Gladys Cecelia (Edgerly) Bates, age 107, of Brook Street, Noank, a renowned sculptor and artist, died Monday morning at her home after a period of failing health.
A longtime former resident of Mystic, Mrs. Bates was born in Hopewell, NJ on July 15th, 1896 the daughter of Webster and Edna R. (Boyts) Edgerly. She attended the Corcoran Gallery School of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
She enjoyed a long, distinguished sculpting career exhibiting her work at the Pen and Brush Club, the Woodmere Gallery, Lyman Allyn Museum, the Madison (CT) Art Gallery, the Rowaayton Art Gallery, Noank Arts Club, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Texas Centennial, Carnegie Institute, the Addison Gallery, the Philadelphia Museum,Philadelphia Art Alliance and the New Jersey State Musuem, all noted in her biography at “Who’sWho in America”.
Her work is also represented in permanent collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the PA Academy of Fine Arts and the NJ State Museum.
She was the recipient of various awards including the Widener Gold Medal, the National Association Medal, the Huntingdon Prize, and was selected to be a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society. She and her husband, Kenneth Bates, also an accomplished artist, were founders of the Mystic Art Association. He died February 5, 1973.
Mrs. Bates is survived by her two sons, Kenneth Bates Jr. of Santa Barbara, CA and Thomas Edgerly Bates of Noank, 6 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by a son, David Dunlop Bates and a sister, Beatrice Edgerly MacPherson.
The family will gather privately for a service. Burial will be in Elm Grove Cemetery. There are no visiting hours. Donations may be made to the Mystic Art Assoc., 9 Water Street, Mystic CT 06355.