite depictions of flowers and birds. She was considered a specialist in her field and focused on the beauty and serenity of small bits of nature. In 1876 many of her paintings were reproduced and sold by publisher and lithographer Louis Prang
Louis Prang
Louis Prang was an American printer, lithographer and publisher. He is sometimes known as the "father of the American Christmas card".- Youth :...

. This success eventually led to a job as a designer for Prang's firm. For this job Bridges designed Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 cards and she kept it until 1899. She moved to Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 in the early 1890s
1890s
The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the "Mauve Decade" - because William Henry Perkin's aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that colour in fashion - and also as the "Gay Nineties", under the then-current usage of the word "gay" which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no...

 and led a quiet lifestyle. In her lifetime, Fidelia Bridges became Associate of the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...

 and a member of The American Society of Painters in Watercolor (now The American Watercolor Society
American Watercolor Society
The American Watercolor Society is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States. It was founded in 1866 by eleven painters and, originally, was known as the American Society of Painters in Water Colors...

). She was the only female artist out of seven famous 19th century American artists in this society. She exhibited her work sporadically from 1863 until 1908. Fidelia Bridges died in 1923 in Canaan, Connecticut
Canaan, Connecticut
Canaan is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,081 at the 2000 census. The town of Canaan is often referred to locally by the name of its principal constituent village, Falls Village.-Geography:...

at the age of eighty-nine.

Gallery

Samples of Fidelia Bridges' Watercolors
  • http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artwork_Detail.asp?G=&gid=203&which=&ViewArtistBy=&aid=3064&wid=424374097&source=artist&rta=http://www.artnet.com
  • http://www.artnet.com/Artists/LotDetailPage.aspx?lot_id=5D941D844E5979B12AFC3F83174088AC
  • http://www.askart.com/AskART/assets/artist/21588/fideliabridgessummary.jpg
  • http://members.cox.net/academia/Bridges_BirdsByShore.jpg
  • http://members.cox.net/academia/bridegesuntitled4.jpg

External links

  • http://www.artsender.com/artists/Bridges_Fidelia.htm
  • http://members.cox.net/academia/cassatt6a.html
  • http://www.askart.com/AskART/artist.aspx?artist=21588
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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