Violet Oakley
| Violet Oakley | |
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| Born |
June 10, 1874 Bergen Heights, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | February 25, 1961 (aged 86) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Resting place | Green-Wood Cemetery |
| Known for | Painting, murals, stained glass |
| Notable work | Pennsylvania State Capital murals |
| Movement | Pre-Raphaelite influence |
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Violet Oakley Studio
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| Location | 627 St. George's Rd. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 40°3′8″N 75°12′20″W / 40.05222°N 75.20556°WCoordinates: 40°3′8″N 75°12′20″W / 40.05222°N 75.20556°W |
| Built | 1902-05 |
| Architect | Day & Klauder |
| NRHP Reference # | 77001188 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | September 13, 1977 |
| Designated PHMC | October 20, 1998 |
Violet Oakley (June 10, 1874 – February 25, 1961) was the first American woman to receive a public mural commission. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, she was renowned as a pathbreaker in mural decoration, a field that had been exclusively practiced by men. Oakley excelled at murals and stained glass designs that addressed themes from history and literature in Renaissance-revival styles.
Oakley was born in Bergen Heights (a section of Jersey City), New Jersey, into a family of artists. Her parents were Arthur Edmund Oakley and Cornelia Swain. Both of her grandfathers were member of the National Academy of Design. In 1892, she studied at the Art Students League of New York. A year later, she studied in England and France, under Raphaël Collin and others. After her return to the United States in 1896, she studied briefly at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before she joined Howard Pyle's famous illustration class at Drexel Institute. She had early success as a popular illustrator for magazines including The Century Magazine, Collier's Weekly, St. Nicholas Magazine, and Woman's Home Companion. The style of her illustrations and stained glass reflects her emulation of the English Pre-Raphaelites. Oakley's commitment to Victorian aesthetics during the advent of Modernism led to the decline of her reputation by the middle of the twentieth century.
Oakley's political beliefs were shaped by the Quaker William Penn (1644-1718) whose ideals she represented in her murals at the Pennsylvania State Capitol. She became committed to the Quaker principles of pacifism, equality of the races and sexes, economic and social justice, and international government. When the United States refused to join the League of Nations after the Great War, Oakley went to Geneva, Switzerland, and spent three years drawing portraits of the League's delegates which she published in her portfolio, "Law Triumphant" (Philadelphia, 1932). She was an early advocate of nuclear disarmament after World War II.
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Wikipedia