Virginia True facts for kids

Virginia True was an American painter. She was known for her art that showed the spirit of the United States in the early 1900s.

Early Life and Art Education

Virginia True was born in 1900 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents were both classical musicians. However, Virginia showed a natural talent for art instead of music.

She started college at Butler University. Later, she chose to study art at the John Herron Art Institute. This school is now called the Herron School of Art and Design. It is located in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Indianapolis had a lively art scene back then. Famous artists like William Merritt Chase and Frank Duveneck worked there. After Herron, Virginia True won a scholarship. She spent one year studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Discovering the Southwest

In 1928, Virginia True visited the Southwest for the first time. She went on a road trip with friends from the Herron Institute. They traveled through Northern New Mexico.

They drove along the High Road from Taos. Then they went into the Rio Grande Valley and Santa Fe. Virginia was deeply moved by the culture and nature of New Mexico. She wrote about wanting to "preserve on canvas my thrill and deep feeling of the grand things of nature I have beheld today."

Later Career and Teaching

In 1935, Virginia True decided to get a Master of Arts degree. She started a program at Cornell University. After finishing her studies, she began teaching at Cornell.

In 1937, she was asked to paint a mural. It was called "The History of Home Economics." She later became the head of the Department of Housing and Design at Cornell.

Virginia True spent the rest of her life in the eastern United States. She retired to Cape Cod. There, she continued to teach art for several years. She also kept painting and showing her artwork.

Virginia True believed that being an artist was challenging. She said, "to be an artist is a very upsetting thing, because you must come to grips with what you really think and what is really basic and what is truly you." This shows her deep thoughts about art and life.