Bertha E. Jaques
Bertha E. Jaques (1863-1941) was an American etcher and a member of the American Theosophical Society.
Personal life
She passed away on March 30, 1941.[1]
Artistic career
John Lienhard gave an account of how her interest in etching developed:
She liked to paint. Then, when she was thirty, something happened. She saw an exhibition of the new French etchings at the Chicago Columbian Exposition [of 1893].
It was an important moment. Jaques went home to try this new medium.She bought a copper plate at the hardware store. She found wax, pitch,and nitric acid. She wrapped a paint roller with leather and located anold dentist's drill.
She was transfixed as the nitric acid carved out her first picture. She let it destroy the image completely. But her learning curve was fast. Hersecond etching is on museum display today. She improvised, failed, andsucceeded. Her husband helped her fashion etching equipment from surgical tools.
She got a press from Milwaukee. Then, in 1897, she gave us the first etchings in the Midwest. She eventually left over 400 prints. And they occupy a peculiar place in American art.
The prints are lovely -- really lovely. Most are scenes -- locations. They are places in reality, but they're also places in her mind. They romanticize reality, yet they show an almost classic order and discipline.Jaques makes powerful use of perspective. She wields space with an engineer's eye.[2]
Mrs. Jaques was "for 27 years secretary and treasurer of the Chicago Society of Etchers, which she helped to found. She served as a mentor to generations of etchers.
She was also the author of several books on etching and other subjects."[3]
Theosophical Society involvement
She belonged to the Herakles Lodge in Chicago. In 1934 she donated a lovely etching called Buddha Serenity to the headquarters of the American Theosophical Society.
Writings
Mrs. Jaques wrote several articles and books on etching and other subjects.
Additional resources
Audio
- No. 547: Bertha E. Jaques by John H. Lienhard in The Engines of Our Ingenuity website.
Notes
- ↑ "Mrs. Bertha E. Jaques" The American Theosophist 29 no.5 (May, 1941): 119.
- ↑ No. 547: Bertha E. Jaques by John H. Lienhard in The Engines of Our Ingenuity website.
- ↑ "Mrs. Bertha E. Jaques" The American Theosophist 29 no.5 (May, 1941): 119.
