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Katherine Arthur Behenna

August 19, 2023

Katherine Arthur Behenna (born 1860 – 21 September 1926), also known as Kathleen Arthur Behenna, was a Scottish-born portrait miniaturist, poet, spiritualist, and suffragist. She sometimes wrote articles using the masculine pseudonyms John Prendergast and John Prendregeist.

Katherine Arthur Behenna
Born
Katherine Arthur

18th December 1861
Helensburgh, Scotland
Died20 September 1926
London
Resting placeChingford Cemetery, London E4
Other namesK. A. Behenna, Katherine Arthur-Behenna, Kathleen A. Behenna; John Prendergast, John Prendregeist (pseudonyms)
Occupation(s)Painter, poet, lecturer, spiritualist, suffragist
SpouseHenry Carstairs Behenna (divorced)
Miniature portrait of Antoinette Polk done by Katherine Arthur Behenna, now kept at the New-York Historical Society.

Early life

Katherine Arthur was born in 1860 in Helensburgh, Scotland.[1][2] She and her brother William were twins.[3] Their father Alexander Arthur was from Montreal, Canada.[4] She was educated in Montreal, Boston, as well as at the Art Students League of New York and the Académie Julian in Paris.[2] In New York, she studied with George de Forest Brush,[5][6] Carroll Beckwith, and John Henry Twachtman.[7] She married Henry Behenna in 1885.[2]

Career

Painting and organizing

Behenna painted miniature portraits on ivory,[8] often of American socialites of the Gilded Age for art collector Peter Marié, including Antoinette Polk, Baroness de Charette Anna Hall Roosevelt, and Amélie Rives Troubetzkoy.[1][9] She also made a portrait of Louise, Princess Royal.[7][10] Her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts and the Modern Gallery in London.[2][11] She also painted five panels of a frieze, The Path of the Soul, displayed at the Tiffany Glass Building in New York in 1906.[12] She later moved to Étaples, France, where she was a member of the Etaples art colony.[2]

In 1915, Behenna was organizing chair of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, and created chapters in New York and Baltimore, to prepare and coordinate women's relief efforts during World War I.[13] Behenna was a suffragist.[14]

Disappearance and spiritualism

In 1907 she was in Ottawa to show her miniatures and paint Lady Evelyn Grey, daughter of the Governor General,[15] when she disappeared, prompting a police investigation.[16][17] She explained later that she had decided to take a train to Virginia, because "I went to Ottawa an optimist and returned a pessimist," elaborating that "I was chilled to the soul by the atmosphere of petty malice, superficiality, lack of courtesy and active hostility in which I found myself."[18]

Behenna was interested in spiritualism. In 1899, she told the press that she had been contacted by a spirit named Helios, and told the location of a gold mine in the United States. Helios also instructed her to adopt a specific diet, and to write an epic poem in eight cantos, about Rameses II.[19] She wrote a short book of poems, which she claimed to have received "through auditory control" from the spirit realm, Mystic Songs of Fire and Flame (1921). She used the masculine pseudonyms John Prendregeist and John Prendergast, interpreting the surname as meaning "to grasp the spirit."[20]

In 1921, Behenna lectured in Washington, D.C., on "Color: Its Effect on Human Health and the Preservation of Youth in the Body", and read her poetry at the Arts Club of Washington.[21] In 1922, she visited Montreal to lecture on "The Coming Race".[4] In 1923, she explained to audiences that "the time will come... when everyone must live right, and think pure thought, as everyone else will be able to read their mind and tell what they are thinking about."[22]

Personal life and legacy

Katherine Arthur briefly married Henry Carstairs Behenna in 1885, and divorced shortly after.[2] They had a daughter, Vivian Margaret Behenna.[17][23] Katherine Behenna died from a cerebral haemorrhage in 1926[24][25] after she was found unconscious in her Chelsea studio, apparently after visiting China, and using toxic products to dye her hair.[26][27][28]

Behenna's miniature portraits from the Peter Marié Collection are kept at the New-York Historical Society.[29][30]

