2025 -- H 6280

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LC002795

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXTENDING CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF GRETCHEN DOW SIMPSON, A

HIGHLY ACCLAIMED ARTIST WHOSE PAINTINGS GRACED MYRIAD NEW YORKER

COVERS

     Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Ajello, Chippendale, Shallcross
Smith, Read, Solomon, Fellela, and Boylan

     Date Introduced: April 29, 2025

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, It is with sadness that this House has learned of the passing of Gretchen

Dow Simpson, the beloved wife of James Baird, Ph.D., the mother of Phoebe Appleton Simpson

Bean and her husband, John, and Megan Sagendorph Simpson Wolff, and the cherished

grandmother of Ruby Dow Wolff, Oscar Wolff, Ezra Appleton Bean, and João Bean; and

     WHEREAS, Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Mrs. Simpson was a daughter of

Richard Appleton Dow, Sr. and Elizabeth Sagendorph Dow, and the sister of Bettyna Dow

Donelson, Pamela Dow Brown, and Richard Appleton Dow. She attended Beaver Country Day

School, and later studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design; and

     WHEREAS, In 1964, Mrs. Simpson moved to New York City, where she embarked on a

career as a young artist, designing Papier Mache jewelry that was unique enough to be featured in

a 12-page Vogue Magazine spread. She eventually became best known for her "precise, light-

filled compositions of New England clapboard houses, stairwells, and seascapes." The uniqueness

of her work, "rooted in clarity, quietude, and atmosphere", soon became instantly recognizable;

and

     WHEREAS, By 1974, Mrs. Simpson had earned her first New Yorker cover, which thus

began a two-decade collaboration that brought her art into millions of homes across the country.

She was also commissioned by The Atlantic, New York Magazine, The Bostonian, Random

House, and The Book of the Month Club, and in 1993, her work was featured in Absolut Vodka's

iconic ad campaign on the back cover of The New Yorker. Her work is now exhibited in the

permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Fine

Arts Museums of San Francisco, the RISD Museum, and many more; and

     WHEREAS, In 1987, Mrs. Simpson moved to the City of Providence where she soon

became an active and contributing person in the City's art scene, mentoring many young artists,

supporting Trinity Rep, The Gamm, and Second Story, and also serving on the board of the

Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and as a founding member of the Pawtucket Arts

Collaborative; and

     WHEREAS, In 2012, Mrs. Simpson completed a 1,400-square-foot mural of six illusory

factory windows on I-95 in Pawtucket, which greeted travelers into the State with "a simple and

elegant welcome" and extended her artistic prowess beyond galleries and magazines and into the

lives of the everyday man; and

     WHEREAS, Those fortunate to be welcomed into her home, were witness to the alternate

side of Mrs. Simpson's artistic talents, with a large framed photograph of a young couple leaning

against a motorcycle in a passionate embrace, and those fortunate to be part of her vibrant life

were gifted with memories, both visual and sentimental, that are true and everlasting gifts; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

extends deepest sympathy and condolences on the passing of Gretchen Dow Simpson; and be it

further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to James Baird, Ph.D. and Family.

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