Romaine Goddard Brooks, original name Beatrice Romaine Goddard, (born May 1, 1874, Rome, Italy died December 7, 1970, Nice, France), American painter who, in her gray-shaded portraits, penetrated and distilled her subjects’ personalities to an often disturbing degree. Born to wealthy American parents, Beatrice Romaine Goddard had a very unhappy childhood. Her mother doted on a paranoid and mentally unstable son and treated Romaine viciously, with behaviour ranging from neglect to accusations of demonic possession. She finally gained independence at age 21. From 1896 to 1899 she studied painting in Italy and then set up a studio on the island of