Sharon’s Alethea Platt, an Artist and a Fierce Advocate for Women

The dozens of viewers who attended the December talk on the life and art of Sharon, Conn., summer artist-resident Alethea Hill Platt came away with a more informed appreciation of this late 19th- and early 20th-century woman, who earned every inch of her success as an artist while exercising her fierce independence as a woman of her times.

Sponsored by the Sharon Historical Society and held on Friday, Dec. 11, the vividly detailed talk was titled, “A Kind of Nobility: The Forgotten Artist Alethea Hill Platt.” Presenting the Zoom lecture was scholar and researcher Eve Kahn, who said she undertook her research when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March. 

The more Kahn uncovered about the substantial body of work accomplished by her extraordinary subject (who was a friend of Florence Griswold and many leading Connecticut families of the time), the more her subject intrigued her. 

The sixth of nine children, Platt was born into a family descended from Revolutionary War officers, Kahn said. Platt lived her early years in Manhattan, across Fifth Avenue from the First Presbyterian Church. A fiercely bitter court battle over family inheritance issues brought the loss of the Fifth Avenue address and brought her to live with a relative in Sharon in 1898.  

Her Sharon home and studio space along Cornwall Bridge Road came to be named Ellespie Studio.

She also maintained studio space on Eighth Avenue in New York, where she taught and resided. The Van Dyke Studios building was a haven for Bohemians, according to Kahn. The building still stands.

Kahn presumed that an estate settlement must have been reached, providing the means to support an independent life of travel.

Platt was comfortable working in the developing American Impressionist style. To the practiced eye, her work seemed effortless, mostly oil applied thickly on canvas and some watercolors. She traveled and painted frequently in Europe, but in 1914 American artists could no longer travel abroad. So, Platt went to Maine and throughout New England to find inspiration and forest, land and water scenes, Kahn said.

Critics were not always impressed. One wrote that all four corners of Platt’s painting would make a pleasant picture, while another complained of “too much zest in the details.”

Nevertheless, Platt presented more than 200 exhibitions during her fairly noteworthy career, lending her energies in support of organizations that in turn promoted women artists. 

Platt’s final painting in 1931 was of a relative, Stuart Platt. She died in 1932 and is buried in White Plains, N.Y. Some of Alethea’s relatives are buried at Hillside Cemetery in Sharon.

Platt invited anyone with information to share about Platt or questions to contact her at www.evekahn.com.

Alethea Hill Platt, who lived the later part of her life in Sharon, was an artist who also supported the work of other women artists. This portrait of her was taken  by her friend and New York City neighbor, the artist Mary H. Tannahill, in the early 1900s. Photo courtesy Platt family

Untitled view of Boothbay Harbor, c. 1920s. ​ Photo courtesy Platt family

Alethea Hill Platt, who lived the later part of her life in Sharon, was an artist who also supported the work of other women artists. This portrait of her was taken  by her friend and New York City neighbor, the artist Mary H. Tannahill, in the early 1900s. Photo courtesy Platt family

Latest News

Donald Francis ‘Frank’ McNally

MILLERTON — Donald Francis “Frank” McNally Jr., passed away peacefully at Vassar Brothers Medical Center on Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025, after a short illness. Frank was a resident of Millerton since 1996. He was born on Jan. 27, 1955, in Cold Spring, New York, at Butterfield Hospital and was raised in Garrison, New York, where he enjoyed exploring and camping in the wilderness of the Hudson Valley, participating in the Boy Scouts as a bugler, and competing as captain of his high school wrestling team.

He was a graduate of James I. O’Neill High School in Highland Falls class of ‘74 and SUNY Cobleskill class of ‘76 where he majored in animal husbandry, specializing in equine science. He then proudly volunteered for the United States Peace Corps where he accepted an assignment to his host country of the Philippines, where he met his wife. Frank would then pursue his lifelong passion for horses and horseback riding on several horse farms in Dutchess County. Later he would work for New York state where he would then retire, spending his time caring for animals, reading, fishing and taking photographs. Frank enjoyed a good laugh with family and friends, while also occasionally winning a game of RISK. Frank was an avid reader, often reading several books a week while in the constant company of his cat.

Keep ReadingShow less
Florence Eugenia Cooper

NORFOLK — Florence Eugenia Cooper died on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, at the age of 92 at Geer Lodge in Canaan, Connecticut where she had been a resident for 2 ½ years. She also spent a couple of days a week at the home of her daughter, the artist Hilary Cooper and her husband Chris Crowley, in Lakeville.

Florence (neé Muhas) was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Greek immigrants. She went to local public schools and then to college at Barnard where she was mentored by Professor of Religion Ursula Niebuhr, wife of the philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr, who urged her to go to her alma mater St Hugh’s College, Oxford University where she earned a D. Phil degree. Later, she received an M.A. in foreign policy with a specialty in China, at the London School of Economics.

Keep ReadingShow less
Frederick Ralph Scoville II

WEST CORNWALL — Frederick Ralph Scoville II, 72, of 243 Town St., died Jan. 7, 2025, at the Waterbury Hospital surrounded by his loving family. Fred was the husband of 45 years to Lynn (Pollard) Scoville. Fred was born in Torrington, son of the late Ralph and Thalia (Hicock) Scoville.

Fred spent his whole life in West Cornwall. He attended Cornwall Consolidated and Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The only time he left was to attend the University of Connecticut for animal science. After school he came home to work with his father on the family farm taking over full-time in 1996 milking dairy cattle and selling hay. His life passion was the farm. He could always be found tinkering on equipment or surveying the neighborhood on his golf cart. The only thing that rivaled the farm was his love of his family. His wife, sons, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren meant the world to Fred.

Keep ReadingShow less
Violet Leila Woods

MILLERTON — Violet Leila Woods, 95, passed away peacefully on Jan. 1, 2025, in Mesa, Arizona. She was born on Jan. 23, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York. Following birth, Violet resided in Millerton, New York, where she lived until moving to Jacksonville, Florida following her retirement. She was preceded in death by her husband, Norman Woods; her parents, Henry George Rice and Eurie Marion Rice; her ten siblings; Audrey, Glendon, Joseph, George, Robert, Gordon, Beulah, Marion, Edith, and Betty. Violet, more commonly known as “Vi” lived a long, fulfilling, and wonderful life spent with family and friends.

Day to day, Violet spent time playing sudoku puzzles and was an avid reader, finding joy in exchanging books with friends. She also found great joy playing bingo, pinnacle, poker, and had a lifelong passion for knitting and crocheting, which she learned from her mother. Many friends or relatives have received sweaters, blankets, and afghans hand-made by Vi. Her handmade gifts truly touched the lives of many.

Keep ReadingShow less