Betty Harvey (American) was born in a fishing village in the Northern Neck of Virginia in 1915. After graduating from nurses training in Richmond, she spent time during World War II in the Orient and South Pacific. Her formal training includes studies at William and Mary, University of Richmond and the Butler Art Institute as well as sundry workshops around the country.
Always experimenting, Betty has become proficient at various styles and motifs: early in her career she reflected her childhood experiences on the Chesapeake Bay with a series of seascapes in a style reminiscent of the British 18th century masters; then turned to landscapes using bold amorphous forms like those of Gauguin. The death of her husband caused her painting to become more introspective; her thematic interest turned to classic Jungian archetypes, heroines from the old Testament and classical literature. Most of her paintings from this period portray elongated human forms on vertical canvases. Next, she completed a short series of scenes done not on open seas, but rather on tributaries and rivers. These are very reminiscent views along some of the exotic rivers like the Congo, Amazon, and Ganges where great nature seems to envelope and crawl over man-made riverside structures. In the last few years her interests again changed, she finished a series of still life in an impressionist style, and more and more, using bright primary colors.
Betty Harvey's paintings are in homes of collectors in the U.S. and Europe.
See also: http://www.gbtate.com/betty.html