Susan Waters
Encyclopedia
Susan Catherine Moore Waters (May 18, 1823—July 7, 1900), self-taught painter of animals and resident of Bordentown, New Jersey
.
. A self-taught artist with little formal training, Waters did attend seminary school in Friendsville, Pennsylvania
, where she paid her tuition by producing drawings. At seventeen she married William Waters, whose Quaker connections determined the destinations of their frequent relocations. William, who had health problems, was unable to work enough to provide sufficient income for both of them, which left Susan in the position of provider. Her career as an artist began with commissioned portraits and lessons. Soliciting sitters as she moved between New York and Pennsylvania, Waters employed her talents to support herself and her husband.
While some of these early portraits survive, Waters herself made it clear that she had loftier artistic goals in an 1851 letter written to an art world connection. Waters’ early paintings were enough to ensure herself and her husband some financial security, but she was interested in expanding her range of subject matter. She stopped referring to herself as an itinerant portrait painter and instead she started producing landscapes. This shift in her practice and self-presentation stands as evidence of Waters’ ongoing artistic development. As financial security allowed her to move away from contractually constrained portraits, she had more freedom to experiment and explore other forms of expression.
In 1866, the Waters moved to Bordentown, New Jersey
, a final destination after years of temporary residences. It was here in Bordentown where Waters would create some of her most well-known paintings of domesticated animals in pastoral settings. Among her favorite subjects were sheep, which she conveniently had living models of in her own yard. The works she produced in Bordentown would garner her recognition in her own lifetime, getting attention from outside the local community. In 1876, Waters was honored with an invitation to show some of her paintings at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.
Waters’ initiative in taking up the role of primary income earner between herself and her husband was a remarkable trait for a married woman in her time. She was also forward-thinking in her involvement with the women's suffrage
movement and animal rights activism. In the male-dominated world of painting, Waters proved to be ahead of her time by finding success and staking out a place of her own in art history.
1841 Marries William Waters, a Quaker
1866 Moves to Bordentown, NJ
1876 Paintings shown in the Centennial Exhibition
1899 Leaves Bordentown for a nursing home in Trenton, NJ
1900 Dies in Trenton on July 7
, MA
Arnot Art Museum, NY
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, AR
Fenimore Art Museum, NY
Maier Museum of Art at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, VA
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
New Jersey State Museum, NJ
The Newark Museum, NJ
Smithsonian Institution Art Inventories
1979 Bedford Gallery, VA
1980 Arnot Art Museum, NY
Heslip, Colleen C. “Susan C. Waters.” The Magazine Antiques. vol. 115 (1979): 769-777.
Gerdts, William H. Painting and Sculpture in New Jersey. Princeton, NJ: 1964. pp. 109–112.
Strass, Stephanie. “Susan Waters.” American Women Artists, 1819-1947. The Neville Strass Collection, 2003.
Waters, Susan C. and Paul D. Schweizer. “A Letter by Susan Waters Provides New Information on Her Career.” American Art Journal. Vol. 19, No. 1 (1987): 76-77.
Bordentown, New Jersey
Bordentown City is in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 3,924. Bordentown is located at the confluence of the Delaware River, Blacks Creek and Crosswicks Creek...
.
Biography
On May 18, 1823, Susan Catherine Moore Waters was born in Binghamton, New YorkBinghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
. A self-taught artist with little formal training, Waters did attend seminary school in Friendsville, Pennsylvania
Friendsville, Pennsylvania
Friendsville is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 91 at the 2000 census. The community was named for the colony of Quakers settling here.-Geography:Friendsville is located at ....
, where she paid her tuition by producing drawings. At seventeen she married William Waters, whose Quaker connections determined the destinations of their frequent relocations. William, who had health problems, was unable to work enough to provide sufficient income for both of them, which left Susan in the position of provider. Her career as an artist began with commissioned portraits and lessons. Soliciting sitters as she moved between New York and Pennsylvania, Waters employed her talents to support herself and her husband.
While some of these early portraits survive, Waters herself made it clear that she had loftier artistic goals in an 1851 letter written to an art world connection. Waters’ early paintings were enough to ensure herself and her husband some financial security, but she was interested in expanding her range of subject matter. She stopped referring to herself as an itinerant portrait painter and instead she started producing landscapes. This shift in her practice and self-presentation stands as evidence of Waters’ ongoing artistic development. As financial security allowed her to move away from contractually constrained portraits, she had more freedom to experiment and explore other forms of expression.
In 1866, the Waters moved to Bordentown, New Jersey
Bordentown, New Jersey
Bordentown City is in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 3,924. Bordentown is located at the confluence of the Delaware River, Blacks Creek and Crosswicks Creek...
, a final destination after years of temporary residences. It was here in Bordentown where Waters would create some of her most well-known paintings of domesticated animals in pastoral settings. Among her favorite subjects were sheep, which she conveniently had living models of in her own yard. The works she produced in Bordentown would garner her recognition in her own lifetime, getting attention from outside the local community. In 1876, Waters was honored with an invitation to show some of her paintings at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.
Waters’ initiative in taking up the role of primary income earner between herself and her husband was a remarkable trait for a married woman in her time. She was also forward-thinking in her involvement with the women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
movement and animal rights activism. In the male-dominated world of painting, Waters proved to be ahead of her time by finding success and staking out a place of her own in art history.
Chronology
1823 Born in Binghamton, NY on May 181841 Marries William Waters, a Quaker
1866 Moves to Bordentown, NJ
1876 Paintings shown in the Centennial Exhibition
1899 Leaves Bordentown for a nursing home in Trenton, NJ
1900 Dies in Trenton on July 7
Collections
Addison Gallery of American ArtAddison Gallery of American Art
The Addison Gallery of American Art, as a department of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, is an academic museum dedicated to collecting American art...
, MA
Arnot Art Museum, NY
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, AR
Fenimore Art Museum, NY
Maier Museum of Art at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, VA
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
New Jersey State Museum, NJ
The Newark Museum, NJ
Smithsonian Institution Art Inventories
Exhibitions
1876 Centennial Exhibition, PA1979 Bedford Gallery, VA
1980 Arnot Art Museum, NY
Suggested Resources
Bice, Arlene S. Bordentown. Portsmouth, NH: Arcadia Publishing, 2002. p. 61.Heslip, Colleen C. “Susan C. Waters.” The Magazine Antiques. vol. 115 (1979): 769-777.
Gerdts, William H. Painting and Sculpture in New Jersey. Princeton, NJ: 1964. pp. 109–112.
Strass, Stephanie. “Susan Waters.” American Women Artists, 1819-1947. The Neville Strass Collection, 2003.
Waters, Susan C. and Paul D. Schweizer. “A Letter by Susan Waters Provides New Information on Her Career.” American Art Journal. Vol. 19, No. 1 (1987): 76-77.