She painted some of her best works there. In 1883, she took a break from painting and accepted an offer to serve as a nanny to Mark Twain’s three daughters while their governess was in Europe.īy 1890 she was living in Stratford, Connecticut, where the marshes and meadows along the Housatonic River inspired her. This lack of exhibitions kept her from achieving the stature of other artists. She continued to design Christmas cards until 1899.įidelia did not enjoy exhibiting her art but preferred to sell to a small circle of patrons such as Prang and Mark Twain. In 1881 she entered Prang’s Annual Christmas card design contest and was chosen as a designer. In 1876 she sold paintings to Louis Prang, who reproduced them as part of a book of months enhancing Fidelia’s reputation. He also sold some of her paintings to his patrons. Richards’ Pre-Raphaelite Approach focused on detail, which was a major influence on Fidelia’s art. Through Anne Whitney, Fidelia became personal friends with Richards and his family and accompanied them on painting vacations.
Fidelia mlaudzi arrested series#
In 1860 Fidelia attended a series of lectures by William Trost Richards, who was well-known for his realistic paintings of the White Mountains. While continuing to care for the growing Brown family, Fidelia also pursued her art and produced several oil paintings. In 1854 Brown moved his family and Fidelia to Brooklyn, New York the Bridges siblings followed her. Whitney encouraged Fidelia to pursue her art.Īs Fidelia’s health improved, she worked as a mother’s helper to the children of William Augustus Brown, a successful ship owner and merchant. Fidelia befriended Whitney, who would become an acclaimed artist who designed the sculpture of Samuel Adams in Boston’s Dock Square. Deeply affected by the family tragedy, Fidelia fell ill and during her recovery spent her time in bed drawing.ĭuring the late 1840s Anne Whitney, who later became a noted sculptor, opened an art school in Salem.
Eliza, the oldest at the age of twenty-four, supported her younger brother and sisters by working as a schoolteacher. Siblings Eliza, Elizabeth, Fidelia and Henry were left as orphans they auctioned off the family furniture and moved to a smaller house.
News traveled slowly in those days and knowledge of his death reached his family three hours after the death of their mother. When Fidelia was 15, her father died while overseas. The family lived at 100 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts, now known as the Fidelia Bridges Guest House. This style of dress is called the Bloomer costume, named for its designer, feminist Amelia Bloomer.įidelia Bridges was born May 19, 1834, the daughter of sea captain Henry Gardiner Bridges and Eliza Chadwick Bridges. Note the shorter dress with pants underneath. She wore black in the winter, gray linen in the summer.