Samantha Littlefield Huntley
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Samantha Littlefield Huntley (1865–1949) was a portrait artist who lived and worked in the
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and
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during the early part of the 20th Century.


Personal life

Samantha Littlefield was born either in
West Troy, New York Watervliet ( or ) is a city in northeastern Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 10,375 as of the 2020 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, the capital of the state, and is bordered on the north, west, and south by th ...
, or
Watervliet, New York Watervliet ( or ) is a City (New York), city in northeastern Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 10,375 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, New York, Albany, the capital city, ...
, on or about May 16, 1865,Passport application, June 1, 1905
/ref>Passport application, June 27, 1907
/ref> to Edgar Littlefield (1836–1923) and Abigail Fidelia Tilley (1846-1904). She had a sister, Grace Littlefield Dunham. She was married to Frank Hall Huntley.Daughters of the American Revolution, ''Lineage Book,'' 1914, volume 113>
/ref> They had a son, Grant Huntley (1887–1953), who was a civil engineerMarguerite Martyn, "Marguerite Martyn Finds One Woman Who Can Paint Pictures Just as Cleverly as Any Man Can," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch,'' November 28, 1909, image 23
/ref> and became a professor at
Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...
. According to her passport applications in 1905 and 1907, she stood 5 feet, 4-1/2 inches, and had brown hair with blue eyes. She had a full face with "rather dark" complexion and a "rather decided" chin. Her witness on both occasions was Abigail M. Littlefield. In 1912, she was living in
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, and in 1913 and 1915 she was in Rome, Italy. Huntley died in
Manhattan, New York Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, at the age of 84 on June 20, 1949. She was buried in
Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Menands, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical ...
,
Menands, New York Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 4,554 at the 2020 census. The village is named after Louis Menand. The village lies inside the town of Colonie and borders the northern city line of Albany. ...
.


Education

Huntley studied with artists
Jules Lefebvre Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French Painting, 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 ...
and
Eugène Grasset Eugène Samuel Grasset (; 25 May 1845 – 23 October 1917) was a Swiss decorative artist who worked in Paris, France in a variety of creative design fields during the Belle Époque. He is considered a pioneer in Art Nouveau design. Biography ...
in Paris, France. While with Lefebvre, she noticed that her instructor, in line with the "innate politeness of the French masters," was giving her "pretty compliments" instead of accurate criticism.
I found it amounted to sex discrimination, such a matter of custom and a habit so fixed that it was with the greatest difficulty I made Jules Lefebvre understand that I had come all the way to Paris to have my faults pointed out, not my perfections.

When at last he did understand, the good man did me the honor to ask me to come to his studio every week with my work for criticism. Then we became such good friends that today, as he writes to me, I don't feel any different than if he were my own grandfather.


Professional life

In 1907, she was an art teacher living at 60 Maple Avenue,
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. She taught in the Emma Willard School in
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, for "a number of years." Huntley replied to a 1909 question asked by ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' journalist
Marguerite Martyn Marguerite Martyn (September 26, 1878 – April 17, 1948) was an American journalist and political cartoonist with the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' in the early 20th century. She was noted as much for her published sketches as for her articles. ...
as to the reason for a then-current compliment to a woman artist that "she paints just like a man!"
You must remember that the artistic emancipation of woman is not more than 25 years old. The Julian qacademies were the first established to benefit women. It is only within twelve years that women have been admitted to the Beaux Arts to study upon equal terms with men. . . . It is my belief that actually the few women who pursue the study of art today are painting better than the majority of men in the profession."
In March 1910, Huntley was in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
, where she was painting, then she returned to
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, to do some more portraits. She was noted as "a master draughtsman, and one of the most celebrated portrait painters of the day.""Art Notes," ''St. Louis Star,'' March 6, 1910, image 14
/ref> In December 1911 twelve of her oil portraits were on display at the
Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...
, three of the subjects being from the Detroit area. They represented DIA director A.H. Griffith and Mrs. Charles L. Palms and Isabel Palms. Another represented John J. Glennon, Catholic archbishop of St. Louis. She later had studios in
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
;
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, and
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
."Earthquake Heroine Well Known Artist," ''Buffalo Evening News,'' New York, January 19, 1915, image 15] In 1923, she was exhibited among a collection by "much-noted American artists" of paintings of "well known citizens" of
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. By 1935, her portrait of artist
John Vanderpoel John Henry Vanderpoel (November 15, 1857 – May 2, 1911), born Johannes (Jan) van der Poel, was a Dutch-American artist and teacher, best known as an instructor of figure drawing. His book ''The Human Figure'', a standard art school resource fea ...
was hanging in a "place of honor in heVanderpoel memorial in Ridge park," Chicago. Other notable people she painted were Wisconsin Senator William F. Vilas and New York Governors
Frank W. Higgins Frank Wayland Higgins (August 18, 1856February 12, 1907) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of New York. Early life Higgins was born in Rushford, New York, on August 18, 1856. He was the son of Orrin Thrall Higgins (182 ...
and
Martin H. Glynn Martin Henry Glynn (September 27, 1871 – December 14, 1924) was an American politician. He was the 40th governor of New York from 1913 to 1914, the first Irish American Roman Catholic head of government of what was then the most populated stat ...
.


