Name/Title
Print, PhotographicEntry/Object ID
1994.005.0452Description
Glass plate negative and print of what is believed to be Henrietta Fish. In the margin of the glass plate is "Fish 1" indicating that this is Henrietta and multiple images were taken at the time.
Born in Benicia, CA on Dec. 8, 1856. "Harrie" Riddell's parents had come to California with the Gold Rush and settled in Benicia when it was the state's capital. She graduated from Benicia's Young Ladies Seminary in 1872 and taught there in 1879-80. By the 1890s she was the wife of Frank W. Fish. On the family estate in Benicia she kept an assortment of exotic pets such as snakes, alligators, and peacocks. Mrs. Fish studied art in San Francisco at the School of Design.
Native Californian, Henrietta Riddle Fish was an exceptionally gifted landscape painter.
She was born in 1856 in Benicia, the town which briefly served as California's capitol, located where the Sacramento River flows into San Francisco Bay. Henrietta's parents came to California during the Gold Rush in 1849, and remained to raise their family. She graduated from Benicia's Young Ladies Seminary. In later years, the school moved to Oakland and is now known as Mills College. Henrietta taught at the Young Ladies Seminary briefly in 1879-1880. At that time, she kept exotic pets on the family estate such as snakes, alligators, and peacocks.
She pursued her art studies at the School of Design in San Francisco, and remained active in the art world painting landscapes and portraits until her death in 1925. She exhibited her work at the Mechanic's Institute in San Francisco between 1878 - 1894. Her work was also exhibited at the Women's Building at the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893.
Sources : Artists in California 1786 - 1940, Edan Milton Hughes, 3d ed., Riddell Fish House ... Historic American Building's Survey, National Architectural and Engineering Record, National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
Her parents were George H Riddell (born 1810- ) and Eunice G (born 1815 - ). She was the youngest of 4 children born in December of 1856 or 1857. Her siblings were Elizabeth S (1846), Mary S (1842), and George W (1837).
Henrietta married Franklin Fish (1851- ) from Michigan about 1880. They had five children; Laurence E (08/01/1881-05/31/1950) who married Alice Westerberg (01/01/1881-08/19/1959), Julia C, Alda F, George, and Delaskie.
Sometime between 1900 and 1910 they left Benicia.Collection
Benicia Historical Museum Collection