Martha Elizabeth Moore was born on September 14, 1907 in Bayonne, New Jersey. Her father, Arthur J. Moore, was born 1881 in NJ. Her mother, Florence Veronica Kiefer, was born in 1886 in NJ of German ancestry. Her parents married in 1905. They had four children, Martha (b.1907), Arthur, Jr. (b.1909), Archibald (b.1917), and Robert (b.1928). The family lived at 19 East 30th Street in Bayonne. The father was a salesman at Jersey City Paint Works.
In 1916 the younger brother, Arthur, Jr., died at the age of seven.
In June of 1925 Martha Moore graduated from Bayonne High School. That fall she began to attend a four-year college program, where she became interested in a career as a commercial artist.
In June of 1929 she graduated from college, after which she began her professional career by carrying her portfolio on visits to the offices of art directors in the NYC publishing industry.
The 1930 U.S. Census recorded the occupation of Martha Moore of Bayonne, NJ, as "artist" in the field of "illustration."
On December 3, 1931 The Courier-Post newspaper of Camden, NJ, reported that Martha E. Moore was an illustrator at Independent Woman Magazine, the official publication of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs.
In 1934 she studied at the Art Students League in NYC at 215 West 57th Street. Her art teachers were George Bridgman (1865-1943), Frank DuMond (1865-1951), and Kimon Nicolaides (1892-1938). One of her classmates was Louis Anthony Burnett (1903-1999), with whom she fell in love, The two artists remained together for the rest of her life. Louis Anthony Burnett was born Nathan Barnet Mickolitzsky on December 12, 1903 in NYC of Russian Jewish ancestry.
In 1934 and 1935 Woman's World Magazine published several interior story illustration credited to "M. E. Moore."
In 1936 Woman's World Magazine had several interior story illustrations credited to "Marthe Moore," a pen-name that sounded more sophisticated and European than "Martha E. Moore."
The April 1938 issue of Woman's World Magazine included "Twenty-one Does Something to a Man" by David William Moore, which had an illustration credited to "Barney Moore."
At that same time pulp magazines, such as Saucy Detective Adventures, also published interior story illustrations that were signed "Barney Moore."
Illustrations by "Marthe Moore" also appeared in Good Housekeeping and Collier's Magazine.
In 1938 and 1939 Liberty Magazine had many illustrations credited to "Marthe Moore."
At this same time the artist found steady work illustrating short stories for the King Feature Syndicate, which appeared in Sunday supplement magazines nationwide, such as The El Paso Times-Sun, The Atlanta Constitution-Sun, The Los Angeles Times-Sun, and The Tampa Bay Times-Sun.
In 1939 Martha Moore left her family home in Bayonne, and married Louis Burnett. She gave up her career as a commercial artist and moved to NYC with her husband to seek their fortunes as fine artists.
The 1940 U.S. Census recorded Louis Burnett and his wife, Martha, living in an apartment building at 52 West 36th Street, where they both listed their occupations as artists.
By 1950 both had left the high cost of living in NYC, and moved fifty miles west to the town of High Bridge, NJ, where they lived at 5 Hoffman Road. They taught art classes from home, entered local art contests, and painted portrait commissions.
On September 27, 1968 The Courier-News of Plainfield, NJ, reported that "Martha Moore, the wife of Louis A. Burnett, had won First Prize for Oil Painting in the Atlantic City Art Festival."
Martha Moore and Louis A. Burnett were joined by Finnish artist Evi Ester (Leinonen) Fisk (1898-1983) to form the Counterpoint Group, which exhibited in New Jersey for several years.
In 1974 Louis Burnett and Martha (Moore) Burnett left New Jersey and moved to Rockport, Massachusetts, a coastal vacation town on Cape Ann that had a vibrant artistic community, where they opened an art gallery, taught art classes, and painted portrait commissions. Other artists who lived in Rockport were Harrison Cady (1877-1970), Gifford Beal (1879-1950), Jon Corbino (1905-1964), and William C. McNulty.
Martha Elizabeth (Moore) Burnett died at the age of seventy-four in Gloucester, MA, on September 5, 1982.
© David Saunders 2018 |
