Gladioli

Witten’s still-life painting depicts a vase of gladioli flowers with a framed nude portrait set next to and slightly behind the vase. The exact year of production is unknown, like much of Witten’s personal history. The flowers are bright red and gold, a sharp contrast to the deep blue-green vase and light green wall. The nude portrait shows a woman on her knees looking downward, apparently posing next to the edge of a bed. Her body language is soft, inviting comparison to the flowers.  Our immediate focal point is the flower vase, particularly its bright red flowers: most of them seemingly lean towards the portrait, creating a line of attention across the piece. By utilizing a contrast of hues and saturations, Witten also invites juxtaposition of the portrait and its surroundings. The pale figure, posed against a deep blue background and cool-hued colors, contrasts the warm-hued colors of its framing room. This shifts the initial focal point towards the picture frame and away from the flowers. Witten’s technique gives the painting a soft, romantic feeling. The visual brushstrokes and soft linework make the work feel familiar but not distinct, as though Witten were portraying a memory.

About the Artist

Mabel Alice Mary Azure was born in London, her exact birth year unknown, to an English father and Spanish mother. After the early passing of her parents, Witten attended an all-girls private school in Hampshire, England, thanks to family wealth.  During this time, she met her husband, George Walter Bond Witten, whom she married in 1912. George Witten was not only a writer, but also an army Major. The newlywed couple moved to New York, staying for a short time before relocating to Florida, where they remained the rest of their lives. She got the nickname “Bunty” from her husband and used it as a professional name throughout her career.  Witten spent a great deal of time on education. She attended 8 years of school in the U.S., some of them spent at the Metropolitan Art School of New York, one year in a school in England and another in Paris. She is mostly known as a painter, but also sketched, illustrated and created cartoons and personal portraits. Her illustrations appeared in books such as A Merry Menagerie (1924), Children: The Magazine for Parents (1928) and Rip Darcy, Adventurer (1938). In Florida, she helped run the Pen and Brush Club, later renamed The Galleon: A Pen and Pencil Club. She was a chair of the club and used her interior design skills to make the club space a gorgeous spot for artists and creators to create a better world for art and literature. Witten passed in 1968, an obituary determining her age to be 74, although her original birth year is unknown.

Works Consulted: Paul Guzzo, “Crabby Bill’s CEO honors family’s benefactor” (Stuart News 29 Aug. 2021: 26A); Lillian Blackstone, “Artist and Husband Forget Their Proposed Trip to Guatemala As Soon as They Reach Here" (Tampa Bay Times 30 April 1939: 14); “Obituaries.” (Tampa Bay Times 18 Nov. 1968: 17); “Pen and Brush Club is Now Organized in St. Augustine" (St. Augustine Record 19 Jan. 1924: 1); “‘The Galleon’ New Name for Writers’ and Artists’ Club” (St. Augustine Record 23 Jan. 1924: 1).

Witten, Bunty (1895? - 1968)

Pasiak, Olivia (description and biography)

Helquist, Morgan (photography)

New Deal Museum, Mount Morris NY

Object #FA 826

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Oil on canvas painting