Velma Wallace Rayness
Encyclopedia
Velma Wallace Rayness was a prolific artist, author, and instructor living in Iowa in the United States of America.
Velma Wallace-Rayness was born October 31, 1896 in Davenport
Iowa
in the United States of America
. Velma Wallace Rayness was a daughter to William W. and Eva Wallace.
According to Iowan historical archives, William W., Velma’s father, was employed as a "painter" during the Des Moines, Iowa 1910 census. Thereafter, William Wallace was listed as a "house painter" in 1920. Velma herself was employed as a "school artist" in 1920.
Nine years later, Velma married Gerard M. Rayness on 22 November 1929 in Des Moines, Iowa
. Both Velma and Gerard were students of artist Charles Atherton Cumming. Both artists taught at the Cummings Art School in Des Moines.
Educated at East High School in Des Moines and studied art with Harriet Macy, Velma Wallace Rayness studied with Charles Atherton Cumming and graduated from the Cumming School of Art in Des Moines where she then taught painting from 1926-1931.
With her husband, Gerard, the couple built a home and studio in 1934 at 3022 Oakland Street in Ames, Iowa where Velma lived for over 50 years. Many Ames children and housewives took art lessons here. Her husband died in 1946.
According to the Iowa census, Velma was living with her husband and her husband's parents in Ames City, Iowa in 1930. Velma was listed in employment as a "private school teacher". Gerard M. Rayness was employed as a "public school teacher".
Velma and Gerard moved to Ames, Iowa
permanently in 1932 and opened a studio near Iowa State College
. Andrew Rayness, Gerard's father, was occupied as a "college teacher” in 1930, which may have influenced Gerard and Velma's choice.
Gerard and Velma taught art to adults and children, and Velma continued to teach after Gerard's death. Their studio was open for 23 years.
Velma also worked under Grant Wood
in the Public Works of Art program in 1933. Both Gerard and Velma were active in the Iowa Art Guild.
Velma Wallace Rayness was also an avid sketch artist, author, and book illustrator. Velma Rayness sketched and wrote the book Campus Sketches of Iowa State College. The book was published in Ames, Iowa by the Iowa State University Press in 1949. The second edition of the book was published in 1962 and named Campus Sketches of Iowa State University. The first edition book can be located at the Iowa State University libraries in their Special & General Collection department. Velma also collaborated on Charles Atherton Cumming: Iowa's Pioneer Artist-Educator in 1972 published by the Iowa Art Guild. She also illustrated a book called The Corn is Ripe in 1944. Velma is also mentioned in the 1939 book, "The First One Hundred Years of Iowa Artists" by Zenobia Ness & Louise Orwig.
Velma exhibited her sketches and paintings at the:
Some examples and dates of exhibits include:
State Memorial Union, August 21, 1973 – September 13, 1973
includes a brief history of the guild by Velma as historian
Iowa State University Memorial [Union] Gallery, Sept. 12, 1976
Rayness Collection” Dept. of Special Collections, Iowa State University
Library, through April 23, 1976
Her paintings and sketches can be found at other additional locations.
Art collection - Paintings
Oil on canvas, 24 x 16 in.
Study of a young black woman; a very early work done at the Cumming School of Art in Des Moines where the artist was a student and later teacher.
Conserved November 2007 by David Marquis at Midwest Art Conservation Center, Minneapolis, with funding provided by Dennis Wendell.
Casein on board, 14x18 in.
Rustic frame with glass; subject: hogs and chickens feeding in front of red barn; exhibited at Memorial Union Gallery Aug 22-25, 1976 courtesy of Dr. and Mrs. George Hegstrom
Watercolor, 12x18 in.
Matted and framed with glass 20x26”; subject: wooded hillside in winter with house in distance [probably on Oakland Street]
Oil on canvas, 14 ¼ x 30 ¼ in.
Exhibited in Brunnier Gallery, Aug. 22-24, 1976.
Given to Betty Teague by the artist in 1977.
Oil on Masonite panel, 18 x 24 in.
Scene on Oakland Street in west Ames.
Exhibited at Iowa Art Guild, 1971.
