Elizabeth Hamilton Thayer Huntington (American, 1878-1963) Painting. Title - Beach Scene with Sailboats. Oil on canvas. Signed lower left Huntington. Measures 24.5 inches high, 30 inches wide. Frame measures 31 inches high, 37 inches wide. Old restoration with nine small patches, inpainting in the sky.

Following is text copy from a retrospective exhibition of the Guild of Boston Artists, March 1 to 29, 2003: The Art of Elizabeth Hamilton Thayer Huntington, 1878-1962; A Rediscovered American Impressionist. Submitted by Sheila W. and Samuel M. Robbins, Guest Curators. A Member of the Guild of Boston Artists from 1925. A triumph of the human spirit. In 1641 when Richard Thayer arrived in Boston with his wife, art was just about the last thing on his mind. He had in fact come from a long line of artisans, so it was not surprising that intellectual and artistic Thayers followed. They founded Thayer Academy in Braintree and The Philadelphia Orchestra. There was Abbot Thayer the painter, Edmund Thayer the architect who designed the Salt and Pepper Bridge over the Charles River in Boston, and Lucien Thayer, a one time editor of the Boston Globe. Presumably art was in her genes. Born and raised in South Braintree, Massachusetts, she attended Thayer Academy. Then she studied art under Ernest Lee Major at Massachusetts Normal Art School, now known as Massachusetts. College of Art. According to Betty, her daughter, also a painter, Above all, Major insisted that she paint with a fresh eye. At the age of 27 she became engaged to marry Raymond Huntington, allegedly descended from the poor side of the Huntington railroad family. Little did anyone expect that she would soon be stricken with polio. She released Raymond from his marital promise, but he insisted on keeping his pledge to her. Thus followed one of the many great private love affairs and great art careers that do not make it into the history books. He supported her, encouraged her, coached her in every way possible to triumph over her paralysis. Her upper right arm and her left leg were permanently paralyzed. She vowed to paint with the same determination that FDR determined to become president. One day in May 1907, the wisteria vines outside the house were in full bloom. She had not painted for some months, but she was ready to try to overcome her disability. She asked Raymond to bring her some paint and canvas and wheel her out on the porch where she would try to paint a portrait of her friend who was coming for a visit. There were no rehabilitation nurses in those days. She was right- handed. So she just figured out on her own that she could support her weak right arm with her left hand. Thus was born The New Hat. It worked so well that, until she ran out of friends to pose, she did many similar outdoor portraits. When she wanted to paint a landscape, Raymond would push her up in the back seat of their car. He had built a drawing board mounted on pipes from which she could paint. If you look closely at her painting of Big Blue in Winter, you have the impression that it was painted from the car. It also is somewhat autobiographical. After Betty was born in 1913, they began to think about larger quarters with a studio of her own. By 1918 they had saved enough money to buy a home in Wellesley on the Old Worcester Post Road, as it was called in those days. It is called Route 9 these days. She gradually took an interest in Japanese painting, noting its lack of distracting background. At the same time she wanted to do still-lives, especially outdoors. So the ever-cheerful Raymond dutifully built a pipe-supported drawing board affixed to her wheelchair. On weekends, he wheeled her around Wellesley until they found a garden or field for her. Thus developed her stunning outdoor still-lives of berries, blossoms, and flowers. But a still-life is supposed to be of a dead object. So she called them living still lives. They were immediately popular. Her output was substantial. She had nothing else to do that she loved to do. Furthermore in those days it was normal for a disabled person to feel shy about appearing in public. She was ashamed to be seen. But Raymond came to the rescue. He was a stockbroker in Boston. He contacted Doll and Richards, the well-known art dealer and lugged the paintings downtown on his way to work. Soon exhibitions at the dealer were a sellout. It is not known how she happened to become a member of the guild of Boston Artists in 1925, but she was a perennial exhibitor with the Guild for many years. In those days the Guild also exhibited at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. She was represented in these shows also. By 1928, the stock market was booming and Raymond was at long last making good money. The family rented a house in East Gloucester. A shop nearby had just imported a large supply of Italian vases. She fell in love with them, determined to celebrate her good fortune with still-lives of them, stuffed with all kinds of flowers that Betty or Raymond would find and arrange for her. These were all sold out by Doll and Richards when they brought them back to Boston at the end of the summer. In 1929, a friend returned from a trip to Japan. She brought her an obi, a broad sash or scarf worn with a kimono. She immediately saw it as a brilliant background for still-lifes in oil. Doll and Richards sold them as fast as she painted them. Again feeling prosperous, they vacationed in Tamworth New Hampshire, staying at the Ferncroft Inn, a well known resort. There was no wheelchair access, so she used the back door and roomed on the first floor. Her vital impressionist oils captured her feelings about the countryside and about herself. She was not an invalid. Later that year she started to paint pastel still-lives, especially those including copper luster-ware vases, which had become quite fashionable. Then came the crash and the great depression. Raymond’s brokerage income collapsed. She started painting local scenes with a misty sad quality. By 1932 she was sadly convinced that America the decadent had arrived. She painted still-lives with empty vases and bowls that didn’t express much hope. She told her 20-year old daughter that things could only get worse. By 1937 she came out of her slump and started wanting to paint in New Hampshire again, but only on bright sunny days in the winter! So always pushing on to new artistic adventures, they got up at 4 A.M. in Wellesley. Raymond drove for 4-5 hours until they arrived in Bartlett. She would paint watercolors for another four hours. Then they would drive back to Wellesley. They could not afford overnight food and lodging. They took sandwiches and a thermos jug instead. By 1943 she decided to write her autobiography which is in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution. From that time on, pastels became her favorite medium. One can only stand in awe at the spirit of this woman, determined to overcome a lifetime of paralysis. Her public never knew she had polio. She made the most of the cards that had been dealt to her. The results were paintings that expressed the joy and wonder of life. Sheila and Samuel Robbins wrote: We are indebted to Betty, who died in September, 2001, for her years of patient recounting the anecdotal history of the family.

Condition is in the description