References

  1. ^ a b Eve M. Kahn, Portrait Miniatures Flow Out of the Attic, The New York Times (September 19, 2013): C30.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Concordia University: Canadian Women Artists History Initiative
  3. ^ Burk, Gail (May–June 2014). "Passport Research in Ancestry.com" (PDF). Redwood Roots: 5–6.
  4. ^ a b "Woman Painter-Poet". The Gazette. 1922-08-16. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ American Art Annual. MacMillan Company. 1905. p. 325.
  6. ^ Benezit Dictionary of British Graphic Artists and Illustrators. OUP USA. 2012-06-21. pp. 103–104. ISBN 978-0-19-992305-2.
  7. ^ a b Clift, Ida Young (April 1901). "A Well-Known Miniature Painter". The Art Amateur. 43: 126–127.
  8. ^ Allied Artists' Association (Great Britain) (1911). The London Salon of the Allied Artists' Association, Ltd., 1911 : fourth year. pp. 69.
  9. ^ Baroness de Charette, New-York Historical Society.
  10. ^ "The Society of Miniature Painters". The Morning Post. 1898-01-22. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-03-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Artist Still Missing". The Gazette. 1907-03-02. p. 18. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "The Path of the Soul; Symbolic Frieze and Portraits by Mrs. K. Behenna". The New York Times. 1906-05-13. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Join British Daughters". The Baltimore Sun. 1915-01-09. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-03-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Not Her Kind of Fight". The Baltimore Sun. 1913-02-09. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-03-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Noted English Painter Missing". Democrat and Chronicle. 1907-03-01. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "American Woman Disappears". The Ottawa Daily Republic. 1907-03-08. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ a b "Woman Artist Missing; Mrs. Arthur-Behenna Disappears on Eve of Montreal Exhibition". The Washington Post. 1907-03-02. p. 23. Retrieved 2020-03-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Ottawa Hostility". The Gazette. 1907-03-12. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "A Mine of Treasure Promised by a Spirit". The Evening Times. 1899-06-09. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-03-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Behenna, Catherine Arthur (1921). Mystic Songs of Fire and Flame. Cornhill Company.
  21. ^ "Englishwoman to Speak". The Washington Herald. 1921-11-21. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Limitless Power Lies Within All". Battle Creek Enquirer. 1923-10-25. p. 22. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Artist Found". The Ottawa Citizen. 1907-03-08. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Mrs. Arthur Behenna, American Artist, dies in London Hospital". Hartford Courant. 1926-09-22. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-03-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Obituary: Mrs. Kathleen A. Behenna". The Baltimore Sun. 1926-09-24. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Unconscious Woman Puzzles Scotland Yard". Evening Star. 1926-09-20. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-03-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Curious Hospital Case; Woman Patient's Unknown Illness". The Guardian. 1926-09-21. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-03-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Woman Artist is Mysteriously Ill". The Gazette. 1926-09-20. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-03-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Mrs. William Henry Lawrence Lee (1860-1896)". New-York Historical Society. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  30. ^ "Mrs. Pierre Lorillard Ronalds (1839-1916)". New-York Historical Society. Retrieved 2020-03-16.

