Portraits Record

Images

1 of 1977

View Image Metadata

Metadata

Catalog Number

PA.149

Title

Judge Florence Murray

Artist

Mays, Maxwell, 1918-2009

Date

2000

Description

Judge Florence Murray, a Newport native, was the only female lawyer in Newport in 1947 when she opened her law office on Thames Street. She was the first woman appointed a judge to the Superior Court in Rhode Island (1956), the first female presiding judge of the Superior Court (1978), and the first woman appointed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court (1979). The Newport County Court House is named in her honor - the first time that a major court facility in the United States was named in honor of a female jurist. Entering the Women's Army Corps in World War II, she became the youngest woman to achieve the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. President Clinton appointed her to the State Justice Institute and she served on many other local and state Boards and committees, including the Rhode Island Foundation, the Preservation Society of Newport County, and Salve Regina University. She helped found the Boys and Girls Club of Newport, as well as the the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities. This is a folk art type portrait of Judge Murray with Newport buildings in the background

Portrait. Adult female subject. waist-length view. her shoulders are turned slightly to her right. eyes gaze forward toward viewer. She has brown hair and eyes, and wears a green colored jacket with a gold colored star pin on her left lapel. Surrounding the portrait are six historic Newport architectural structures including the Newport Tower. Horse drawn closed carriages and people dressed in black and white clothing surround these structures.

Object Name

Painting

Medium

Oil Paint

Material

Canvas

Dimensions

H-60.325 W-50.8 cm

Credit line

Gift of Paul Murray from the estate of Judge Florence Murray

Provenance

2004 - Gift of Paul Murray from the estate of Judge Florence Murray

Signed Name

Maxwell Mays 2000

Signed Name Location

Lower Right

Collection