Name/Title
Willie Betty NewmanEntry/Object ID
Newman, Willie BettyDescription
Bust-length of subject looking directly at the viewer with a slight smile on her face. She is wearing a black dress or coat and a black broad-brimmed hat that is tied with veiling under her chin. The background is a mottled gold and green.Collection
Private CollectionMade/Created
Artist
Hall, Richard, 1860-1942Date made
1890 - 1898Notes
During the late 1890s when Willie Betty Newman studied art in Paris, her portrait was painted by Richard Hall, Finnish-born naturalized Frenchman. Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Winter 1987.General Notes
Note Type
Historical NoteNote
Willie Betty, daughter of Colonel William Francis Betty and Sophie Rucker Betty, was born on January 21, 1863. at the Benjamin Rucker Plantation in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. On January 2, 1881, she married J. Warren Newman but they were soon separated. After studying art at the Cincinnati Art School, she continued her training in Paris for twelve years. Upon returning to Nashville in the early 1900s, she accepted commissions to paint portraits of Nashville's most prominent citizens. She died in Nashville on February 6, 1935.Create Date
September 20, 2026Update Date
September 20, 2026