Irene E. Parmelee, her surname also spelled Parmely (1847 – 1934), was an American painter and portrait artist.

Early life

Irene E. Parmelee born in

Guilford Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Guildford, the Diocese of Guildford and the Guildford (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency of Guildford. Guildford, Guilford, or Gildford may also refe ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. She was the daughter of Mary and Horton L. Parmelee, a farmer. Her older siblings were Emily, Charles, Mary, and Jane.

Education

Parmelee studied under Henry Bryant of

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since ...

beginning in 1872 and the following year with

Nathaniel Jocelyn Nathaniel Jocelyn (January 31, 1796 – January 13, 1881) was an American painter and engraver best known for his portraits of abolitionists and of the slave revolt leader Joseph Cinqué. Family and education Nathaniel Jocelyn was born in Ne ...

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

. She studied for a year at the Yale Art School, which had just begun admitting women, under

Robert Walter Weir Robert Walter Weir (June 18, 1803 – May 1, 1889) was an American artist and educator and is considered a painter of the Hudson River School. Weir was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1829 and was an instructor at the United States ...

. Still stating to others that she was still a student, she opened a studio in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1875. Parmelee later traveled to Paris and attended the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the numbe ...

from 1881 to 1884 where she studied with

Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury (8 August 17975 May 1890) was a French painter. Biography Born in Cologne, he was sent by his family to Paris, and after travelling in Italy returned to France and made his first appearance at the Salon in 1824; hi ...

Pierre Auguste Cot Pierre Auguste Cot (; 17 February 1837 – 2 August 1883) was a French painter of the Academic Classicism school. Life and career Cot was born in Bédarieux, Hérault, and initially studied at l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse before going ...

, and

Jules Joseph Lefebvre Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French figure painter, educator and theorist. Early life Lefebvre was born in Tournan-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, on 14 March 1836. He entered the École nationale supérieure des Bea ...

Career

She was a career portrait artist and operated a studio in Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1875 to 1929. Parlee painted the portrait of Marcus Perrin Knowlton, Chief Justice of the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously functi ...

, made after a

photogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...

, in 1912. It hung in the court house in Springfield following a formal presentation ceremony at the fourth annual

Massachusetts Bar Association The Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) is a voluntary, non-profit bar association in Massachusetts with a headquarters on West Street in Boston's Downtown Crossing. The MBA also has a Western Massachusetts office. The purpose of the MBA is ...

meeting in December of that year. She was paid $1,125 () for the framed painting. Parmelee made a portrait of Samuel Bowles, III, who was an editor of the ''

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

'' and a City Library Association member for 37 years and was on the board of directors for 24 years. His wife donated the portrait to the Springfield Library, which was hung next to a portrait of his father, Samuel Bowles, II.

Death

She died on August 29, 1934, in Los Angeles, California.

Works

A partial list of her paintings are: * Amherst College,

Mead Art Museum Mead Art Museum houses the fine art collection of Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Opened in 1949, the building is named after architect William Rutherford Mead (class of 1867), of the prestigious architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. ...

, Amherst, Massachusetts ** ''

Chester W. Chapin Chester William Chapin (December 16, 1798 – June 10, 1883) was an American businessman, president of the Boston and Albany Railroad from 1868 to 1878, and U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts. He was a multimillionaire at his death in 1883, an ...

'' (b. 1798), oil, copy after

Joseph Oriel Eaton Joseph Oriel Eaton, an American painter of portraits and figure subjects, both in oil and in water-colours, was born in 1829. His most famous work is his portrait of Herman Melville, the author of Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. He died at Yonker ...

George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum The Quadrangle is the common name for a cluster of museums and cultural institutions in Metro Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, on Chestnut Street between State and Edwards Streets. The Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, in the cente ...

, Springfield, Massachusetts ** ''Horace Smith'', oil, 1881 ** ''Horatio N. Case'', oil, 1890 ** ''Charles M. Merriam'', oil, 1890 ** ''Henry S. Lee'', oil, 1891 ** ''James M. Thompson'', oil, 1895 ** ''Ephraim Bond'', oil, 1896 ** ''Samuel Bowles'', oil, 1896 ** ''Dr. Josiah Gilbert Holland'', oil, 1896 ** ''James Kirkham'', oil, 1896 ** '' Everett Hosmer Barney'', oil, 1903 ** ''John Olmsted'', oil, 1903 ** ''Julius Appleton,'' oil, 1907 ** ''Chester Chapin'', oil ** ''Mrs. Timothy M. Walker'', oil *

Maine State Museum The Maine State Museum is the official Maine government's museum and is located at 230 State Street, adjacent to the Maine State House, in Augusta. Its collections focus on the state's pre-history, history, and natural science. Permanent exhibi ...

, Augusta ** ''Portrait of George Evans'', oil, 1901 *

Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Bost ...

** ''Mrs. Edward Bates'' (Lucy Douglas Fowler) 1830-1916 * Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts ** ''Portrait of James Philip Gray,'' oil * Unitarian Church, Boston, Massachusetts ** ''John Wille'', oil, 1886 *

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut ** ''Henry Bronson'' (1804-1893), oil on canvas, 1881

References

External links

Portrait of Chester W. Chapin by I.E. Parmelee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parmelee, Irene E. 1847 births 1934 deaths Painters from Connecticut Académie Julian alumni 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters 19th-century American women painters 20th-century American women painters