Georgine Shillard-Smith

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Georgine Northrup Wetherill Smith, later known as Georgine Shillard-Smith, was an American artist and arts patron, and a member of the Theosophical Society in America. She was responsible for commissioning the murals that were painted for the L. W. Rogers Building on the Society's headquarters campus. She also donated other art works and a large parcel of land.

Personal life

Georgine Northrup Wetherill was born on March 2, 1873 in Philadelphia.[1] On April 18, 1893 she married Charles Shillard Smith (September 10, 1864 - November 25, 1946) at a Unitarian Church. He was a wool merchant and a director of the United Security Life Insurance and Trust Co. of Pennsylvania[2] They had a daughter Christine who was born in 1910. The family was affluent and traveled the world.[3] Active in Philadelphia society, their names appeared in periodicals such as Town and Country, the New York Times, and in society columns of other newspapers. Christina became a fashion designer under the name Tina Leser, living in Hawaii with her husband Curtin Leser.[4] Charles and Georgine lived in Florida in their later years. Mrs. Shillard-Smith died on October 12, 1955 in Pinellas, Florida, but was buried in Philadelphia.

Mrs. Shillard-Smith was a member of National Society of Magna Charta Dames and Barons, and of other civic and cultural groups. She served as president of the Plastic Club, a group of women artists, during the years 1922-1926 and 1932-1936.[5]

Involvement in the arts

Georgine studied art with Cecilia Beaux. She was associated with the Philadelphia Museum and School of Industrial Art as a donor, on the Instruction Committee, and on the Board of Trustees.[6] Her sister was Mrs. Yorke Stevenson<Town & Country 66.11 (May 27, 1922), 23. A prize in illustration was established in her honor.[7] For many years she maintained her own art studio.[8] There is a Shillard-Smith Gallery in Belleair, Florida.

In 1944, Mrs. Georgine Shillard-Smith donated seven acres of land to create the Florida Gulf Coast Art Center.[9] "On Sunday, April 2, 1950, The Tampa Tribune announced the establishment of the Florida Gulf Coast Art Center in Belleair. The center began as a group of buildings consisting of modern studios, dormitories, galleries and lecture halls that were constructed on the property of its founder, Mrs. Shillard Smith."[10]

Theosophical Society activities

Mrs. Shillard-Smith became a member of the Theosophical Society in America in 19__. Charles was also involved; in 1920 the family were living in the Krotona colony in Los Angeles.[11] After leaving California, the family lived in Edgewater Park, Burlington, NJ for some years, but visited the Society headquarters in Wheaton, Illinois. At the 1930 convention, she proposed a project to have Philadelphia artist Richard Blossom Farley paint a mural on the walls of the lobby in the new L. W. Rogers Building. Later she donated a marble pedestal to hold a bust of Annie Besant, and several acres of land adjoining the headquarters estate. The land was intended to provide space for an arts center, but funds were never available to put up the proposed building. In the 1950s, TSA President James S. Perkins used the land to create a pond.


Notes

  1. U. S. Passport application, October 5, 1893.
  2. Trust Companies of the United States, 1917 edition. Page 423. Available from Google Books.
  3. "Label Resource: Leser, Tina". Vintage Fashion Guild website.
  4. "Label Resource: Leser, Tina". Vintage Fashion Guild website.
  5. Plastic Club Records, 1888-2007. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Collection 3106. Records in Appendix A at this website
  6. Bulletin of the Philadelphia Museum January 1911.
  7. "Notable Alumni", The University of the Arts web page.
  8. U. S. Census, 1910.
  9. "A Brief history of Belleair", available at Belleair, Florida web page
  10. Mark Ormond. "Modern Art in Florida, 1948–1970". Available at this website.
  11. U. S. Census, 1920.