BETTY WARREN
Betty is the only member, past or present, of the AAG who has a Wikipedia entry specifically relating to being a professional artist.
(NOTE: In respect to her name, this from her son, Michael Lancaster: “She was never named Elizabeth, or Elisabeth. She stopped using her first husband's last name soon after moving to the Albany area and they were divorced in the late 1940's. Her legal name for much of her life was "Baby Girl" as it was not corrected on her birth certificate by her parents Jack & Dorothy Warren. In the late 1970's or early 80's she legally changed it to the only name she had ever known: Betty. Upon her death her husband (My stepfather) Jake Herzog began calling her "Betty Warren Herzog." As a painter she was professionally known by her maiden name: always Betty Warren.”
Distinguished portrait artist of many names, she first appears (in our available records) as Betty W. Jones in the Albany Artists’ Group (AAG) First Annual Christmas Show of Nov. 3 through Dec. 5, 1948. By 1950, she is the editor of the AAG Newsletter “Pigment Patter” going under the name of B. Warren Jones and continues in that position until 1951, when she is last listed as B. W. Jones. In the AAG Christmas Show of 1949, she goes by Betty Warren Jones, and this appears to be the name she usually uses in most subsequent AAG shows.
However, in the membership list of January 1, 1954, she is listed as Betty W. Jones Lancaster (Mrs. S.) and her address is in Sarasota, Florida. Currently, our AAG records, which are basically missing from 1954 to 1974, do not show how long she remained a member and continued to show.
In the Johnson Collection (of Spartanburg, South Carolina) she is listed in the Directory of Southern Woman Artists with this information:
Herzog, Betty Warren Lancaster b. 1920, New York, NY; d. 1993, Albany, NY (“associated with”:)FL/LA
http://thejohnsoncollection.org/directory-of-women-artists/
One of her most noted achievements is the portrait of Hugh L. Carey, the 51st Governor of the State of New York, which hangs in the “Hall of Governors” in the State Capital Building in Albany. It is also featured on the webpage of the Empire State Plaza: https://empirestateplaza.ny.gov/hall-governors
She also painted long-time Albany mayor, Erastus Corning II twice
She painted Norman Rice, art historian and curator of the Albany Institute of History and Art, where several of her works are in the permanent collection.
She painted portraits of some of the associate justices of New York's highest court, which remain on display at the New York Court of Appeals courthouse [7]
The following items are from the Wikipedia entry for Betty Warren Herzog:
• known for her bright colorist portraits and was one of the top paid female portraitists of the 20th century. Her last formal portrait was of Governor Hugh Carey for the State of N.Y. in 1991. {2}
• her father, Jack A. Warren was the co-creator of the mid-20th century comic strip “Pecos Bill”…Jack’s biography is well worth checking out, too!
• she studied art with her father, as well as with Henry Hensche in Provincetown, and at the National Academy of Design
• Betty was the youngest woman to be given a solo exhibit at a major United States Museum (the Berkshire in 1940) when she was 20 years old.
• She started an art school in Malden Bridge, New York [1][3]
• In 1987, the Albany Institute of History and Art featured a major retrospective of four decades of her work [3]
• She was married to Stuart Lancaster in 1949 and later divorced in 1960[4], she married Jacob Herzog in 1960, a prominent attorney in Upstate New York [2] For over 25 years they wintered in Mexico, where Warren painted some of her most acclaimed paintings.
• Some of her notable students have been Rob Longley, Susan Goetz, Nelson Shanks, Barbara Harnack (who married Betty’s son, Michael Lancaster), Lorraine Lans, and Philip Gianni. [8],[9]
References
1. "Betty Warren Herzog, noted portrait artist, art school owner". The Daily Gazette. November 9, 1993. p. B11.
2. Churchill Wright, Peg (November 11, 1993). "Albany Lost One of its Best Artists with Death of Betty Warren". The Daily Gazette. p. B10.
3. Brickman, David (January 11, 1987). "Betty Warren Wearing Well and Long as Albany Artist and Teacher". Albany Times Union. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
4. "Ringling, The Last Laugh". The Historical Society of Sarasota County. November 27, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
5. "Hall of Governors: Hugh L. Carey". New York State. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
6. "Under Canvas". Albany Institute of History & Art. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
7. "Court of Appeals Hall: The Portraits". Judiciary of New York. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
8. "Artist Lorraine Lans". Fine Art Studio Online. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
9. "Philip Gianni". Fine Art America. Retrieved July 11, 2013.

"Under Canvas", 33"x45", Oil on Canvas, Albany Institute Purchase, 1963

Undated photo of Betty Warren

Portrait of Hugh L. Carey, 51st Governor of New York State by Betty Warren Herzog, oil on canvas, 1991 “Hall of Governors”, 2nd Floor Gallery, New York State Capitol, Albany, NY