From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Greta Kempton
Greta Kempton
painted a portrait of Drucie Snyder’s friend, Bess Tru-
Greta Kempton (March 22, 1901 - December 10, 1991) man, and was also commissioned to paint a portrait of
born Martha Greta Kempton in Vienna, Austria. Ameri- the President himself--the first of five Kempton paintings
can artist. She served as the White House artist during for which Mr. Truman posed.
the Truman administration.
She studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts be-
fore emigrating to the United States circa 1926 and in the
1930s was a student at the National Academy of Design
and Art Students League both in New York City.
Presidential portrait of Truman, painted by Greta Kempton.
This became the official White House portrait of Pres-
ident Truman.
She remained active as a painter well into her eight-
ies and restored many paintings at Church of the Trans-
figuration, "The Little Church Around the Corner" in
New York City. Her works are in the collections of the
White House, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the
White House portrait of Bess Truman, painted by Greta Kemp- U.S. Supreme Court, the Harry S. Truman Library, the
ton.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, the National Portrait
Gallery, and a number of museums. Her papers which in-
Her style was reminiscent of Rembrandt, Rubens, and clude a number of portraits now form a collection at the
other European masters. By the 1940s, she had compiled Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri.
a list of subjects, including Dagmar Nordstrom, one of the She died in New York City and her ashes were placed
Nordstrom Sisters, the families of some Hollywood res- in the columbarium in the New York City Church of the
idents of New Orleans, where she lived with her then- Transfiguration.
husband, the businessman Ambrose McNamara. Kemp-
ton became well-known in Washington following the un-
veiling in 1947 of her portrait of Drucie Snyder, the
daughter of Treasury Secretary John W. Snyder. Through External links
Snyder, Kempton gained introductions to other high of- • GretaKempton.org
ficials of the Truman administration. Later in 1947, she
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Greta Kempton
• Greta Kempton’s biographic sketch at Find A Grave Alternative names
• Truman Library - Greta Kempton Papers
Short description
• Harry S. Truman-Greta Kempton papers in the
Archives of American Art Date of birth March 22, 1901
• Secretary of the Treasury - John W. Snyder Place of birth
Persondata Date of death December 10, 1991
Name Kempton, Greta Place of death
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greta_Kempton&oldid=449309330"
Categories:
• 1901 births
• 1991 deaths
• People from Vienna
• American people of Austrian descent
• Portrait artists
• American painters
• Women painters
• Austrian emigrants to the United States
• National Academy of Design alumni
• Art Students League of New York alumni
• Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni
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