Elisabeth Curtis O'Sullivan

Elisabeth Curtis O'Sullivan
Born
Elisabeth or Elizabeth Curtis

1865 (1865)
San Francisco, California
Died (aged 85)
Other namesBessie Curtis, Mrs. Denis O'Sullivan, Mrs. C. D. O'Sullivan
Occupation(s)Painter, writer, interpreter
SpouseCornelius Denis O'Sullivan

Elisabeth "Bessie" Curtis O'Sullivan (1865–1951) was a San Francisco-born painter and writer. As a playwright, she wrote under the pseudonym Patrick Bidwell. For most of her life, she moved between the United States and England, often living abroad. After her marriage, she settled mainly in London. During World War I, she was a Flemish interpreter and worked as part of the war relief effort.

Biography

Early life and family

Elisabeth[Note 1] Curtis was born in San Francisco in 1865 to parents Charlotte Agnes Kidder and James Marvin Curtis.[1][2] Growing up in San Francisco, she showed an interest in art at a young age. She was friends with Kathleen Thompson, later Kathleen Norris, during her childhood.[3][4] She had a younger sister, Helen Curtis, who sometimes posed for her art.[5] Her aunt Mary Curtis Richardson was a prominent portrait painter who encouraged her art-making,[6][7] and her uncle was Benoni Irwin.[8]

Art career

Elisabeth, also known as "Bessie", was a painter of portraits, miniatures, figures, and landscapes. Early on in her art career, she established studios in both San Francisco and Bolinas, California.[3][9] In 1885, she was a founding member of the San Francisco Art Student's League, where she also taught.[8][10] She met fellow artist Cornelius Denis "Neely" O'Sullivan at her studio in the League, becoming close with him while they studied art.[11][12][13]

She left San Francisco in 1892, with plans to study in Europe for a year with other members from the Art Student's League, Laura Voormand and Julia Heynemann. While in Europe, she married Denis O'Sullivan on 4 May 1893 in London.[8][14] She then returned to San Francisco after her year abroad and exhibited her work at her old studio space in the Art Student's League.[15] She exhibited her oil paintings at the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894 and her work in 1898 at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in San Francisco.[9]

For part of the 1890s, she lived in Holland and painted local subjects, including Dutch children.[3] She returned to San Francisco by 1895, bringing back the artwork she made while abroad.[16]

Later career and life

During her life, she lived between California and Europe.[17] Eventually her and her husband moved to England, mainly living in London after their marriage.[3][12] Together they had a daughter, Bridgid O'Sullivan, and two sons, Terence O'Sullivan and Curtis O'Sullivan.[18] Her husband became a well-known opera singer,[11] and she became a stage manager, her husband's business manager, and a playwright.[12] She wrote under the pseudonym Patrick Bidwell, including for the 1904 musical, Peggy Machree. Its music was arranged by Michele Esposito, and the play successfully toured Britain—including London—and the British Isles. The tour ended when O'Sullivan's husband died in 1908, but the musical later continued on to a Broadway production.[19][13]

Once World War I started, O'Sullivan turned towards relief efforts while she lived in London. Fluent in Flemish, she began to work as a Flemish interpreter after the Siege of Antwerp. Her home became a refuge and makeshift hospital as part of her work during the war.[18][4] She collaborated with her previous colleague from the Art Student's League, Julia Heynemann, for the war relief efforts. While O'Sullivan worked in London, Heynemann established "California House", a parallel relief organization in California.[20]

O'Sullivan traveled back to San Francisco around late 1916 or early 1917.[4] She lived in the city for at least a two years while her daughter attended school. While in California, she organized hospitality services and events for military members.[21][22] She was active in the Serbian war relief efforts and helped organize an art exhibit as part of the local Serbian Relief Committee.[23][24]

O'Sullivan continued to write, both for both books and the theater. She was the editor and compiler of Harry Butters, R. F. A., Life and Letters, a war book based on letters from the life of a British army officer.[25] She wrote the 1920 books, Mr. Dimmock (1920), which covered Serbia after the war as part of its plot,[26] and Double Dealing.[27] She began writing the libretto for an opera in 1923, with composer Harold Samuel.[17]

By 1924, O'Sullivan planned to move out of the United States permanently.[28] In 1939, she exhibited at the Golden Gate International Exposition.[3]

She died due to an accident on 16 June 1951, at the age of 85.[29]

Works

Literature

  • Harry Butters, R. F. A., Life and Letters (c. 1917)[25]
  • Mr. Dimmock (1920)[26]
  • Double Dealing (1920)[27]

Theatre

  • Peggy Machree (1904), romantic comedy musical, music arrangements by Michele Esposito[19]
  • Prince, Pretender, or Borrowdene (1907), comic opera, music by Evelyn Baker[30]

Notes

  1. ^ "Elisabeth" with an "s" is how she signed her name on official records, including passport applications. Some newspapers and books use the spelling "Elizabeth" with a "z". The former is used here for consistency.

