Eliza Barchus – The Oregon Artist

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Since it is Women in History Month, I thought I’d share about a woman who is no longer well-known, but her career added beauty to the world around her.

Eliza Barchus was an artist who eventually became known as “The Oregon Artist.”

Born in 1857 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Eliza didn’t recall much about her father, other than that he died when she was young. When she was seventeen, she wed John Lansing. The couple had two children, one of whom died in infancy, before the marriage “failed” and they divorced. Eliza then wed John Barchus and the couple moved to Portland with her daughter Isabel in 1880. They had a daughter who died at birth, then a son, Harold, and another daughter, Agnes.

With an admiration for Western landscapes, Eliza began taking art lessons in 1884 from Will S. Parrott, who was known at the time as the “foremost artist” of  Portland.” Eliza sold her first painting of Mount Rainier for $1  a year later.

In 1887 she won a gold medal at the Portland Mechanics Fair Art Exhibition for a painting of Mount Hood.

In 1890, a large oil painting she’d made of Mount Hood was displayed in New York City at the National Academy of Design and was considered quite an honor. It was also that year that several of her paintings were displayed at the Portland Hotel at the cigar and souvenir concession area. Her husband, who suffered from ill health, went south in the winter and persuaded an art emporium in Los Angeles to sell her paintings as well.

To supplement the family income, Eliza began to barter paintings for work by carpenters, plumbers, and other tradesmen as well as professional services from a dentist and physician. Eliza also sold her paintings, but to create additional income she sold modestly priced color postcards and illustrated brochures with reproductions of her work. Those marketing techniques helped immensely when her husband passed in 1899 and Eliza became the sole supporter of her family.

She produced thousands of paintings in what was referred to as an “assembly line” style  of working on several canvases at once, doing similar parts on each canvas, that kept a roof over their heads, but was sometimes criticized. She advertised her paintings in catalogs and developed a good business through the mail.

In 1901, Eliza exhibited several paintings at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Four years later, she won a gold medal at the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland for a collection of her Pacific coast landscapes.

Through the 1920s, Eliza traveled the Western United States, painting everything from the Cascade Range volcanoes to the Columbia Gorge, Yellowstone Falls, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco Bay, and hundreds of other locations.

She worked primarily with oils through the 1930s. Her career ended in 1935 when arthritis and failing eyesight made it impossible for her to continue painting. She lived to the age of 102. Eleanor Roosevelt marked Eliza’s 100th birthday in her syndicated column. Eliza had a long career, sustained by her business intelligence and her talent and skill.

After her death, the Oregon Legislative Assembly declared her “The Oregon Artist.” Today, examples of her work may be found in art collections in Portland and around the country.

Do you have a favorite artist?

What do you love most about their artwork?

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After spending her formative years on a farm in Eastern Oregon, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield turns her rural experiences into sweet historical and contemporary romances filled with sarcasm, humor, and hunky western heroes.
When this USA Today bestselling author isn’t writing or covertly hiding decadent chocolate from the other occupants of her home, Shanna hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

44 thoughts on “Eliza Barchus – The Oregon Artist”

  1. Wow, what a fascinating woman and artist.

    I have always loved pre-raphaelite art, especially Rossetti. They had a large collection of his work at the Delaware Art Museum.

    I also loved the art of the Wyeth family. Some of their art is at the Delaware Art Museum, though much more is found in nearby Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania.

    • For female artists, I love my friend in Georgia’s art, Jaya Saxena, and I have several originals. (Not to be confused with the writer.)

      I also love the art by the late Maren Devine. I have prints of her art.

    • Hi Denise! That is so neat your friend is an artist and you have several originals! Maren Devine’s art is so colorful and cheerful! That is so cool about the collections at the Delaware Art Museum! Happy Spring!

  2. I’ve always been a fan of Renoir; Impressionist paintings are my favorites. Mary Cassat’s works are good but I prefer landscapes.

  3. Wow, she is amazing. She took her talent to a admirable level. I do not really have a favorite artist. I like painting that are realistic and mainly nature.

  4. Wow, I never knew about Eliza Barchus, but after I read this, I googled her. She was a master landscape painter. I love how she captured the mood of the settings she painted. Thanks for sharing this, Shanna!

