JULIA KENNETT COLT 1878
JULIA KENNETT COLT
1878
-
1948
Ju lia K en n ett C olt, the eldest child o f Jo h n and V io le t K en n ett W h itta k e r, was born on 1 A p ril 1878, in St. L ou is, M issouri. T h e W h ittak ers spent the sum m ers in B ar H arb or, M a in e; and there as a child, accom panied by an energetic governess, she scoured the hills of that rocky coast and no doubt acquired the love for clim b in g and exploring any region where she found herself that she kept to the end of her life. In 1896 she was m arried to Jam es S. W ad sw orth and cam e to live in the G enesee V alley o f western N ew Y o rk , where she at once took an active part in the country life and sports for w hich it was then well know n. She quickly becam e a good horsew om an, devoted to rid ing and h u n tin g . T h e follow ing 25 years she passed chiefly in these surroundings. O f her tw o sons the elder, Livingston, was killed in active service in F ran ce, A ugust 1918, at the age o f 20. In 1908 she m arried H en ry V . C olt, of G eneseo, N ew Y o rk ; and in the fall of 1920, w ith their three daughters, they sailed for E urope w here, w ith the exception of a few b rief returns to A m erica, she rem ained for the next 15 years. A t this tim e, one or two sum m ers spent in the A u strian T y ro l gave her the opportunity to clim b again for the first tim e since her child hood ; and from 1925 until 1933, w ith her daughters, she spent every sum m er in the m ountains of Sw itzerland and northern Italy. H e r clim bs included the C im a di Ja z z i, Petite D en t de V eisivi, A iguille de la Za, L a Roussette, A ig u illes Rouges d 'A rolla (tra v e rse), C ol d ’H érens, Col de B ertol, N eues W eissthor, A iguille du G éan t, G ra n
Paradiso,
G rivola,
M onte
V iso,
O rtler,
G ross
G lock n er,
R iff elthor, M onte C ristallo, P u n ta F iam m es, C in q u e T o r ri ( a ll) , C roda da L a g o (tra v e rse), T o fa n a di M ezzo, C im one della P ala, F ünffingerspitze, T o rre Stabeier, C atinaccio (R o se n g a rte n ), P om agagnon. She was a clever artist from youth and d uring this tim e spent
several w inters studying in M u nich, w here she becam e m uch in ter ested in the D u tch school o f flow er-painting and developed a fine technique for this style of art. Fortu n ately she has left a num ber of exquisite exam ples of this now little know n m anner of painting. H e r sudden death on 14 July 1948 cam e as a great shock to her fam ily and friends. Ju lia C olt was a rare and gifted person of wide and varied in terests. T h e foregoin g account of her life is inadequate and far from doing fu ll justice to all her qualities— her exceptional intelli gence, understanding and vitality, w hich left an indelible im pression on all who knew her. J. C .
[I t is of particular interest to add that in 1927 M rs. C olt rented a herd sm an’s hut high up on the A lpe de Breonne in order to study w ith the Swiss painter F ran ço is de R itan p ierre, who was living near by. She did a pastel of the head of the Ferpècle V alley with the D en t d ’H érens and B ouquetins in the background. T h is picture is now in the possession of her daughter, M rs. Ju lia C olt.— W . S. C .]
1878
-
1948
Ju lia K en n ett C olt, the eldest child o f Jo h n and V io le t K en n ett W h itta k e r, was born on 1 A p ril 1878, in St. L ou is, M issouri. T h e W h ittak ers spent the sum m ers in B ar H arb or, M a in e; and there as a child, accom panied by an energetic governess, she scoured the hills of that rocky coast and no doubt acquired the love for clim b in g and exploring any region where she found herself that she kept to the end of her life. In 1896 she was m arried to Jam es S. W ad sw orth and cam e to live in the G enesee V alley o f western N ew Y o rk , where she at once took an active part in the country life and sports for w hich it was then well know n. She quickly becam e a good horsew om an, devoted to rid ing and h u n tin g . T h e follow ing 25 years she passed chiefly in these surroundings. O f her tw o sons the elder, Livingston, was killed in active service in F ran ce, A ugust 1918, at the age o f 20. In 1908 she m arried H en ry V . C olt, of G eneseo, N ew Y o rk ; and in the fall of 1920, w ith their three daughters, they sailed for E urope w here, w ith the exception of a few b rief returns to A m erica, she rem ained for the next 15 years. A t this tim e, one or two sum m ers spent in the A u strian T y ro l gave her the opportunity to clim b again for the first tim e since her child hood ; and from 1925 until 1933, w ith her daughters, she spent every sum m er in the m ountains of Sw itzerland and northern Italy. H e r clim bs included the C im a di Ja z z i, Petite D en t de V eisivi, A iguille de la Za, L a Roussette, A ig u illes Rouges d 'A rolla (tra v e rse), C ol d ’H érens, Col de B ertol, N eues W eissthor, A iguille du G éan t, G ra n
Paradiso,
G rivola,
M onte
V iso,
O rtler,
G ross
G lock n er,
R iff elthor, M onte C ristallo, P u n ta F iam m es, C in q u e T o r ri ( a ll) , C roda da L a g o (tra v e rse), T o fa n a di M ezzo, C im one della P ala, F ünffingerspitze, T o rre Stabeier, C atinaccio (R o se n g a rte n ), P om agagnon. She was a clever artist from youth and d uring this tim e spent
several w inters studying in M u nich, w here she becam e m uch in ter ested in the D u tch school o f flow er-painting and developed a fine technique for this style of art. Fortu n ately she has left a num ber of exquisite exam ples of this now little know n m anner of painting. H e r sudden death on 14 July 1948 cam e as a great shock to her fam ily and friends. Ju lia C olt was a rare and gifted person of wide and varied in terests. T h e foregoin g account of her life is inadequate and far from doing fu ll justice to all her qualities— her exceptional intelli gence, understanding and vitality, w hich left an indelible im pression on all who knew her. J. C .
[I t is of particular interest to add that in 1927 M rs. C olt rented a herd sm an’s hut high up on the A lpe de Breonne in order to study w ith the Swiss painter F ran ço is de R itan p ierre, who was living near by. She did a pastel of the head of the Ferpècle V alley with the D en t d ’H érens and B ouquetins in the background. T h is picture is now in the possession of her daughter, M rs. Ju lia C olt.— W . S. C .]
