Quita Brodhead, Vibrant Abstract Artist, 101
Hyfler/Rosner
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Quita Brodhead, a painter of colorful figurative and abstract paintings for
more than 80 years, died on Sept. 4 in Bryn Mawr, Pa. She was 101 and lived
in Wayne, Pa.
She had a vibrant style that continued to evolve through her life. Her early
work was mostly nudes and still lifes, influenced by Cézanne and Matisse.
But starting in the 1950's her work became more abstract but kept her
signature bright colors.
Ms. Brodhead was born Marie Waggaman Berl on March 5, 1901, and studied at
the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her first New York show was in
1938. Her father used to call her Mariequita - Little Marie - hence her
nickname.
Her work is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Delaware Art Museum, the
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, N.Y., and other museums.
Her last show, at a college, closed on Aug. 30.
She is survived by three children, Edith Good of Charlottesville, Va.;
Truxtun Brodhead of Niantic, Conn.; and Charles Brodhead of Alexandria, Va.;
seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Her marriage to Truxtun
Read Brodhead ended in divorce.
Grace Glueck wrote in The New York Times of Ms. Brodhead's centenary
exhibition: "The gifts of long life and the talent to live it rewardingly do
not go to many. Ms. Brodhead is quite simply a phenomenon."