Hadley portrait case

A group of supporters of Missouri Governor
Herbert Spencer Hadley Herbert Spencer Hadley (February 20, 1872 – December 1, 1927) was an American lawyer and a Republican Party politician from St. Louis, Missouri. Born in Olathe, Kansas, he was Missouri Attorney General from 1905 to 1909 and in 1908 was electe ...
decided that the Republican Party would pay for a portrait of him. Mrs. Huntley was commissioned to do the work, which was to hang in the state Capitol building"Hadley Is Sued by an Artist," ''The Milan News,'' Kansas, May 8, 1913, image 3
/ref> or in the Executive Mansion."Inside Story of Failure of Hadley Portrait Told in Letters of Woman Artist Who Painted It," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch,'' June 21, 1912, image 13
/ref> Hadley had retained attorney Louis Henry by January 1912. "It appears that the governor's lower lip is fuller than it believed it ought to be and he instructed the artist to remedy it. . . . When the committee charged that the mouth did not look like the governor's, Mrs. Huntley explained that the governor ordered it" to be painted that way. The painting was in storage."Lower Lip Too Prominent," ''The Chanute Daily Tribune,'' Kansas, January 22, 1912, page 5
/ref> Mrs. Huntley sued Colonel Schoenberg, Sheriff Louis Nolte, General Frank Rumbold and U.S. District Attorney Charles A. Houts, who had suggested the picture be painted. Houts was served with a
subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
at the Great Northern Hotel in Chicago on June 18. Hadley and Nolte were also summonsed into the
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, Circuit Court to
show cause An order to show cause is a court order that requires one or more of the parties to a case to justify, explain, or prove something to the court. Courts commonly use orders to show cause when the judge needs more information before deciding whether ...
why they should not be compelled to pay $1,500 for the portrait."Hadley's Wish to Look 'Swell' Spoils Picture," ''The St. Louis Star,'' June 19, 1912, image 5
/ref> All were in Chicago for the
1912 Republican National Convention The 1912 Republican National Convention was held at the Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, from June 18 to June 22, 1912. The party nominated President of the United States, President William Howard Taft and Vice President of the United States, ...
. Only a thousand dollars was received in donations, and she did not receive any of it, a petition by Mrs. Hadley to the Circuit Court asserted. On June 21, 1912, the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' printed excerpts from many letters that Mrs. Huntley had written to a friend in St. Louis while the artist was in
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to work on the portrait. Hadley was often too busy to pose, Mrs. Huntley wrote, going as long as two weeks without a session. He dictated letters and chewed gum while she tried to paint him. He smoked cigars, which distorted his face and made him difficult to see. He insisted that he be painted wearing a blue tie with white
polka dots file:Polka dots.svg, Red polka dots on a yellow background file:2021 SLT Weert podium Alison Jackson polkadot jersey.jpg, Alison Jackson (cyclist), Alison Jackson wears a Queen of the Mountains polkadot cycling jersey The polka dot, also written ...
because that was the style he always wore. They agreed on a solid color tie, but it was later written that the portrait was rejected because the dots were omitted."Hadley Polka Dot Tie Banished by Artist," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch,'' August 11, 1911, image 1
/ref> "Governor Hadley's Necktie," ''Nebraska State Journal,'' April 18, 1913, image 6
/ref> There was also a disagreement over the shape of the governor's mouth, according to Mrs. Huntley. ''The St. Louis Star'' said, "After placing several different mouths on the picture Hadley and his political supporters declared that it did not look much like him," so they refused to pay the artist. In 1913, a committee of the State Legislature refused to pay her bill of $1,185"Hadley Demanded Tie Like Teddy's, Painter of Portrait Asserts," ''The St. Louis Star,'' April 17, 1913, image 5
/ref> because it did not look like the governor. By May 1913, Mrs. Huntley had brought suit for $1,185 against Houts and three other members of the Missouri State Legislature who had refused to pay her bill because the portrait had been changed after its completion. According to Mrs. Huntley, Hadley had ordered her to "modify the hard expression." After trial, in October 1915 a jury awarded her damages of $900."$900 for Hadley Picture," ''Chicago Tribune,'' October 28, 1915, image 13
/ref>


Earthquake relief

In January 1915, she led a relief expedition to Avezzano, Italy, where an earthquake had leveled the town. She brought tents and food, and she helped care for survivors in the women's hospital and a girls' school."Avezzano Is Now Tomb of the Dead," ''The Evening Republican,'' Columbus, Indiana, January 18, 1915, page 1
/ref>Alice Rohe, United Press, ''The Daily Gate City,'' Keokuk, Iowa, January 18, 1915, image 1
/ref>


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntley, Samantha Littlefield 1865 births 1949 deaths American portrait painters American women painters Painters from New York (state) American expatriates in France American expatriates in Italy