Eda Nemoede Casterton

Eda Nemoede Casterton (April 14, 1877 – November 15, 1969) was an American painter known specifically for her portrait miniatures in watercolor, pastels and oil. She exhibited works at the Paris Salon and the San Francisco Panama–Pacific International Exposition of 1915, among others. Her works are at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Brooklyn Museum.

Early life Eda Wilhelmina Nemoede was born in Brillion, Wisconsin, on April 14, 1877 to Edward Carl Ludwig Nemoede, a harnessmaker, and Maria Georgina Bastian and Alma Caroline. and then worked for attorney Peter Martineau as a secretary. Following the death of her father March 6, 1895, in Oconto, Wisconsin, Casterton lived in Chicago with her mother and her sisters Hattie and Alma Caroline and worked as a stenographer.

Education

Even as miniature paintings become less popular, she was a successful artist and received international recognition. She began making full-size portraits in the 1920s, including having patterned a work after a U.S. Army lieutenant made during Thomas Jefferson's presidency.

Her works are held by the Smithsonian Institution, The Brooklyn Museum and The John H. Vanderpoel Art Association. and a Bronze medal at the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia of 1926. British Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Royal Society of Miniature Painters, and the Pennsylvania Societies of Miniature Painters. In 1914 she was the vice president of the Chicago Societies of Miniature Painters. Between 1949 and 1951 she received awards at the League of the American Pen Women Exhibitions.

On June 29, 1911, Eda Nemoede married William John Casterton in Chicago. Their first daughter, Jane was born in 1912. Their second daughter, Virginia was born in February 1917.

William Casterton died February 9, 1948, in Evanston, Illinois. In 1952, she moved to Missoula, Montana, where she worked as an artist and lived with her sister. She died November 15, 1969, at Palos Verdes Estates, California, at 92 years of age.