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Jean Pilk, a renowned artist who lived in Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth at the end of a distinguished career painting portraits of high-ranking government officials, died Wednesday. She was 96.
Jean Pilk in her Cape Elizabeth studio, March 2006.
Portland Press Herald photo
Pilk painted hundreds of portraits throughout her career, and some of her best-known subjects include Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, astronaut Michael Collins, Rep. John Dingell, and past governors from Virginia, South Carolina and Maine. She is the only artist to have a wing of her work hanging in the Pentagon, where she painted eight former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including Gen. Colin Powell. Her portraits also hang in the halls of Congress, in statehouses, in museums and in private collections around the world.
Obituary: Jean Pilk
PALMYRA, Va. - Jean Pilk, who gave life to the concept of the Cool Mom, died peacefully at her home, surrounded .
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Jean Pilk
PALMYRA, Va. – Jean Pilk, who gave life to the concept of the Cool Mom, died peacefully at her home, surrounded by her adoring family, in Palmyra, Va.
At 4-feet-10-inches tall and a whopping 79 pounds fully dressed, she was much like Dr. Who’s Tardis – inside the tiny container was a world of wonder and contradiction.
Born in Kansas City in 1924 (thank god she’s dead, she’d kill us for announcing her age), her mid-western roots stuck with her for her lifetime. She was impossibly sophisticated, her clothes were of the latest fashion and tailored perfectly to her tiny frame. Her shoes – size 4, so of course challenging to source – were Ferragamo and Chanel for dress and leopard print Chuck Taylor’s for her walkabouts. She read The Wall Street Journal and Vogue with equal enthusiasm, tore through mystery novels with
Jean Pilk, 96, renowned portrait artist from Cape Elizabeth
A diminutive woman who had a huge presence, Pilk was best-known for her portraits of government officials, including Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O Connor and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Colin Powell.
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Jean Pilk, a renowned artist who lived in Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth at the end of a distinguished career painting portraits of high-ranking government officials, died Wednesday. She was 96.
Jean Pilk in her Cape Elizabeth studio, March 2006.
Portland Press Herald photo
Pilk painted hundreds of portraits throughout her career, and some of her best-known subjects include Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, astronaut Michael Collins, Rep. John Dingell, and past governors from Virginia, South Carolina and Maine. She is the only artist to have a wing of her work hanging in the Pentagon, where she painted eight former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including Gen. Colin Powell. Her portrai