Nancy Luce

Nancy Luce (1814 - April 9, 1890) was a poet and folk artist who lived in West Tisbury, Massachusetts on Martha's Vineyard.

Nancy Luce
Portrait of Nancy Luce, island eccentric, and her bantie hens.
Born
Nancy Luce

1814
West Tisbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died(1890-04-09)April 9, 1890
West Tisbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationFolk artist, poet, businesswoman

Luce was orphaned by her parents, Philip Luce and Anne Manter, in her late twenties and suffered a debilitating disease leaving her nearly homebound at the family farmhouse.[1] She raised bantam hens to survive, often giving them fanciful names such as Ottee Ophete, Pondy Lilly and Letoogie Tickling.[2] She wrote and self-published poetry pamphlets about her chickens and got professional portraits done of them and herself.[3] Tourists would come to her cottage and small store on the property to visit with her and purchase keepsakes to bring home.[2] As she buried her chickens on the property, her collection of chicken gravestones became its own tourist attraction. She was considered "one of the Island's most well-known historical figures."[4]

When Luce died, the chicken gravestones were given to the town library. Luce herself is buried in the West Tisbury cemetery, where her marble gravestone is decorated with chickens.[1]

Legacy

Luce's chicken names live on in the names of chickens at the Los Angeles Zoo.[5] Composer Thomas LaVoy is currently working on a commissioned choral piece based on her writings.[6] Vineyard artist Daniel Waters has created a series of linoleum block prints featuring Luce and her chickens.[7]

Nancy Luce's manuscripts and other related material are at the John Hay Library at Brown University.[8]

References
  1. Bender, Sydney (2014-10-23). "Island Eccentric Clucked to Her Own Beat". The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
  2. Nadler, Holly (2006). Vineyard confidential : 350 years of scandals, eccentrics, and strange occurrences. Camden, ME: Down East Books. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-0-89272-687-5. OCLC 70822421.
  3. "Portrait of Nancy Luce, island eccentric, and her bantie hens". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
  4. "Martha's Vineyard Museum Exhibitions". Martha's Vineyard Museum. 2015-01-31. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
  5. Brennan, George (2017-08-02). "The Nancy Luce story goes Hollywood, sort of". The Martha's Vineyard Times. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
  6. "Nancy Luce Commission Consortium - Composer". Thomas LaVoy - Composer. 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
  7. "Gallery of Prints". Daniel Waters, Poet & Printmaker. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
  8. "Nancy Luce Papers". Brown University Library. Brown University. Retrieved 22 December 2018.


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