Ithaca from the Campus

A sunny, hazy day in western New York is framed by trees and a lush green lawn. The view of Ithaca rendered de-emphasizes its commercial center in favor of forested hill dotted with homes. It's possible that the tall structure depicted is part of the War Memorial at Lyon and McFaddin Halls, recently dedicated in 1932.

About the Artist: Born in Heidelberg, Germany, Jehu (whose name sometimes has been misspelled as Jehn) immigrated to the US in the early 1880s. She was the wife of sculptor John Milton Jehu and lived in Teegarden, OH. His struggles to support the family as an artist led her to leave US in 1913 and live with her family, bringing along son John Paul Jehu. Eventually the couple divorced in 1923. It was probably during this time in Europe that Jehu studied art formally in Germany and France. She returned to America in 1934, briefly living in Selma, AB, where she had a well-regarded show at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in 1934. She moved again in 1935 to Ithaca while her son  attended college (Cornell Class of 1937). Her painting at the NDG painting may have been produced during this time. She exhibited at the Fourth Street Artists Gallery (1937), Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club show in New York (1941), the Albany Institute of History and Art (1943), and the Schenecdaty Art Exhibit (1945). Jehu spent the last years of her life in Albany, NY and continued painting until her death in 1947.

Jehu, Pauline, 1867-1947

Oil painting

29.5 x 23.5 in.

Condition: stained, canvas torn, surface dirt