Our Rich History: Dixie Seldon Was an Accomplished Covington Artist Taught by Duveneck, Farney – NKyTribune

By David E. Schroeder
Specially for NKyTribune

In honor of Women’s History Month, we offer this encore column, which originally appeared in Our Rich History on March 28, 2016.

While touring the art collection at the Kenton County Public Library in Covington, I came across Dixie Seldon’s painting Woman hanging washing machine. The piece is very familiar to me as it was displayed in my office for many years. Dixie Seldon is often overlooked in Cincinnati art circles. She is also often overshadowed by her mentor and teacher, Frank Duveneck. Seldon, however, left behind a legacy of much desired and beautiful work.

Covington resident and noted artist, Dixie Seldon was born on February 28, 1868 in Ohio to John Roger Seldon and Martha Payton McMillan Seldon.

In about 1870 the Selden family moved to Covington. They lived on West 4th Street. She was educated at Miss Virginia Simpson’s Private School in Covington, Miss Clara E. Nourse’s Select School for Girls in Cincinnati, and Bartholomew’s English and Classical School for Girls in Cincinnati. These schools provided Selden with great exposure to the fine arts.

Selden’s love of art led her to attend the McMicken School of Design in Cincinnati in 1885, which later evolved into the Cincinnati Art Academy. It was a brave choice for a woman at this point in history.

Among her teachers at the Academy were Frank Duveneck and Henry Farney, both of Covington. Duveneck loved her very much and called her “the little one” because of her petite stature. Tutored by two of Covington’s finest artists, Seldon’s first exhibition was appropriately held at the Covington Art Club in 1890.

Like many of the artists of her era, Seldon traveled widely in Europe. Her travels took her to Italy, France, England, Germany and other European countries. Seldon also traveled to Mexico, Japan, the Middle East and China. She drew great inspiration from these trips and always returned with piles of sketches and paintings.

Seldon quickly gained a reputation for his exquisite portraits and vivid landscapes. Her work has been shown at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Chicago Art Museum, New York Academy of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Art, and many others. Among her most famous works are: Portrait of Mary M. Emery, Portrait of Dr. Frederick Hicks, The Boys of Dana (portrait), Spanish Gypsy Girl, Portrait of Eleanor Simpson Orr, Portrait of Frank Duveneck, Little Parker Girl, Arab Bride , Aunt Patsy, Fisherman’s Wives, Martinez’s Wife, Calm Sea … Red Sails and many more.

Seldon was a member of the Covington Art Club, the Cincinnati Art Women’s Club, the Association of Southern Artists, the McDowell Society, the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, and the National Art Club (New York). She gained a reputation in the United States at a time when women artists were often overlooked.
Dixie Seldon continued to live in the family home on West 4th Street after the death of her parents. In about 1906 she moved to an apartment on Garrard Street in Covington. A few years later she lived at Woodford Flats in Covington.

In about 1910, she moved to the Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati. It was at this home that she died of a heart attack on November 14, 1935. Funeral services were conducted at her home by the Rev. Frank Nelson, Rector of Christ Cathedral. She was laid to rest near her parents at Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. The Cincinnati Art Museum held a memorial exhibition of her work from March 5 to April 8, 1936.

You can see two of Selden’s works, Woman hanging washing machine and Ballooning, at the Kenton County Public Library in Covington. Her works can also be found in the Cincinnati Art Museum and in many private and public collections in Cincinnati and the United States.

David E. Schroeder is the author of Life Along the Ohio: A Sesquicentennial History of Ludlow, Kentucky (2014) and co-editor of Gateway City: Covington, Kentucky, 1815-2015 (2015).

Paul A. Tenkot, PhD is editor of the weekly series Our Rich History and professor of history and gender studies at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). He also serves as Project Director of the ORVILLE (Ohio River Valley Learning Innovation and Enrichment Library), premiering in the summer of 2024. ORVILLE is now recruiting writers for records on all aspects of innovation in the Ohio River watershed, including: Cincinnati (Ohio) and Northern Kentucky; Ashland, Lexington, Louisville, Maysville, Owensboro and Paducah (KY); Columbus, Dayton, Marietta, Portsmouth and Steubenville (Ohio); Evansville, Madison and Indianapolis (Indiana), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Charleston, Huntington, Parkersburg and Wheeling (West Virginia), Cairo (Illinois) and Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville (Tennessee). If you would like to participate in ORVILLE, please contact Paul Tenkotte at [email protected].