Gretchen Osgood Warren (March 19, 1868 – September 13, 1961) was an American actress, singer, and poet. She was the wife of

Fiske Warren Frederick Fiske Warren (July 3, 1862 – February 2, 1938) was a successful paper manufacturer, fine arts doyen, United States tennis champion of 1893, and major supporter of Henry George's single tax system which he helped develop in Harv ...

. The daughter of Dr. Hamilton Osgood and Margaret Cushing Osgood of Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts, her younger sister was

Mary Alden Childers Mary Alden Childers (' Osgood; 14 December 1875 – 1 January 1964), known as Molly Childers, was an American-born Irish writer and nationalist. A daughter of Dr Hamilton Osgood and Margaret Cushing Osgood of Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusett ...

, the wife of writer and

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

Erskine Childers. Her nephew

Erskine Hamilton Childers Erskine Hamilton Childers (11 December 1905 – 17 November 1974) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the president of Ireland from June 1973 to November 1974. He is the only Irish president to have died in office. He also served ...

served as the fourth

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

from 1973 to 1974.

Early life

She could sing perfectly in pitch, write like an adult and recite poetry on command. Her upbringing in the affluent environment that was turn of the century

Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is also the location of the Massachusetts State House. The term "Beacon Hill" is used locally as a metonym to refer to the state government or the legislature i ...

allowed her to pursue music and drama to an extremely high level."The Mount Vernon Street Warrens" Martin Green, Simon & Schuster, 1989 , pp. 150-156. Just down the street from the Osgood home was the

Boston Athenaeum Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

, where a long line of Osgoods, namely

Frances Sargent Osgood Frances Sargent Osgood (née Locke; June 18, 1811 – May 12, 1850) was an American poet and one of the most popular women writers during her time.Silverman, 281 Nicknamed "Fanny", she was also famous for her exchange of romantic poems with Edgar ...

and Samuel Stillman Osgood, are all listed on the "Register of the Proprietors" for the institution. Gretchen went on to study at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and graduated with honors.

Artistic muse

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...

, the famed portraitist of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

's elite, was commissioned by Warren's husband,

to paint her portrait in April 1903. The sitting was done in Fenway Court, then the home of legendary

fine arts czar;

Isabella Stewart Gardner Isabella Stewart Gardner (April 14, 1840 – July 17, 1924) was an American art collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. She founded the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Gardner possessed an energetic intellectual curiosity ...

. Warren is seen seated in a chair with her daughter, Rachel Warren. The painting is often considered to be one of Sargent's prime portraits and usually appears in Sargent Estate calendars and postcards. Later she was also photographed by portrait photographer

Arnold Genthe Arnold Genthe (8 January 1869 – 9 August 1942) was a German-American photographer, best known for his photographs of San Francisco's Chinatown, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and his portraits of noted people, from politicians and socialite ...

. She died at her home in Boston in 1961. Her daughter Rachel married the American archaeologist

Samuel K. Lothrop Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venerated a ...

and later the Irish nationalist Robert Childers Barton.

Awards

Golden Rose Award The Golden Rose Award, one of America’s oldest literary prizes, was inaugurated in 1919. The rose was modeled after the Gold Rose which is now in the Cluny Museum in Paris. ThNew England Poetry Clubawards the Rose annually for American poetry. ...

Works

* * *''Humanity,'' by Gretchen Osgood Warren, (Basil Blackwell, Oxford) 1953 (A Selection of Poems)

References

Sources

*''The Mount Vernon Street Warrens'', Martin Green, Simon & Schuster, 1989
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Gretchen Osgood 1868 births 1961 deaths Actresses from Boston American women poets American art collectors People from Beacon Hill, Boston