Noted Lecturer of Art in Bloom
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The woman who brought the concept of Art in Bloom to many museums and institutions throughout the United States died on June 10, 2017 at her home at Fox Hill Village in Westwood, Massachusetts. She was 91.
Mrs. Elizabeth Rogers Brown (Betty) was well known on the national lecture circuit in the 1980’s and 90’s for her Art in Bloom lecture for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She presented this to groups in the US, Canada and England, reaching thousands of people, encouraging attendance and creating funds for the MFA’s programs.
Susan Veroff, Director of Planned Giving at the MFA, Boston recalls her long history with the museum. “Betty’s involvement with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, spanned more than forty years of volunteer involvement and charitable support. As a member of the Ladies Committee and Ladies Committee Associates, Betty was a tireless museum advocate. She amassed a vast archive of photographic images from which she created the lecture, How Art Blooms. I remember her as a longtime Patron and a supportive member of the Sargent Society.”
Betty was born on December 11, 1925 near Pasadena, California. Both of her parents were from prominent families. Growing up she attended schools in Los Angeles and Michigan. Betty’s love of flowers and plants started at an early age. Her paternal grandmother, started the Tournament of Roses Parade with some of her friends in 1890. Her paternal Great Grandfather was George Washington Ferris, the inventor of the Ferris Wheel.
After graduating high school Betty attended Dennison University. She then moved to Boston and attended the Chamberlain School of Retailing. While in school, she met Henry Brown, whom she later married in 1948. (deceased) The couple settled in Newton, MA and had 2 children, Henry Brown III, (deceased) and Robert Douglas Brown. While living in Newton, Betty devoted herself to activities with the The First Congregational Church and the Newton Wellesley Hospital Auxillary Organization.
After her children finished school in Newton, the family moved to Wayland, MA. She became involved in the Trinitarian Congregational Church and started a flower guild. She became President of the Wayland Garden Club and was selected to serve on the MFA, Boston, Ladies Committee. Betty’s responsibilities included giving lectures, serving on the flower committee and planning openings for major exhibitions. Representing her own garden club for Art in Bloom, she created wonderful large-sized flower arrangements to compliment museum masterpieces.
After her husband died in 1982, Betty got actively involved in the Wayland Hospice Program, which the Brown family worked with during Mr. Brown’s illness. She gave her expertise to fundraising events.
During this time Betty also ran a successful floral artistry business, Festive Flowers, which catered to a socially prominent clientele, executing elaborate flowers for weddings and parties.
She was fortunate while giving lectures for the MFA, to become friendly with many of the top flower arrangers. These included: Sheila McQueen - who did the flowers for Queen Elizabeth’s wedding, Renny Reynolds - NYC’s top party florist, David Jones - Nancy and Ronald Reagan's person of choice for their parties and Ron Morgan - San Francisco’s top party planner and floral designer.
Betty’s knowledge of gardens prompted her to start her own lectures: The Art of Topiary, Glorious Gardens of Europe and The Pleasures of Garden Ornament. These were composed of beautiful images she had photographed by visiting great gardens of the world. She gave these lectures for many years to significant acclaim.
In the late 1990’s Betty was asked to be a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Board of Overseers. She help coordinate fundraising events for the organization.
In 2008 Betty moved to Fox Hill Village, a beautiful retirement community in Westwood, MA. She adapted to her new life and was asked to join several committees. At her 89th birthday party at Fox Hill, resident Richard Hill (former Bank of Boston President and past Chairman of the Board at Fox Hill) noted “No one has done more to beautify or make people feel welcome at Fox Hill than Betty Brown.”
Pauline Runkle, widely recognized as one of the nations most talented floral arrangers and lecture demonstrator - offered this remembrance. “In my life Betty appeared first as a mentor. She moved quickly to become a personal champion and then a devoted friend. Betty was gifted with extraordinary abilities herself as a floral designer, however, she was always eager to share her praise and support of other arrangers. Her personal brand of good humor combined with her magnificent broad smile would become a 'Betty Brown' insignia. Elegant, ever charming, always engaging and deeply caring. I always felt, when Betty and I were together, I was in the light and presence of true Grace.”
Her son Robert remembers:?“My mother was a remarkable and accomplished woman. Her life was anchored by 4 things: her faith, her family, her friends, and her flowers. These things carried her through the highs and lows of her caring journey with us.”
Betty leaves her son, Robert Brown of Quincy, MA, her daughter in law Janet Hart and husband Stephen Hart of Westborough MA, their daughters Sarah Elizabeth Hart and Laura Melissa Hart. Betty’s sister, Barbara Jean Bennett of Lexington, MA is deceased. Betty’s half sisters Christine Marcus and Celeste Van Meyers live in Los Angeles.
A Celebration of Life Service is being planned for September at the Trinitarian Congregational Church in Wayland, MA.