Belle Silveira
Born(1877-09-21)September 21, 1877[1]
Erie, Pennsylvania, United States
DiedMarch 25, 1930(1930-03-25) (aged 52)[2]
New York City, New York, United States
Notable workIncluded Smithsonian American Art Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art collections
SpouseOtto Wenceslas Gorski (m. 1906)

Belle Silveira, also known as Belle Silveira Gorski and Belle Silveira Bradford, (1877–1930) was an American artist.

She was known for her pencil portraits.[3]

Biography

Born in Erie, Pennsylvania on September 21, 1877, Belle Silveira studied with John Vanderpoel at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was also an art student of William Merritt Chase and Frederick Richardson, and was best known for her pencil sketches.[4]

On September 8, 1906, Silveira wed Otto Wenceslas Gorski, a stepson of the renowned Polish pianist, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, and son of Helena Paderewska. The couple reportedly lived in poverty frequently during their first years of marriage.[5][6][7]

Silveira, who reportedly was subjected to repeated incidents of domestic violence during her marriage to Gorski, ultimately divorced him. She later remarried an older man, taking his surname of Bradford, but that marriage also ended in divorce.[8]

Sometime during the early 1920s, she relocated to the New York home of her friend, Ralph Modjeski, a former classmate of Paderewski who had become one of the most respected bridge builders in the United States after emigrating from Poland.[9] Modjeski had been the person who had introduced Silveira to Gorski during the early 1900s.[10] According to newspapers in Illinois, Modjeski and Silveira had had a longstanding friendship.[11][12]

While living at Modjeski's home, Silveira completed a series of drawings of his bridge designs.[9]

Exhibitions

Silveira's pencil sketches and sculptures were exhibited during her lifetime as follows:[4]

  • December 16–26, 1897: "The Venetian" (graphite sketch), "Laure Elizabeth" (sculpture), and two additional sketches (one graphite, one pencil), Art Students League of Chicago's annual exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago;
  • 1906: Solo exhibition of her drawings, the Art Institute of Chicago;
  • January 30 to February 25, 1906: "Michigan Avenue" (pencil sketch) and pencil portraits of the following individuals: Mrs. W. A. Arms, Frank Turner Godfrey and Donald Robertson, Chicago artists exhibition, the Art Institute of Chicago; and
  • February 13 to March 30, 1919: "At Aidenn, September 1917" (pencil), "At Aidenn, December 1918" (pencil), "Le Palais de Justice, Paris" (pencil), "Pont Royal, Paris" (pencil), and a pencil portrait of Ralph Clarkson, Chicago artists exhibition, the Art Institute of Chicago.

Death

On Tuesday evening, March 25, 1930, Silveira ended her life by suicide. Her death was documented by New York detectives as having occurred in Modjeski's home.[9]

According to friends, Silveira may have chosen to end her life at the age of fifty-two due to a chronic illness:[13]

"Seven years ago she told me that when her illness—a sort of sleeping sickness caused by tubercular lesions in her back, originally caused by her husband's beatings—became intolerable, she would end her life. She had no religion, and no fear."

Additional news reports stated that Silveira had left a suicide note indicating that she had grown increasingly despondent about her health, and feared that she would be paralyzed due to her medical condition.[14][15]

Legacy

Silveira's work is included in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art,[2] the Art Institute of Chicago,[16] and the National Gallery of Art, Washington.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Belle Gorski," in "Illinois Women Artists Project." Peoria, Illinois: Bradley University, retrieved online March 12, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Belle Silveira | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu.
  3. ↑ "Pencil Portrait by Belle Silveira Gorski" (illustration with caption). Chicago Illinois: Chicago Tribune, September 16, 1906, p. 4 (subscription required).
  4. 1 2 "Belle Gorski," in "Illinois Women Artists Project," Bradley University.
  5. ↑ "Paderewski Facing a Suit: Stepson, Husband of Chicago Girl Suffers from Poverty." Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Tribune, February 21, 1909, front page (subscription required).
  6. ↑ "Courting By Wire the Latest Novelty." Grass Valley, California: The Morning Union, November 17, 1906, p. 7 (subscription required).
  7. ↑ "Gorski Denies Reported Suit." Sioux Falls, South Dakota: The Daily Argus-Leader, February 26, 1909, p. 5 (subscription required).
  8. ↑ "Friends Reveal Life of Suicide Woman Artist." New York, New York: Daily News, March 28, 1930, p. 402 (subscription required).
  9. 1 2 3 "Friends Reveal Life of Suicide Woman Artist," Daily News, March 28, 1930.
  10. ↑ "Paderewski Facing a Suit: Stepson, Husband of Chicago Girl Suffers from Poverty," Chicago Tribune, February 21, 1909.
  11. ↑ "Modjeska's Love Affairs Spilled." Rock Island, Illinois: The Rock Island Argus, May 3, 1916, p. 14 (subscription required).
  12. ↑ "Modjeski Love Affairs Cited in Wife's Suit." Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1916, p. 5 (subscription required).
  13. ↑ "Suicide Recalls Stormy Life of Belle Silvera [sic]". Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Tribune, March 28, 1930, p. 21 (subscription required).
  14. ↑ "Feared paralysis: Woman took life." Dixon, Illinois: Dixon Evening Telegraph, March 27, 1930, p. 2 (subscription required).
  15. ↑ "Artist Employe [sic] of R. Modjeski Kills Herself: Pistol Tied to Wrist of Belle Silvera [sic]." Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Tribune, March 27, 1930, p. 3 (subscription required).
  16. ↑ "Belle Silveira Gorski". The Art Institute of Chicago.
  17. ↑ "Artist Info". www.nga.gov.
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