Jennie Byrd Bryan Payne (1857–August 1, 1919) was an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, artist and society figure. She was a member of the

Barbour family The Barbour family is an American political family of Scottish origin from Virginia. The progenitor of the Barbour family was James Barbour, who emigrated to Virginia from Scotland in the middle of the 17th century. Summary of notable members T ...

. Soon after her death, the founding gift for what became the

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the supp ...

was made by her husband

John Barton Payne John Barton Payne (January 26, 1855January 24, 1935) was an American politician, lawyer and judge. He served as the United States Secretary of the Interior from 1920 until 1921 under Woodrow Wilson's administration. Early life and career Payne ...

in memory of her and her mother-in-law.

Biography

Thomas Barbour Bryan with children 45151821

Born Jennie Byrd Bryan in 1857 in

Elmhurst Elmhurst may refer to: Places Australia *Elmhurst, Victoria United Kingdom * Elmhurst, Aylesbury * Elmhurst, Staffordshire United States *Elmhurst, Sacramento, California *Elmhurst, Oakland, California * Elmhurst, Delaware *Elmhurst, Illinois * El ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

(at the time known as "Cottage Hill"), she was the daughter of

Thomas Barbour Bryan Thomas Barbour Bryan (December 22, 1828 – January 26, 1906) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. Born in Virginia, a member of the prestigious Barbour family on his mother's side, Bryan largely made a name for himself in Chic ...

and the elder Jennie Byrd Bryan. She was a member of the esteemed

through her paternal grandmother. She was a student of artist

George Peter Alexander Healy George Peter Alexander Healy (July 15, 1813 – June 24, 1894) was an American portrait painter. He was one of the most prolific and popular painters of his day, and his sitters included many of the eminent personages of his time. Born in Boston, ...

, who, for six years, lived in a cottage adjacent to her family's Eagle Nest estate in Cottage Hill (Elmhurst). As an adult, residing in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, she was prominent in the city's society, and was a notable

. Bryan continued to be an artist, establishing renown. She had portraits displayed in collections across the country. She joined her older brother

Charles Page Bryan Charles Page Bryan (October 2, 1855 – March 13, 1918) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat. Biography Bryan was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 2, 1855. He was the son of Thomas Barbour Bryan. Through his father, he was a memb ...

, a diplomat, on many of his assignments abroad. For several years, she acted as a hostess at the United States Embassy to Japan while her brother served as

United States ambassador to Japan The is the Ambassadors of the United States, ambassador from the United States of America to Japan. History Beginning in 1854 with the Convention of Kanagawa, use of gunboat diplomacy by Commodore (United States), Commodore Matthew C. Perry, ...

. In 1913, she married

, taking his surname. The Paynes never had any children. Payne died on August 1, 1919, at her

summer house A summer house or summerhouse is a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden or park, often designed t ...

in Elmhurst. She had been sick or two weeks before her death. She was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in

After her father's death, many of the paintings from his large collection of George Peter Alexander Healy's works had been inherited by her. In 1920, her widowed husband gave a collection of forty masterpieces to the State of Virginia, a gift valued at time at over $1 million. In this gift were several of the paintings by Healy. This gift, which was given by her widowed husband alongside a financial gift of $100,000 for a museum to house the art, came with a stipulation that the state must match his gift. This was eventually done in 1932, and construction began on the

. The gift had been made in memory of both Jennie Byrd Bryan Payne and her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Barton Payne.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Jennie Byrd Bryan 1857 births 1920 deaths Barbour family Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) People from Elmhurst, Illinois Philanthropists from Washington, D.C. Philanthropists from Illinois Artists from Illinois Artists from Washington, D.C.