Jessie Arms Botke

Jessie Hazel Arms Botke (May 27, 1883 – October 2, 1971) was an American painter in Illinois and California, noted for her bird images and use of gold leaf highlights.

Biography

Jessie Arms Botke was born in Chicago, Illinois to William Aldis and Martha (Cornell) Arms. She attended the Chicago Art Institute in 1897 to 1898, and again from 1902 to 1905. She took summer classes from artists John Christen Johansen and Charles Herbert Woodbury and continued working with the renowned Albert Herter, who had the most influence in shaping her approach to composition and color. Following a short trip to Europe in 1909, she returned to her parents Chicago residence and officially listed her profession as “artist, interior decorating.” She worked as a muralist in New York City (1911) and in San Francisco (1913-14).

She married Cornelis Botke in April 1915 and gave birth a year later to their only child, William. She and her husband moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, in 1919 and became influential figures in the local art colony. They moved to Santa Paula, California, in 1927.

During her career she was a prolific exhibitor.

Artwork Inspired by early work as a designer of woven tapestries, Botke's art often featured birds, particularly white peacocks, geese and cockatoos. and the Museum of Ventura County.

Death Botke died on October 2, 1971, in Santa Paula at the age of 88. An outdoor memorial service was scheduled at a courtyard fountain adjacent to Citizen's State Bank in Santa Paula. Works by Botke and her late husband were displayed in the bank after the service.

Exhibitions and awards 1917 – Chicago Art Institute, Englewood Woman’s Club Prize 1918 – Chicago Art Institute, Martin B. Cahn Prize 1919 – Exhibition of Chicago Artists Annual, Chicago Artists’ Medal 1920 – Chicago Art Institute, William O. Thompson Prize 1920-1923 – Annual and Holiday Exhibitions of the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club 1921 - Milwaukee Art Institute (with Cornelius) 1921 - Crocker Art Gallery in Sacramento (with Cornelius) 1922 (January) – Exhibition of California Women Painters, Stanford University Art Gallery 1922 (April) – Exhibition of Carmel and Monterey Artists, Stanford University Art Gallery 1922 – Chicago Art Institute Annual 1925 – National Association of Women Painters & Sculptors in New York, Honorable Mention 1925–1945 – Grand Central Galleries in New York City 1926 – Exhibition of Chicago Artists Annual, First Prize ($500.00) 1926 – Del Monte Art Gallery (Monterey, California) 1926 – Traveling Exhibition (with Cornelius) of Western and Midwestern Museums 1926 – Hotel San Carlos Art Gallery (Monterey, California) 1926–1927 – Carmel Art Gallery, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California 1927 – Stendahl Galleries of Los Angeles (with Cornelius) 1933 – National Association of Women Painters & Sculptors in New York, Tucker Prize 1933 – Statewide Annual of the Santa Cruz Art League 1935 – First Annual Exhibition of the Academy of Western Painters, unspecified prize