By Thomas Palmer
On January 1, 1936, amid the quiet of winter in Galion, celebrated artist Harold Harrington Betts set up his easel at Brownella Cottage to begin a portrait that would mark the final chapter in a storied life. The subject was Bishop William Montgomery Brown—an infamous figure in American religious history, excommunicated for heresy yet undeterred in his convictions.
The sitting was intimate. Betts, then in his fifties, painted directly from life over several hours, a technique he favored. Alongside the Bishop’s likeness, Betts painted a second portrait—from a photograph—of the Bishop’s late wife, preserving their presence in Brownella’s walls. These paintings, completed less than two years before the Bishop’s death, serve as a poignant coda to both men’s lives.
A Prodigy with Paint and Courage
Harold Harrington Betts was born in New York City in 1881 into a family of artists. His father, Edwin Daniel Betts Sr., trained Harold and his siblings—Grace, Louis, and Edwin Jr.—all of whom pursued careers in the arts. Harold’s talent was quickly recognized; by age 15, he was exhibiting at the Art Institute of Chicago.
But it wasn’t just gallery walls that shaped Betts. His first commission after art school sent him west to sketch Native American life for a railway company. That trip nearly ended in disaster. In 1905, Betts wrote home describing how he was attacked during a Pueblo war dance for sketching without permission. “My drawing implements were broken and blows rained on me,” he wrote. “I am hunting up a more peaceable band of them at present.”
Despite the ordeal, Betts returned again and again to the Southwest, capturing Hopi, Navajo, and Pueblo people and the dramatic landscapes they called home. His western scenes became collector favorites, now housed in the Santa Fe Railway collection and exhibited at the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site in Arizona.
Painting the Famous—and the Fearless
Betts wasn’t just a landscape artist—he had a keen eye for character, and his portraiture earned him commissions from some of the most iconic names of his era. He painted Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and Henry Ford—his larger-than-life group portrait of the trio was the centerpiece of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. He considered Edison’s face “one of the finest and most interesting” he had ever painted.
He also painted a striking cross-section of America’s elite: Marshall Field of the famed department store; Dr. Charles Mayo of the Mayo Clinic; John Cudahy of the Cudahy Packing Company and former U.S. ambassador to Poland; and Opie Read, a beloved Southern journalist and author.
A 1955 article in the Marshfield News-Herald noted that “The list of persons he has put on canvas is like a ‘Who’s Who’ report.” His talent for capturing both likeness and personality made him a favorite of high society and public figures alike—and yet, his work also quietly hangs unrecognized in buildings and private homes across the country.
A Master of the Palette Knife
Celebrated as “one of the outstanding palette knife artists of the United States,” Betts developed a distinctive impasto technique, applying thick oil paint directly to the canvas with bold, textured strokes. In 1916, he took first prize in the palette knife exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, joining the ranks of artists like Van Gogh and Matisse who used knives to give their paintings sculptural presence.
A Life in Motion
Though based in Chicago, Betts was rarely still. He kept studios in New York City, Taos, Coral Gables, and Muskegon. Newspaper reports track him from Alabama to Michigan, Miami to Muskogee. He painted everyone from college presidents to oil producers, authors to governors. His clients included the University of Florida, Florida State University (then Florida College for Women), and the State Capitol in Tallahassee.
He lived unconventionally, traveling with his mother well into adulthood, floating down the Mississippi on a houseboat, and keeping company with his dog, Christopher Columbus. He registered for World War I as a 35-year-old self-employed artist, and married Belle Scott Norwood in 1918, though she often traveled separately.
Portraits and Preservation
While Betts’ landscapes and southwestern scenes are prized—some selling for up to $21,000—his true mastery lay in portraits. His subjects are diverse and distinguished, and his ability to capture their spirit is indisputable. Whether seated in a Florida parlor, a Midwest library, or at Brownella Cottage, his sitters became part of an enduring visual record of American identity.
The 1936 portrait of Bishop William Montgomery Brown captures more than a face—it embodies a moment in time, painted by an artist who lived as vividly as he worked.
Where to See the Work
Visitors to Brownella Cottage in Galion can view the Bishop’s portrait and step into a room once filled with theological debate, philosophical rebellion, and the quiet sound of a brush on canvas. Thanks to Harold H. Betts, that moment—and that man—remain forever vivid.
Legacy in Color and Character
Whether braving the pueblos of New Mexico, capturing the fiery gaze of Edison, or rendering the solemn figure of a heretical bishop, Harold Harrington Betts left behind more than just oil on canvas. He left a life of movement, curiosity, and fearless art—portraits of a country, one face at a time.
Photos courtesy of the Galion History Center
Each Saturday, we post about local history. We call this series “Galion History Corner,” and we will be sharing not only stories about our shared heritage but also updates on history news here in southeast Crawford County.
This series is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Bernard M. Mansfield, whose “Your Historical Galion” was a fixture in weekend editions of the Galion Inquirer. Dr. Mansfield was a friend and family physician, and he inspired the current generation of Galion historians to continue his work.
