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Bertha Sargent (1864-?) - student

The oldest student at Grant Wood's art colony, Sargent was born in Massachusetts and was a longtime resident of Cedar Rapids. Despite having little formal art education, Sargent served as the curator of art for the Cedar Rapids Public Library and was working in that position during 1930. An ardent supporter of Edward Rowan's Little Gallery, she volunteered as a docent and tour guide for the facility. Sargent also established a junior art association for local high school students. Membership apparently reached over 150 students. Her attendance at the 1932 Stone City colony is documented through student records, despite few details existing on the artist's life.

Within 1932 colony records, Sargent notes herself as an "old lady [of] 69," even as federal 1930 Linn County, Iowa census responses show her residing as a boarder with a Cedar Rapids family and her age as 65. Cedar Rapids histories clearly document her death occurring prior to 1950. Additional biographical details have yet to be determined.

Online Resources for Bertha Sargent: None.

Bertha Sargent - From the large group photo of The 1932 Stone City Art Colony and School found on the Artists: 1932 page.

When Tillage Begins: The Stone City Art Colony and School
Published online October 2003 by the
Busse Library,
Mount Mercy College
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Telephone: 319-368-6465
Fax: 319-363-9060
Email: library@mtmercy.edu

Researcher & Author: Kristy Raine
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©Busse Library 2003