Good evening, My name is Elizabeth Stanford but everyone called me Betty. I was born to my parents, Art and Arline Stanford. They lived a happy life in Warrenville, right on Second Street, just next to the old Methodist Church.

My dad, Art, was born on February 22, 1885, in Wheaton. He was the only child born to his English immigrant parents. My mother was a descendant of New Yorkers who had come to this area in the 1850s. Sadly, they both lost their parents before they married in 1913. After their wedding they lived in Wheaton. I was born there in 1919, the third of four Stanford children.

In 1923, we moved to Warrenville and never could have imagined our small town of less than 1,000 people would gain so much attention due to the Albright Art Studio that would move in next door to us in the old Methodist Church.

My siblings and I grew up like the other Warrenville children in the 1920s and 30s, using the entire town as our playground!  Walking up to the dam, which used to be in your Warrenville Grove, was a regular fun exploration for us kids. We would dare each other to walk out onto the rocks or even across the dam. Although that may seem dangerous, if I told you just half of the stories of the things my brothers did in town during the 1930s, you’d be horrified!

My father worked as an electrician and lineman. My mother raised us kids and cared for the household. It was my dad’s career that made him such a perfect model for Ivan Albright, the famous painter. The Albrights had moved their art studio into the old Methodist Church right next to our house in 1924 when I was five years old. Adam, the father, painted many Warrenville kids showing children in the country, enjoying life along the river. They were beautiful paintings. Ivan and Malvin, the twin artist sons, also used local models but their art was VERY different from their father’s. In 1927, Ivan asked my father to model for him. Just like his dad, Ivan did pay his models for their time, 50 cents an hour! That’s about $8.50 an hour today, not bad for just standing still. His painting of my dad has been shown in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and West Virginia. It also appeared in the May 1928 issue of the trade publication "Light and Power.” Unfortunately, the painting was met with outrage as industry professionals said my dad’s painting made him look downtrodden and tired. One critic even said it looked like my dad was a down-and-out tramp who had stolen a lineman’s belt and pole strap. Anyone who knew how unique Ivan’s style was would have known that was not actually the way my dad looked. He was a proud lineman and a seasoned electrician. Ivan just liked to play with reality and over-emphasize the darker parts of life.

No one, including my mother, could have imagined just HOW much Ivan would overemphasize the gruesomeness in the painting he made of her, called “Flesh.” This very famous painting made her look absolutely horrible. To say she was NOT happy was an understatement. It is one thing to appreciate art, but another thing to be the subject of Ivan’s style. Many of our neighbors were also models for Ivan, and some even modeled for Malvin’s sculptures. As kids, we used to go into the studio and watch the three Albright artists work.

My dad died here in Warrenville in 1955 and was laid to rest here at the Cemetery. My mom lived another 25 years. After my father’s death, my mom came to live in Colorado where me and one of my brothers lived. When she passed away in 1980, she was brought back here to Warrenville to be laid to rest with my father. I’m sure at that time she had no idea she and my father would still be the subjects of such popular paintings, still shown and talked about at your museum each week. I’m sure she would not love being on display in such a way, but art is art, and it's such an important part of Warrenville’s history. Thank you for listening; you will now continue on your walk and hear from Clara Albright herself.