August 19, 2023
katherine, arthur, behenna, born, 1860, september, 1926, also, known, kathleen, arthur, behenna, scottish, born, portrait, miniaturist, poet, spiritualist, suffragist, sometimes, wrote, articles, using, masculine, pseudonyms, john, prendergast, john, prendrege. Katherine Arthur Behenna born 1860 21 September 1926 also known as Kathleen Arthur Behenna was a Scottish born portrait miniaturist poet spiritualist and suffragist She sometimes wrote articles using the masculine pseudonyms John Prendergast and John Prendregeist Katherine Arthur BehennaBornKatherine Arthur18th December 1861Helensburgh ScotlandDied20 September 1926LondonResting placeChingford Cemetery London E4Other namesK A Behenna Katherine Arthur Behenna Kathleen A Behenna John Prendergast John Prendregeist pseudonyms Occupation s Painter poet lecturer spiritualist suffragistSpouseHenry Carstairs Behenna divorced Miniature portrait of Antoinette Polk done by Katherine Arthur Behenna now kept at the New York Historical Society Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Painting and organizing 2 2 Disappearance and spiritualism 3 Personal life and legacy 4 ReferencesEarly life EditKatherine Arthur was born in 1860 in Helensburgh Scotland 1 2 She and her brother William were twins 3 Their father Alexander Arthur was from Montreal Canada 4 She was educated in Montreal Boston as well as at the Art Students League of New York and the Academie Julian in Paris 2 In New York she studied with George de Forest Brush 5 6 Carroll Beckwith and John Henry Twachtman 7 She married Henry Behenna in 1885 2 Career EditPainting and organizing Edit Behenna painted miniature portraits on ivory 8 often of American socialites of the Gilded Age for art collector Peter Marie including Antoinette Polk Baroness de Charette Anna Hall Roosevelt and Amelie Rives Troubetzkoy 1 9 She also made a portrait of Louise Princess Royal 7 10 Her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts and the Modern Gallery in London 2 11 She also painted five panels of a frieze The Path of the Soul displayed at the Tiffany Glass Building in New York in 1906 12 She later moved to Etaples France where she was a member of the Etaples art colony 2 In 1915 Behenna was organizing chair of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire and created chapters in New York and Baltimore to prepare and coordinate women s relief efforts during World War I 13 Behenna was a suffragist 14 Disappearance and spiritualism Edit In 1907 she was in Ottawa to show her miniatures and paint Lady Evelyn Grey daughter of the Governor General 15 when she disappeared prompting a police investigation 16 17 She explained later that she had decided to take a train to Virginia because I went to Ottawa an optimist and returned a pessimist elaborating that I was chilled to the soul by the atmosphere of petty malice superficiality lack of courtesy and active hostility in which I found myself 18 Behenna was interested in spiritualism In 1899 she told the press that she had been contacted by a spirit named Helios and told the location of a gold mine in the United States Helios also instructed her to adopt a specific diet and to write an epic poem in eight cantos about Rameses II 19 She wrote a short book of poems which she claimed to have received through auditory control from the spirit realm Mystic Songs of Fire and Flame 1921 She used the masculine pseudonyms John Prendregeist and John Prendergast interpreting the surname as meaning to grasp the spirit 20 In 1921 Behenna lectured in Washington D C on Color Its Effect on Human Health and the Preservation of Youth in the Body and read her poetry at the Arts Club of Washington 21 In 1922 she visited Montreal to lecture on The Coming Race 4 In 1923 she explained to audiences that the time will come when everyone must live right and think pure thought as everyone else will be able to read their mind and tell what they are thinking about 22 Personal life and legacy EditKatherine Arthur briefly married Henry Carstairs Behenna in 1885 and divorced shortly after 2 They had a daughter Vivian Margaret Behenna 17 23 Katherine Behenna died from a cerebral haemorrhage in 1926 24 25 after she was found unconscious in her Chelsea studio apparently after visiting China and using toxic products to dye her hair 26 27 28 Behenna s miniature portraits from the Peter Marie Collection are kept at the New York Historical Society 29 30 References Edit a b Eve M Kahn Portrait Miniatures Flow Out of the Attic The New York Times September 19 2013 C30 a b c d e f Concordia University Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Burk Gail May June 2014 Passport Research in Ancestry com PDF Redwood Roots 5 6 a b Woman Painter Poet The Gazette 1922 08 16 p 7 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com American Art Annual MacMillan Company 1905 p 325 Benezit Dictionary of British Graphic Artists and Illustrators OUP USA 2012 06 21 pp 103 104 ISBN 978 0 19 992305 2 a b Clift Ida Young April 1901 A Well Known Miniature Painter The Art Amateur 43 126 127 Allied Artists Association Great Britain 1911 The London Salon of the Allied Artists Association Ltd 1911 fourth year pp 69 Baroness de Charette New York Historical Society The Society of Miniature Painters The Morning Post 1898 01 22 p 2 Retrieved 2020 03 16 via Newspapers com Artist Still Missing The Gazette 1907 03 02 p 18 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com The Path of the Soul Symbolic Frieze and Portraits by Mrs K Behenna The New York Times 1906 05 13 p 11 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com Join British Daughters The Baltimore Sun 1915 01 09 p 4 Retrieved 2020 03 16 via Newspapers com Not Her Kind of Fight The Baltimore Sun 1913 02 09 p 4 Retrieved 2020 03 16 via Newspapers com Noted English Painter Missing Democrat and Chronicle 1907 03 01 p 11 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com American Woman Disappears The Ottawa Daily Republic 1907 03 08 p 1 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com a b Woman Artist Missing Mrs Arthur Behenna Disappears on Eve of Montreal Exhibition The Washington Post 1907 03 02 p 23 Retrieved 2020 03 16 via Newspapers com Ottawa Hostility The Gazette 1907 03 12 p 10 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com A Mine of Treasure Promised by a Spirit The Evening Times 1899 06 09 p 2 Retrieved 2020 03 16 via Newspapers com Behenna Catherine Arthur 1921 Mystic Songs of Fire and Flame Cornhill Company Englishwoman to Speak The Washington Herald 1921 11 21 p 9 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com Limitless Power Lies Within All Battle Creek Enquirer 1923 10 25 p 22 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com Artist Found The Ottawa Citizen 1907 03 08 p 10 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com Mrs Arthur Behenna American Artist dies in London Hospital Hartford Courant 1926 09 22 p 8 Retrieved 2020 03 16 via Newspapers com Obituary Mrs Kathleen A Behenna The Baltimore Sun 1926 09 24 p 6 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com Unconscious Woman Puzzles Scotland Yard Evening Star 1926 09 20 p 1 Retrieved 2020 03 16 via Newspapers com Curious Hospital Case Woman Patient s Unknown Illness The Guardian 1926 09 21 p 5 Retrieved 2020 03 16 via Newspapers com Woman Artist is Mysteriously Ill The Gazette 1926 09 20 p 13 Retrieved 2020 03 17 via Newspapers com Mrs William Henry Lawrence Lee 1860 1896 New York Historical Society Retrieved 2020 03 16 Mrs Pierre Lorillard Ronalds 1839 1916 New York Historical Society Retrieved 2020 03 16 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Katherine Arthur Behenna amp oldid 1166023763, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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