Collection: Betsy Graves Reyneau

Betsy Graves Reyneau (1888–1964) was an American painter born in Battle Creek, Michigan, and a granddaughter of Michigan Supreme Court Justice Benjamin F. Graves. Trained in the United States, she worked primarily in portraiture, aligning with the social realist and civil rights movements of the mid-20th century.

Reyneau is most closely associated with the Harmon Foundation’s exhibition “Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin,” which toured the U.S. from 1944 to 1954 alongside works by Laura Wheeler Waring.

Reyneau’s portraits include Mary McLeod Bethune, George Washington Carver, Joe Louis, and Thurgood Marshall. Her 1944 portrait of Carver became the first depiction of an African American to enter a national American collection. Executed in a precise, naturalistic style with muted tonalities, her works emphasize dignified representation, often incorporating symbolic attributes, books, laboratory equipment, or athletic gear, to highlight the sitter’s contributions. The series was acquired by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.