Treasure Chest Thursday: Another Painting by Aunt Gret!

I'm so excited!  I set up some alerts on eBay, and a few weeks ago, this turned up:

It's a framed watercolor painting of Little Miss Muffet done by my great aunt, Margaret Anna "Gretchen" Reis Pape (1886-1947)!  Here is an enlargement of her signature:

Even better, when you turn the painting over, you find this written on the backing paper:

It reads, "Little Miss Muffett [sic] - by Gretchen Reis Pape and framed by Lee John Pape."  Lee is Aunt Gret's husband, my great uncle Leo "Lee" John Pape (1893-1979).

Of course I will be hanging this up in my house, along with the now-framed drawing by my architect first cousin twice removed, Ewald Theodore Pape (1894-1976).

© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: A 1937 Christmas Card from Aunt Gret and Uncle Lee

Back on March 28, a couple third cousins, John and Mari, found me via my blog.  They are the children of Mary Ann Pape Bates (1932-2013), who is the daughter of Karl James Pape (1889-1958) and Catherine Gertrude Schwall (1892-1977).  Karl is my grandfather Paul Pape's first cousin - Karl is the son of Lorenz Pape (1862-1932), the brother of my great-grandfather John Pape (1851-1945).

Karl and his family lived in Wilmette, Illinois, for much of his adult life.  Also living in Wilmette was his first cousin Lee Pape (1893-1979), my grandfather Paul's older brother, and Lee's wife Gretchen Anna Reis Pape (1886-1947), an artist.  John sent me the following image, saying, "I just got a framed picture of a card sent out by Gretchen and Lee Pape, probably to my Grandparents, or mom."

That is definitely Gretchen's artwork.  Obviously, her signature is on it (G. A. Reis-Pape), but it's also her style for drawings.  I suspect the snow people represent themselves, as Lee was very tall and Gretchen was very short.  The 210 on the door is for their address, 210 17th St. in Wilmette, which they were living in by 1929 (if not earlier; they married sometime between 1924 and 1927), and Uncle Lee continued to live in until his death.  Under Gretchen's signature is the date, 1937.

Mari explained, "My mother [Mary Ann] kept that greeting card from her mother's [Catherine's] belongings. So John is my brother and I gave it to him to keep as he enjoys Wilmette. I found that going through mother's papers during her last hospital stay, placed it in a picture frame and had it next to her bed. I have kept it the past few years."

© Amanda Pape - 2016 - click here to e-mail me.

(Not-So-) Wordless Wednesday: Another Painting by Gretchen Reis Pape, circa 1906

painting by Gretchen Reis Pape, 1906, courtesy Margaret Williams

Recently a lady named Margaret Williams sent me a message through my blog: 

In researching a painting my husband's grandmother Rose Weiland Gorman left after her death, I came across your blog about the artist Gretchen Reis Pape [1886-1947].  The painting we have is signed only G. Reis, and a note on the back reads "from Gretchen Reis, September 5, 1906".  We think it might have been a wedding gift to Rose Weiland Gorman's parents.  She was born outside of Chicago, and moved to Denver as a child...she was born in 1908 and passed away in 2006.

As a child, my husband thought this was a picture of Santa Claus after a hard night delivering gifts, getting ready to finally go to bed!  We have always wondered who the subject in the painting was, if it was based on a real person or just from the artist's imagination.

It was a blessing to find your blog, and we are happy the mystery of the painting has been solved.

Best wishes to you,
Margaret


Margaret was kind enough to photograph her painting and take a close-up of the signature, and to give me permission to use both on this blog:

enlargement of the signature "G Reis 9/1/06" in the lower right corner of the painting - photo  courtesy Margaret Williams

I suggested to Margaret that perhaps the painting's subject might be a member of Rose's family (maybe a grandparent or uncle?), and she might want to compare to any photographs her husband or Rose might have had.

Rose's parents were Henry Weiland and Mary Bugner, and they did marry in Chicago on September 5, 1906 (per FamilySearch.org).  Henry was born in 1882, Mary was born in 1884, and Gretchen was born in 1886.  Based on some of the names I see in the family trees on Ancestry.com (such as Didier), I think they probably met each other through church, likely St. Nicholas in Evanston.  Perhaps Gretchen was friends with Henry's and Mary's younger sisters, both named Anna, born 1885 and 1887 respectively.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.