Rita Duis (Astley-Bell)

American, 1905 - 1997

Artist Rita Duis (Astley-Bell) led an incredibly colorful life. She was born into a wealthy New York family in 1905. In 1930, Duis was scandalously sued for $100,000 for breach of promise by her suitor Graham Bell. In 1958, socialite Duis had a very public and bitter divorce from her husband Leonard Astley-Bell, president of Asiatic Petroleum Company, that was splashed across the New York papers. Duis claimed that Leonard Astley-Bell committed bigamy, as he obtained a Mexican divorce from her without her knowledge and then married another woman. Later in life, Duis moved to Chicago when her daughter Wendy married Lincoln Park Zoo Director Dr. Lester Fisher.

Duis exhibited at the Salmagundi Club in New York. She died in Chicago in 1997.

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Art Students League, Cooper Class, ca. 1940s

Watercolor on paper

15 x 22 1/4 inches

Titled on reverse

$850

#21688
Untitled (Irises)

Watercolor on paper

24 x 18 inches

#18017
Untitled (Harbor Scene)

Watercolor on paper

8 1/4 x 12 1/2 inches

Signed Duis, lower left

#18014
Dry Dock, Burrard Shipyard, Vancouver

Watercolor on paper

14 3/4 x 22 inches

Signed Duis A.W.S. lower center

#18018
Canadian National RR at Antigonish

Watercolor on paper

14 3/4 x 22 inches

Signed Duis A.W.S. lower center

#18019
Untitled (Abstraction)

Watercolor on paper

7 3/4 x 11 1/4 inches

Signed Duis A.W.S. upper left

#18015
Untitled (Abstraction)

Watercolor on paper

9 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches

Signed Duis A.W.S. lower left

#18016
Landscape

Watercolor on paper

15 x 22 1/2 inches

Signed Duis, lower right; titled on reverse

$450

#21690
Untitled (Abstraction)

Watercolor on paper

7 x 10 inches

Signed, Duis lower right; signed on reverse

#21689

SOLD

Duis exhibited at the Salmagundi Club in New York. She died in Chicago in 1997.

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