Elaine W. Wentworth

Elaine Winifred Magnuson Wentworth, 92, Norwell resident of forty-one years, artist, author, educator; beloved mother, grandmother and friend, passed away in Cooperstown, NY on Friday, March 3, 2017 following a brief illness. Elaine was born in Mattapan on June 16, 1924, granddaughter of Swedish immigrants who settled in Dorchester and helped establish the Swedish Covenant Church, Ruggles St. She graduated from high school in 1942 and worked as teletype radio-phone operator for the U.S. Army Signal Corp in Ketchikan, Alaska during WW II. Forever fascinated by visits to the Tsimshian Indian Village of Metlakatla, she years later wrote and illustrated their dramatic story in Mission to Metlakatla (Houghton Mifflin,1968; I- Universe, 2013). A 1950 graduate of the Boston Museum School of Fine Art, Elaine studied with figurative expressionist Ture Bengtz. While working as a fashion illustrator in Boston, Elaine met her husband of fifty-five years, artist Murray Jackson Wentworth (1926-2008) who shared her love of plein-air painting. Together they created professional lives of painting, exhibiting, and teaching, gaining national reputations as artists and workshop instructors. Elaines paintings were inspired by the local landscape and Maine seacoast and are in museum, corporate and private collections nationwide. She taught at the Art Institute of Boston, regional art associations, South Shore Natural Science Center, and as visiting artist in public schools. She is remembered fondly by students who became lifelong friends. Her paintings are currently represented by the Guild of Boston Artists, Newbury Street, Boston. She co-authored Watercolor for All Seasons (North Light, 1984), illustrated The Lighthouse Keepers Daughter (Mystic Seaport, 2004), and most recently authored Five for Freedom, (I-Universe, 2016) about the Jackson Homestead in Newton, MA. Elaine was a member of the New England Watercolor Society and National League of American Pen Women. Elaines spiritual life was nurtured and sustained by the United Church of Christ, Norwell, the Wentworths church home for thirty-five years. Elaine and Murray relocated in 2003 to Oneonta, NY to be near family. Elaine was preceded on October 10, 2016 by companion, artist Niels Michaelsen, Oneonta, NY; survived by daughter, Janet Wentworth (Norman) Erickson of Delhi, NY; grandchildren, Christina Louise and Katherine Theodora Wentworth Erickson; brother and nephews Philip, Eric, Paul Anderson, CA; cousin Caryl (Walker) Spiliotis, NH. Services will be held locally at the United Church of Christ, 460 Main Street, Norwell, MA on Sunday, April 30, 2017 at 2:00 with reception following. All are welcome. Memorial contributions in Elaines memory may be made to The Newton History Museum at the Jackson Homestead, 527 Washington Street, Newton MA, 02458.