Eva Scott Fényes
Eva Scott Fényes (1849-1930) was an American painter known for watercolor landscape of the American west. She was also known for her philanthropic activities. Biography. Fényes was born in 1849 in New York. She was married twice. In 1878 she married William Muse, with whom she had one child, Leonora Scott Muse Curtin (1879-1972). That marriage ended in divorce. Her second marriage was to Adalbert Fényes in 1896. Between marriages Fényes moved to New Mexico and then traveled in Europe, Egypt, and the Middle East. Though never a professional artist, Fényes was an accomplished watercolorist . With the urging of Charles Fletcher Lummis she created over 300 landscapes which often included Southwest architecture features such as missions and adobe structures. Soon after her second marriage, Fényes and her husband settled in Pasadena, California. She commissioned Robert D. Farquhar to design a house, known as the Fenyes Mansion, and now the home of the Pasadena Museum of History. Fényes was a member of the Landmarks Club of California, the Pasadena Music and Art Association, and the Southwest Society. She also served on the board of trustees of the Southwest Museum. In 1926 Eva Scott Fényes, her daughter  and granddaughter Leonora Paloheimo (1903-1999) built a home in Santa Fe, Acequia Madre House, that is now run by the Paloheimo Foundation and also home to the Women's International Study Center. Fényes died in 1930. Her watercolors and sketchbooks are in the collections of the Southwest Museum and the Pasadena Museum of History.