Velma Wallace Rayness was mentioned in Dictionary of Women Artists by Pettys, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide, Index of Artists by Mallett, as well as several editions of American Art Annual. Velma can also be found in Who's Who of American Women by Marquis.
Velma Wallace Rayness won numerous awards and prizes for her work as an artist.
There are only three privately-owned paintings currently known to exist. One of such is called “Roof Tops in Fall” on Gouache paper, which is a sketch/watercolor that measures 16x20 in sold at auction in 2005.
Velma Rayness died in April 1977. Her husband Gerald Rayness died 31 years earlier in 1946. Both artists died in Ames City, Iowa.
Velma and Gerard Rayness left archived information, diaries, paintings, and sketches with Iowa State University.
Examples of her art exist in Ames in private collections and at the university. Families treasure portraits of their children painted by Velma. By her own count, she painted 200 portraits and as many landscapes. Portraits of Dr. Charles E. Bessey and Dr. I.E. Melhus painted by Velma hang in Bessey Hall on campus. In addition, Brunnier Gallery has four other works. Collegiate Presbyterian Church in Ames has “Christ feeding the multitude,” a 60 x 80” painting done in 1944, hanging in a third floor room.
Newspaper Articles on Velma Wallace Rayness
+“Ames Artist Teaches Her Students to See / Pam Witmer. Ames Tribune, August 14, 1976
[with photo of Velma in ‘The House That Art Built on Oakland Street’
TRIVIA:
Velma Wallace Rayness often signed her sketches and paintings as "V.W. Rayness"
Velma Wallace-Rayness was born October 31, 1896 in Davenport
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Velma Wallace Rayness was a daughter to William W. and Eva Wallace.
According to Iowan historical archives, William W., Velma’s father, was employed as a "painter" during the Des Moines, Iowa 1910 census. Thereafter, William Wallace was listed as a "house painter" in 1920. Velma herself was employed as a "school artist" in 1920.
Nine years later, Velma married Gerard M. Rayness on 22 November 1929 in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. Both Velma and Gerard were students of artist Charles Atherton Cumming. Both artists taught at the Cummings Art School in Des Moines.
Educated at East High School in Des Moines and studied art with Harriet Macy, Velma Wallace Rayness studied with Charles Atherton Cumming and graduated from the Cumming School of Art in Des Moines where she then taught painting from 1926-1931.
With her husband, Gerard, the couple built a home and studio in 1934 at 3022 Oakland Street in Ames, Iowa where Velma lived for over 50 years. Many Ames children and housewives took art lessons here. Her husband died in 1946.
According to the Iowa census, Velma was living with her husband and her husband's parents in Ames City, Iowa in 1930. Velma was listed in employment as a "private school teacher". Gerard M. Rayness was employed as a "public school teacher".
Velma and Gerard moved to Ames, Iowa
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
permanently in 1932 and opened a studio near Iowa State College
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
. Andrew Rayness, Gerard's father, was occupied as a "college teacher” in 1930, which may have influenced Gerard and Velma's choice.
Gerard and Velma taught art to adults and children, and Velma continued to teach after Gerard's death. Their studio was open for 23 years.
Velma also worked under Grant Wood
Grant Wood
Grant DeVolson Wood was an American painter, born four miles east of Anamosa, Iowa. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest, particularly the painting American Gothic, an iconic image of the 20th century.- Life and career :His family moved to Cedar Rapids after his...
in the Public Works of Art program in 1933. Both Gerard and Velma were active in the Iowa Art Guild.
Velma Wallace Rayness was also an avid sketch artist, author, and book illustrator. Velma Rayness sketched and wrote the book Campus Sketches of Iowa State College. The book was published in Ames, Iowa by the Iowa State University Press in 1949. The second edition of the book was published in 1962 and named Campus Sketches of Iowa State University. The first edition book can be located at the Iowa State University libraries in their Special & General Collection department. Velma also collaborated on Charles Atherton Cumming: Iowa's Pioneer Artist-Educator in 1972 published by the Iowa Art Guild. She also illustrated a book called The Corn is Ripe in 1944. Velma is also mentioned in the 1939 book, "The First One Hundred Years of Iowa Artists" by Zenobia Ness & Louise Orwig.
