Several years ago, Collections staff posted a progressive exhibit of beach art using watercolors and sketches by Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930) on the Museum’s Facebook page. The images were also posted in a Hometown Pasadena article (September 13, 2013). On this first – and hot– day of summer, we want to share again Eva Fenyes’ cooling beach scenes.
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). On the beach. Asbury Park. N.J., 6 August 1878. Graphite on paper, 8.5 x13.4 cm (ESF.005.1185)
But first, to give some context to the chronology of these sketches, the following biographical facts may be helpful. Eva Scott Fenyes was born in 1849 in New York City. During her early years she traveled extensively with her parents in the eastern United States, Europe and North Africa. In 1878 she married Marine Lieutenant William Muse with whom she had her daughter Leonora in 1879. When Leonora was about ten years old, Eva divorced her husband; and, while Leonora was at school in Switzerland, Eva resumed her travels in North Africa and Europe. In Cairo, Eva met her second husband Adalbert Fenyes. They married in 1896 in Budapest, Hungary, and in 1897 the family settled in Pasadena. Until her death in Pasadena in 1930, Eva continued to travel locally and abroad; and, she built homes and businesses in Pasadena, Los Angeles, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. All the while, throughout her entire life, Eva seemed never to be without her sketching materials. Shown here are eleven of the thousands of sketches that comprise her artistic legacy.
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). Provincetown. Mass. (Massachusetts), 31 July 1882.Pencil and watercolor on paper. 25.6 x 17.7 cm (ESF.009.1214)
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). Henry & Leonora (Massachusetts), 8 August 1882.Watercolor on paper. 22.5 x 16.5 cm (ESF.009.1218)
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). Leonora & German Marie, her nurse. (St. Augustine, Florida), 25 January 1883. Watercolor on paper, 17 x 25 cm (ESF.009.1223)
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). [Leonora & Nannie Kidder], (Jamestown Island, Rhode Island), 12 August 1886. Watercolor on paper, 25.4 x 35. 6 cm (ESF.009.1385)
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). Near Fort Norfolk, Va., 23 March 1887. Watercolor on paper, 16.8 x 25.4 cm (ESF.009.1416)
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). Ville Franche (France), March 1893. Watercolor on paper, 21.9 x 32.4 cm (ESF.007.1616)
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). Santa Monica Cal 14 Feb 1901 (Santa Monica, California), 14 February 1901. Watercolor on paper, 17.8 x 25.5 cm (ESF.008.2031)
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). Magnificent (Auto) View from Elsa’s Cottage (Elsa Spaulding) (Laguna Beach, California), 28 March 1920. Colored pencil and ink on paper, 19.3 x 25.6 cm (ESF.013.3349)
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). Fishermans Hut. Laguna Beach Cal, 18 January 1925. Watercolor on paper, 8.9 x 12.8 cm (ESF.013.3633)
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930). Maude Daggett (Arch Beach, Laguna, California), 6 February 1921. Colored pencil and ink on paper, 11.7 x 19.3 cm (ESF.013.3437)
– Julie Stires