1883-1971

Theme/Style – Impressionism, figurative art, decorative art

Media – Oils, murals, watercolors, illustrations

Artistic Focus – Consistent in style throughout her lifelong career, Jessie Arms Botke enjoyed both critical and commercial success as a painter of bold, decorative paintings of birds, underwater life, and the flora and fauna of numerous geographic locations. Her work was generally ornate, highly decorative, bright and lively, and always representational, no matter the artistic trend of the time in which it was painted. She was known for her technically demanding large canvases, many of which featured gold leaf treatments in an art decoesque style.

Career Highlights –

• Botke remained active as a painter late into her life, working on trains as she traveled from California to the Midwest and East Coast, and following the death of her husband in 1954, she painted in Hawaii.
• A few years later, she returned to California and accepted a mural commission at The Oaks in Ojai.
• In the 1940s, she added smaller watercolors and oil paintings to her repertoire after discovering they were commercially popular and easier to produce. However, she never abandoned her love of the highly stylish, intricate paintings that first brought her fame.
• Throughout her career, Botke received support from numerous critics, including Alma May Cook of the Los Angeles Herald Tribune.

Additional biographical material and full bibliographic references are available upon request.

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