References

  1. ^ "Curtis, Elizabeth (1865)". De Gruyter. Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon - Internationale Künstlerdatenbank - Online. K. G. Saur. 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Elisabeth Curtis O'Sullivan in the California, U.S., Biographical Index Cards, 1781-1990 View California, U.S., Biographical Index Cards, 1781-1990". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e Jacobsen's Biographical Index of American Artists. Carrollton, Texas: A.J. Publications. 2002. p. 765. ISBN 978-0-9604456-0-8. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Coming From London". The San Francisco Examiner. 20 November 1916. p. 11. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Is Not Read To Choose A Bride". The San Francisco Examiner. 9 February 1897. p. 9. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  6. ^ "The Exhibition at the Art Association". San Francisco News Letter. 24 April 1897. p. 8. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  7. ^ "In Society Again". Town Talk. San Francisco: Town Talk Pub. Co. 13 April 1903. p. 10. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "To Attain the Ideal: Sketch of the Art Students' League". San Francisco Chronicle. 6 August 1893. p. 4. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  9. ^ a b Hughes, Edan Milton (1986). Artists in California, 1786-1940. San Francisco, CA: Hughes Pub. Co. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-9616112-0-0. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Fine Arts. California Art: Its Progress; Its Future". The Independent. 27 September 1894. p. 7. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  11. ^ a b ""Neely" O'Sullivan Again in the City". San Francisco Chronicle. 16 April 1897. p. 14. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  12. ^ a b c "The Death of O'Sullivan". Oakland Tribune. 8 February 1908. p. 13. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  13. ^ a b "The Insider". The San Francisco Call and Post. 6 February 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Marriage of O'Sullivan". Oakland Tribune. 12 May 1893. p. 8. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Coming Events". The San Francisco Call and Post. 25 September 1893. p. 7. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  16. ^ "Return of an Artist". San Francisco Chronicle. 30 November 1895. p. 5. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  17. ^ a b "Mrs. Denis O'Sullivan and Daughter Will Winter in Italy". The Oakland Post Enquirer. 2 August 1924. p. 26. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  18. ^ a b "S. F. Woman Angel to Wounded Soldiers: O'Sullivan London Home a Hospital". The San Francisco Examiner. 6 January 1917. p. 3. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  19. ^ a b Dibble, Jeremy (2010). Michele Esposito. Field Day Publications in association with the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame. pp. 128–129, 188. ISBN 978-0-946755-47-9. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  20. ^ "In Honor of Visitor". The San Francisco Examiner. 18 June 1919. p. 9. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  21. ^ "Mrs. Denis O'Sullivan Planning Return to London". Alameda Times Star. 24 January 1919. p. 3. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  22. ^ "Open House". San Francisco Chronicle. 12 January 1918. p. 5. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  23. ^ "Mrs. Denis O'Sullivan To Return to London". Alameda Times Star. 2 February 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  24. ^ "Serbia Tragedy To Be Depicted in Art Exhibit". San Francisco Chronicle. 27 January 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Gossip About Writers and New Books: Harry Butters, R. F. A." Salt Lake Herald. 30 December 1917. p. 19. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  26. ^ a b "In the Literary Field". Pasadena Star-News. 18 December 1920. p. 12. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  27. ^ a b "Double Dealing by Mrs. Denis O'Sullivan". Oakland Enquirer. 8 October 1920. p. 17. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  28. ^ "Duenna Comments on Society". The Oakland Post Enquirer. 12 September 1924. p. 18. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  29. ^ "Elisabeth Curtis O'Sullivan in the England, Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790-1976". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  30. ^ "New Plays Produced at the Provincical Theatres". The Era Almanack and Annual. Open Court Publishing Co. 1907. p. 64. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
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