  5. Hey Shanna! Wow! Anyway article close to my heart! And what a lady Eliza was! Remarkable. The impressionists were always my favorite. I loved how they caught the light with different and defined strokes. Beautiful works to me. Not for everyone, I suppose. And since I am a realist artist, I can only make aren’t from what I see.

    However, my favorite artist is Jeffrey Smart Baisden. She is a well known colored pencil artist today. She is also my former high school art teacher, mentor, and friend. Jeffrey brings regular everyday items to life as you will see here in this link : https://jeffreysmartbaisden.com/ Colored Pencil art has finally come out and is popular.There are many books and works now. And I am also one!

    Thank you for spotlighting this artist today. I’ve read about her before. Probably down some rabbit hole! LOL Which happens a lot to me while searching.

    Again, many blessings to you Shanna!

    • Hi Tracy! So glad you enjoyed the post today. Congrats on being in a colored pencil art book! That is awesome! You are an amazing artist and I’m so glad to have some of your work! That is so neat about your high school art teacher who his also your mentor and friend. Her art is such a beautiful play of shadows and light. Blessings and joy to you!

  6. I have seen paintings by Eliza Barchus but never gave much thought to the person who created them. Thank-you for an enlightening post on a remarkable woman. Terry Redlin has always been a favorite of mine. His work is tied to America and easily relatable for those of us who grew up and live in rural environs.

  8. Good morning, Shanna. No, I do not have a favorite artist. But, I would have to admit I love the beauty in Eliza’s work. The scenery of the mountains, the beautiful colors, are breath taking. I love the mountains, with the greenery, and a bit of snow. Utterly beautiful.

    • She did amazing work, didn’t she? I so admire her for using her paintings to support her family – through the sale of them, or trading them for services she needed, like the dentist! A woman ahead of her time!

  9. I love Thomas Kincaid’s paintings. I love the colors as well as the beautiful nature scenes he created. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.

  10. My favorite artist is woodcarver Ivan Denton. My family was actually really good friends with him and his wife. His work was covered in National Geographic and sold for outstanding prices. I actually have one of his small pieces and I wouldn’t sell it for anything. I won it in an Ebay auction. He also wrote books and songs and performed his music all over our area. I have almost all of his books, including a signed set of his children’s books that he gifted to my daughter. I also have a couple of his cassette tapes with his original songs.

  11. I’ve always liked Thomas Kincaid’s works, as they have light, even in the darkest of them. I also like the “Highway Men” paintings, done by African American men here in FL. I am fortunate enough to own one of the smaller ones, and I love the colors in it!

  12. Emily Carr is a very famous Canadian painter well known for her landscapes. Very much like this Eliza.

  15. Hi, Thank you for this awesome post about Eliza Barchus, what a Beautiful painting, Thank you for sharing it. I enjoyed reading it. My favorite artist is Thomas Kincaid is such a Great artist. Have a great day and a great rest of the week.

  17. Terry Redlin is one of my very favorite artists. He died almost 10 years ago. Another favorite is Tim Cox, because I absolutely love the west, horses, cattle drives, streams, mountains, cowboys, rangers, etc. Both men are phenomenal artists. I loved reading your blog, Shanna. So interesting!

    • Terry Redlin painted such beautiful paintings. So sad he is gone. And Tim Cox does such incredible western art. Love the paintings he creates that has just a hint of humor in them.

  20. I enjoy art, at first I thought, Mary Cassette but that is just the beginning, it includes others like Norman Rockwell or from the past Vincent Van Gogh… thanks for highlighting a new to me artist and her art… oops, I also need to include Andy Warhol, after all I’m from the Pittsburgh area & I have visited his museum a number of times. Something that a number of artists have had in common is the criticism that they endured, like the artist you highlighted, Eliza Barchus.

    • Hi Abbie,
      There are so many talented artists to enjoy! And yes, it seems like art and criticism seem to go hand in hand. Thank goodness, they persevered!
      Have a beautiful day!

  21. I don’t have a favorite artist. I admire a work for what it is irregardless who the artist is. I like the works from centuries ago and well as many by contemporary artists. I like fairly realistic art, not some of the modern art. What we have at the house are works by painters of the 1800 as well as some prints of contemporary artists. There are a lot of good painters of western art. One favorite is Norman Rockwell. I have several prints by him that we got at his museum in New England.

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