The following information comes from Evelin Bodfish Bourne’s son, who passed away in Oct. of 2002:
Evelin Bodfish Bourne was born in Wareham, MA on July 10, 1892. Her father, William Parker Bodfish was also an artist of note and an illustrator for turn of the century magazines. Due to that they resided in New York City during the winter months, coming to Wareham during the summer, where they resided at the old homestead.
As a girl she attended various schools. She knew she wanted to become an artist so she attended the National Academy of Design and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She won medals for her work in 1912, 1913, and 1914. She married John Knowles Bourne in 1918 and after living in Wareham for four years they moved permanently to a home in Buzzards Bay, Mass. This was purchased by John Knowles Bourne in 1920.
She painted a great deal in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Various media were used, such as oils, crayon, chalk, but mostly watercolor. She belonged to the Provincetown Art Association and the Cape Cod Art Association. She would visit Provincetown in the summer, painting and placing work in galleries and visiting with friends. In the spring she would travel to New York to place works in galleries. She had considerable success and her works are displayed in a number of homes and public places.
Evelin loved the Cape and was a lover of animals and gardening. Dogs and cats were her main companions and she liked to take walks followed by one dog or another. Her interests were many, as she had a love for the theater, better motion picture shows, literature and writing letters to friends.
She enjoyed the circus and at one time made a trip to the winter quarters in Sarasota. While there she painted a number of pictures while on the visit. She was a good friend of Georgina Klitgaard, a noted artist who lived in Bearsville, NY.
She wanted to visit Spain and France, where her father had gone many years before, but never accomplished this since she died on Jan. 4th, 1954.
Evelin Bourne
I am named for my grandmother.