The Washington times., 1937-05-24
& Id. G.. Bills Up for House Action TODAY
Mrs. George Oakley T0tten Came
To Il. s. as SViSitOr, Stayed as Bride
Swedish Sculptor at
Best in PorceIains,
Art Sells Fast

NSStSS
Which is rapidly becoming one
OF the foremost cultural centers
OF the l0orld, are numerous So
ctety 1Oonlen, tDho, rather than
co7tJine their activities to social
functions alone, haze gone in
for arts in a serious tDGy.
A teD hdUe turned profess
Stondl, but most of them haze
studied sculpture, painting and
ceramics, or tDritten books and
foStered musical centerS for
their otDn pleasure and that of
their families and friends.
Personality stories on these
tDomen and their UorE Wiu be
printed il, a series by The Wash.
tngton Times.
About 16 years ago, Mrs.
George Oakley Totten, then Wick.
en- Won Post, noted Swedish
sculpt.r, came to this country to
exhibit her porcelain figurines.
She carried a three-month pass
port.
And during that interval she
met and married George Oakley
Totten, prominent Washington
architect. She's lived in the ma
tion'S capital ever since.
This talented lady, who is
famous in her own country, not
only as a sculptor but as a paint
er Of stained glass windows, and
a portrait artist, is the mother of,
as she puts it, 1.-TWO wonderful
boys" They are students in the
Choate School in Connecticut.
Entrance In Garden
The rntrance to the Totten do
micile, located back Of the Santo
Domingo Legation on Sixteenth
st. N. w., is through a garden.
On the day Of this interview the
mistress of the house, wearing
a printed house coat. garden hat
and high7heeled opera pumps,
and accompanied by a rollicking
puppy. greeted the visitor with:
"DO you love the sun? Good!
Let US sit here"
Sinking into a beach chair on
the stone terrace, she glanced con-
tentedly over the shady lawn on
which stood a stone cupid pre-
siding over a bird-bath.
"You know. diss iSs o small
garden, but it iss IOvelee!"
She had, this stately gracious
woman admitted, carved the cupid
and the life-sized figure of a little
boy standing under one Of the
trees.
Decided Accent
Though Mrs. Totten learned
English in Stockholm she speaks
with a decided accent. It's at
tractive by soft, slurring and har-
moniouS. Unlike most Scandina.
vianS she is dark.
The house to which she came as
a bride is stocked with artistic
treasures, the work Of its charming
mistress.
In the. dining room stands a
glass cabinet, its shelves full Of por-
celain figures, fragile and ex-
quisite. Her work is somewhat like
the Royal Dresden-though more
human. There is a touching figure
of a young mother nursing her
baby; a little maid in kirtle and
Juliet cap and an alluring Eve,
clothed in naught but her glorious
hair, seated on a rock.
Culture Everywhere
A life-Sized statue Of the Ma
donna guards the massive stone
fireplace in the Gothic living room
which has a domed ceiling similar
to those in the English churches.
The balconies and bookcases
are Gothic. There are stained
glass windows which Mrs. Totten
painted, and a pencil drawing of
her eldest son who is now IS.
She has done about everything
in the line Of art. Recently she
made II panels, seven and a half
feet long for a post office in Con.
necticut. And she also did two
Continued on Page 19, Col. y