The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-11-20
THE EVENING TIMES GRAND FORKS, N. D.

perfect likeness by the hundreds VIII,
view IT every year. She also patnteG
Judge Charles +. .Amidon Of FargC
and several OF the supreme court jus
tees and through rr. q. q. Libby OF
the state historical society she was
secured to paint the several beautiful
Indian portraits which now hang In
the halls of the state capitol at Bis
marck.
The interest of this fund 70 be es'
tablished Is to be used to aid the
members Of this league of which MISS
Hcisser VAS founder and already there
have been requests from persons who
are not members of the League but
who knew Miss I~Icisser and her art
to be permitted to contribute to the
fund.
The following history of Miss IIeis-
Ser's life is taken from the Minheap-
oils Journal and Is exceedingly inter-
esting.
THE history of Miss Heisser. who
labored under peculiarly trying cir
cumstances. Is n of the most inter-
esting in the annals of western art.
For years she shared "a studio with
Miss Elizabeth A. Chant, now OF
Springfield. Mass. and of the ex-
hibitors at the Artists league exhibi.
ton In progress at the library. Alexis
J. Fournier. the distinguished artist,
who Is In Minneapolis at present. Is
taking an active interest In the pro-
posed memorial fund. He. too, shar-
ed the same studio building on Hen
nepin avenue between Seventh and
Eighth streets south. for several
years with the dead artist. The old
Art league was founded in his studio.
where artists used to gather.
There were days when the Their
mometer was ten below Zero" said
Mr.. Fourier. "that I found Miss
Heisser. who was slight Of build, but
a little bundle of energy. digging
kindling out Of Il snow drift where
with to build a fire in her studio. She
exposed herself to the inclemency OF
the weather. unconscious Of her peril.
was sent into my studio or thai of
Heirloom Gausta; in which the tenn
perature was warmer than in her own
quarters. She would spend days H.
Eliminating a manuscript or working
on some design. hardly taking time
to eat. FINAL she was compelled to
give up the studio and accepted a po-
sition to teach in the normal school
in Moorhead.
! go and must bury myself l remem-
Der when she returned from her first
winters experience. She came into
the studio and looked around and
said. How beautiful the old place
looks. How fine 1t Is to get back to
civilization. Siberia would have no
terrors for me after my experience
among the snowdrifts of Dakota"
Miss Heisser taught in the rural
kota. where she suffered many hard.
ships.
Later she returned to Moorhead for
several years but in 1901 she at last
had accumulated enough to take her
to Paris for a year of study. Mrs.
Frank Henelfnger assisted Miss Heis-
Ser to stay in Paris a second year. She
returned to Minneapolis in 1903 and
then to North, Dakota, where she
painted many portraits, among them
the supreme judges and state sena.
tors and representatives. Later she
painted a series Of remarkable Indian
portraits, which now hang in Bis
marck In the state capitol.
Wonderful Portrait
n one has paid such a price,
said Mr.. Fourier. las did Miss Heis-
ser for her W success. She work.
ed under tremendous odds and lit
orally sacrificed herself to the cause
OF art: Look at h portrait in the
~SS PoAASCu Wy SllG yOuIlS dElISI
OF herself. Who knows what has gone
to produce this portrait. excellent as
IT seems to me in quality. AS a rule
It is only artists who have had the
highest advantages who could. to my
mind. produce such. a piece OF work,
technically. When looking at it the
beholder sees the artist as l knew her.
The characterization is absolute. 1t
may not be a masterpiece Of painting
/! h1ff IN mo - annr0 tI1 49,
the artists very soul. Had she lived
a few more years and continued in
her interchangeable application to her
art almost anything might have been
possible for her. I am speaking as /
knew her seven years ago. In look
ing over her work 1t seems to me she
a just found herself when death
ended her carer.
Thought Life q Success
"A friend OF mine who was near
her Ledside just before her death told
me a story that shows the broad char
acter of the girl. Miss Heisser was on
the threshold Of the beyond and new.
err again to touch a brush, when she
family said to her friend:
IL can remember when I left my
pupils In North Dakota, pupils from
IL to 3? years old, who came to me
as ! was bidding them farewell, and
said they wished to thank me for hav-
Ing show us nature as we have new
er seen it before. You have shown
US how to admire the weeds that
grow on the prairie. You have shown
us how to appreciate u wonderful
sunsets. These wonderful things, per.
haps we would have never known
had you never come among us. Our
lives are so much richer because OF
your coming to us. II I had done
nothing more than this, 1t was worth
while. wasn't it?'
Parties For Miss Bourbon.
Social pleasures for Miss Ethel
Bourbon of Red Lake Falls, MINI.
who is the charming guest of Misses
Florence. Gertrude and Eleanor Heals
of Riverside Park continue and from
for her home every minute is filled
with informal but pretty social atten.
ton.
Today noon Mrs. II. w. Randall
honored her with an informal lunch.
con at her North Sixth street home
The guests were Just the honoree anG
! the Misses Gertrude and Florence
past was served at 1880 o'clock.
Mrs. Frank ". Kent will be hostess
this evening at her Belmont avenue
home and her pleasure will be an nj
formal dinner at 6 o'clock. Only Mis-.
Bourbon and her hostess have beer
invited and the evening will be spent
in social visiting and chatting over the
good times that were enjoyed at Ma
pie Lake during the past summer.
Tomorrow Mrs. F.. NJ. Mccoy o,
J nuc ne arnIYc .