Dorothy Quest

Dorothy Quest was a portrait artist from St. Louis, Missouri. Born in St. Louis in 1909, Quest attended Soldan High School, where she met fellow artist and her future husband, Charles Quest. Both shared a love of art and were members of the Municipal Opera dancing chorus. The couple eloped, and when both had finished high school, they left for France to continue their studies in Paris.

Forced to return to the United States for financial reasons after the stock market crash in 1929, the Quests took up residence once again in St. Louis, where Charles eventually took a faculty position at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts. Dorothy finished her training at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts in 1933, and began her career in portrait painting in earnest, accepting commissions from some of St. Louis’ most notable figures. In addition to living St. Louisans, Quest also painted portraits of important historical figures such as Pierre Laclede, founder of St. Louis, and James B. Eads, the engineer of the Eads Bridge, the first rail crossing of the Mississippi River.

Quest was equal parts artist and teacher. When she was not occupied with portrait commissions, Quest taught art classes at Community School, Clayton (1936-1938), Sacred Heart Academy in St. Louis (1939-1941), and Maryville College (1945). She was very supportive of women in the arts, and hosted an art class for young women at her studio in the 1930s.

The Quests enjoyed an encouraging partnership, even though both had independently successful careers. They moved to Webster Groves, a first-ring suburb of St. Louis, and opened a joint studio at 432 Woodlawn Ave. in 1941. In addition to her many portrait commissions, Quest often assisted Charles with mural work, a medium which made him one of the most eminent artists in St. Louis in the mid-1900s.

Quest’s career in St. Louis concluded in 1969, when she and her husband retired to Tryon, North Carolina, near Asheville. Although she has not been as historically recognized as her husband, Quest was a prolific artist in her own right and produced an astonishing number of portraits (more than 550) during her career. Quest died in 1995 in Tryon.