Gretchen Hansell Dow Simpson (née Dow; May 17, 1939 – April 11, 2025) was an American painter from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. She is the author of over 60 magazine covers for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''.

Background

Born Gretchen Hansell Dow on May 17, 1939 in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, she was the daughter of Elizabeth Sagendorph Dow and Richard A. Dow, who lived in

Dover, Massachusetts Dover is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,923 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. With a median household income of more than $250,000, Dover is the wealthiest town in Massachusetts. Located ...

. She was educated at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, class of 1961.

Career

Simpson spent many years living in New York City, where she began her career in advertising. She was best known for her paintings of New England architecture, noted for its dedication to geometry and scale. Her work is best known for her attention to details, proportions, and lighting effects. Simpson considered herself a “painter with a photographer’s eye,” and architectural forms have always drawn her. Between 1974 and 1993, over 50 of her paintings were featured as covers of ''

''. Her covers stopped appearing in the magazine when editor

Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born in England on 21 November 1953), is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, broadcaster, and author, with dual British/United States citizenship. She is the former editor in chief of '' Tatler'' (197 ...

began commissioning more topical material for the publication. Her work has been exhibited in New York City,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, and many of her paintings are in private collections. In October 2012, a 1,300-square-foot highway mural, based on one of her paintings, was installed on Interstate 95 in

Pawtucket, RI Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...

as part of the then

Rhode Island Governor The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Dan McKee, a member of the Democratic ...

Lincoln Chafee Lincoln Davenport Chafee ( ; born March 26, 1953) is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island, from 1993 to 1999, a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007, and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a ...

's Highway Beautification Project.

Personal life and death

On April 20, 1968, she married John Ramsey Simpson Jr, aka actor John Ramsey. In 2005, Simpson received a Pell Grant. In 2009, she received an honorary doctorate from

Bryant University Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It has three colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New E ...

, a private university in

. Her two daughters are Megan and Phoebe. John and Gretchen Simpson divorced in 1982. In 2013, Simpson married James Baird, a professor of chemistry at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. The couple lived in

. On April 11, 2025, Simpson died at home from complications of

Lewy body dementia Lewy body dementia (LBD) is an umbrella term for two similar and common subtypes of dementia: dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Both are characterized by changes in thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. The ...

. She was 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dow Simpson, Gretchen 1939 births 2025 deaths 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters 20th-century American women painters 21st-century American women painters Deaths from Lewy body dementia People from Dover, Massachusetts Painters from Massachusetts Neurological disease deaths in Massachusetts Painters from Rhode Island Artists from Providence, Rhode Island Rhode Island School of Design alumni