The Brutons: Three Geniuses

So just how famous were the Bruton sisters? During the 1920s and 1930s they received rave reviews from art critics. The public was amazed that one family could produce three such talented artists. The Brutons frequently exhibited their work together, which added to the hype and fascination with them and their work. Here are just a few examples of what the press said about the Brutons:

• “Three True Artists”¹  
• “Three Talented Sisters: Esther, Helen, and Margaret Bruton, Californians, Impress by the Intelligence of their Art….we are shown the full range of the art of these gifted sisters from Monterey…[the] immediate impression is on the score of the intelligence, order and clarity of style and craftsmanship displayed in the work of each of the sisters…The high average of these California girls’ work, the clarity of their style, is a real influence on the side of intelligence in Pacific Coast art.”²
• “The old theory that a family can have only one genius is a fallacy, according to the praise won by three Bruton sisters, whose art is now attracting the attention of critics.”³
• “The Brutons three are modern in their viewpoint on art, and these three tawny-headed women of Celtic background have a wit, sparkle, and zest for life…all show the same fine, gay spirit, but quite differently expressed according to their separate individualities and mediums.”⁴
• “Those three amazing Bruton sisters of Alameda, who paint, etch, draw, carve and mosaic…There isn’t much under the sun in the way of art they don’t do and do with a liberal hand—a sort of joyous abandon that is pleasing to behold.”⁵
• “For genuine vigor, see what the Bruton sisters have mustered.”⁶
• “Thank God for the Brutons.”⁷

Unfortunately, like so many other accomplished early twentieth century women artists, the Brutons have been largely forgotten. Don’t you think it’s time to give them and their work a second look?

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¹Junius Cravens. The Argonaut, 8 Dec. 1929, p. 6.

²Arthur Millier, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 1930, p. 18.

³Oakland Tribune, 18 Aug. 1932, p. 15.

⁴Beatrice Judd Ryan, “Brutons-3.” Women’s City Club Magazine of San Francisco, July 1932, p. 16.

⁵Oakland Tribune, 13 Jan. 1935, p. S-7.

⁶Los Angeles Saturday Night, 1 Feb. 1930.

⁷Junius Cravens. The Argonaut, 2 Oct. 1931.