Velma exhibited her sketches and paintings at the:
- Des Moines Women's Art Club
- Iowa State Fairs
- Davenport Museum of Art
- Sioux City Art Center
- Corcoran Gallery of Art 1934
- Cornell College
- The Iowa Art Guild
- All Iowa Exhibit
- Iowa Art Salon, 1935
- Public Works of Art Project Exhibition
- Carson Pirie Scott and Company, Chicago
- Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, NE
- Brunnier Gallery, 1976
Some examples and dates of exhibits include:
- “Iowa Art Guild 59th Annual Exhibition” at the Gallery, Iowa
State Memorial Union, August 21, 1973 – September 13, 1973
includes a brief history of the guild by Velma as historian
- Iowa Art Guild sixty second annual exhibition of paintings,
Iowa State University Memorial [Union] Gallery, Sept. 12, 1976
- Brunnier Gallery, August 22–24, 1976;
- “Artists in Ames: an exhibit drawn from the Gerard & Velma
Rayness Collection” Dept. of Special Collections, Iowa State University
Library, through April 23, 1976
Her paintings and sketches can be found at other additional locations.
Art collection - Paintings
- Nude (1919)
Oil on canvas, 24 x 16 in.
Study of a young black woman; a very early work done at the Cumming School of Art in Des Moines where the artist was a student and later teacher.
Conserved November 2007 by David Marquis at Midwest Art Conservation Center, Minneapolis, with funding provided by Dennis Wendell.
- Cafeteria (1952)
Casein on board, 14x18 in.
Rustic frame with glass; subject: hogs and chickens feeding in front of red barn; exhibited at Memorial Union Gallery Aug 22-25, 1976 courtesy of Dr. and Mrs. George Hegstrom
- Untitled (1959)
Watercolor, 12x18 in.
Matted and framed with glass 20x26”; subject: wooded hillside in winter with house in distance [probably on Oakland Street]
- Fruit and Flowers (1966)
Oil on canvas, 14 ¼ x 30 ¼ in.
Exhibited in Brunnier Gallery, Aug. 22-24, 1976.
Given to Betty Teague by the artist in 1977.
- Hillside in Winter (1971)
Oil on Masonite panel, 18 x 24 in.
Scene on Oakland Street in west Ames.
Exhibited at Iowa Art Guild, 1971.
Velma Wallace Rayness was mentioned in Dictionary of Women Artists by Pettys, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide, Index of Artists by Mallett, as well as several editions of American Art Annual. Velma can also be found in Who's Who of American Women by Marquis.
Velma Wallace Rayness won numerous awards and prizes for her work as an artist.
There are only three privately-owned paintings currently known to exist. One of such is called “Roof Tops in Fall” on Gouache paper, which is a sketch/watercolor that measures 16x20 in sold at auction in 2005.
Velma Rayness died in April 1977. Her husband Gerald Rayness died 31 years earlier in 1946. Both artists died in Ames City, Iowa.
Velma and Gerard Rayness left archived information, diaries, paintings, and sketches with Iowa State University.
Examples of her art exist in Ames in private collections and at the university. Families treasure portraits of their children painted by Velma. By her own count, she painted 200 portraits and as many landscapes. Portraits of Dr. Charles E. Bessey and Dr. I.E. Melhus painted by Velma hang in Bessey Hall on campus. In addition, Brunnier Gallery has four other works. Collegiate Presbyterian Church in Ames has “Christ feeding the multitude,” a 60 x 80” painting done in 1944, hanging in a third floor room.
Newspaper Articles on Velma Wallace Rayness
- “Ames Show Features Work of Pioneer Iowa Artist” Des Moines Sunday Register June 10, 1973
+“Ames Artist Teaches Her Students to See / Pam Witmer. Ames Tribune, August 14, 1976
[with photo of Velma in ‘The House That Art Built on Oakland Street’
TRIVIA:
Velma Wallace Rayness often signed her sketches and paintings as "V.W. Rayness"
External links
- Gerard (1898-1946) and Velma (1896-1977) Rayness Papers, 1861-1979, undated Iowa State University Archives