Elizabeth Kirk

Life Dates1866 – 1959

Elizabeth Kirk was one of Waterbury's noteworthy citizens, favorably known for her contributions to education and art as well as her constructive activities in the civic and cultural life of Waterbury. She was the daughter of Henry Kirk Jr., a Scottish immigrant, and Bettina Wilson Kirk who lived on Grove Street in Waterbury. Miss Kirk graduated from Waterbury HS in 1884, then taught school for 8 years before entering the CT Training School for Nurses at New Haven General Hospital, from which she graduated in 1984. For the next 25 years she worked as a nurse, sketching in watercolors during her free time. In 1926 at the age of 60 she entered Waterbury Art School. She later served as its secretary and president. She had a solo show at the Mattatuck Museum in 1935, and also exhibited at the New Haven Paint and Clay Club, the American Art Association, and the Anderson Art Galleries in NYC. From 1927 through 1940 she traveled throughout the world from Alaska to the Mediterranean, Africa to Asia. After her death in 1959 the Waterbury Art School sponsored a series of annual Elizabeth Kirk Memorial Purchase Exhibitions, funded by the Elizabeth Kirk Memorial Purchase Fund. The paintings winning first place in the exhibits were donated to the Mattatuck Museum.