Harriet Brownell Crabb (1868-1951) -- student

Born into a Quaker, farming family near Barry, Illinois (1868), Harriet Brownell experienced the loss of both parents while a young child and soon relocated, with her siblings, to the community of Grinnell, Iowa. There she completed high school (Grinnell Academy) and her undergraduate studies (Grinnell College). Harriet then enrolled and graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago (1894-1897), briefly returned to Grinnell, and decided on advanced studies at the Institute (1900-1901). Brownell married James Maurice Crabb, a a recent graduate of Rush Medical School (Chicago), in 1901; the couple settled in Ashton, South Dakota, where he operated a family practice. The pair's marriage was a short one; following Maurice's death in 1905, Harriet and her three-month old son moved back to Grinnell, where she remained close to her mother's brother (Jesse Lord) and his family, operated a boarding house, and offered painting classes. Private lessons in oils, china painting, and watercolor afforded extra income until her appointment as an art teacher in the local school system (1918-1923). Her husband's younger brother, Dr. George Crabb, was moving his family to Mason City, Iowa, and Harriet decided to join him, bringing her young son.

Upon settling in Mason City, Harriet Crabb was offered the first, art teaching position at the local high school, an appointment she held for almost two decades (1923-1941). While teaching, Crabb was enrolled for summer studies at the Minneapolis School of Art and Chicago's School of Fine Arts, attended an art colony in Saugatuck, Michigan, and came to the Stone City Art Colony in its last session (1933). As a member of the Mason City school system, Crabb launched the high school's fine arts program, developing classes and a curriculum reflecting various media. In 1934, she received a personal invitation from Grant Wood to enroll in his mural painting classes offered at the University of Iowa and heartily accepted. The sessions afforded her a rare opportunity to work with the master painter and to assist on the Parks Library (Iowa State University) murals commission, a WPA project. Her notable, Iowa showings included the Chicago American Artists Annual Exhibit (1897), the Iowa Artists Club (1933), and the Iowa Artists Exhibit in Mount Vernon (IA) in April 1938.

By 1941, Crabb had left Mason City and relocated to Eagle Grove, Iowa, where she lived with her son (Maurice, a noted journalist, editor, and publisher of the Eagle Grove Eagle) and his family. In this community, Crabb was active with her local church, social groups, and the Iowa Artists League. She resided in Eagle Grove at the time of her death in November 1951.

The artist's sketch of her husband, Dr. James Maurice Crabb, a physician (ca. 1901-1905). Image courtesy of the Marge Stell, Iowa City, Iowa.

The artist posed with her commissioned portrait of former Mason City, Iowa school superintendent, F.C. Vasey. Image courtesy of Marge Stell, Iowa City, Iowa.