Helen Elizabeth “Betty” McGarr Murtagh, was born on October 23, 1925 in Lakewood, New Jersey. After the death of their parents, she and her three siblings were taken care of by her mother’s sister, Mildred Brown.
She had artistic talent and while growing up in Jersey during World War II, she painted signs and decorated the sides of blimps and war planes at Lakehurst Naval Air Station.
She enrolled at Syracuse University and became a member of its Theta Phi Alpha chapter. . After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1947, she was employed by several advertising agencies and she freelanced fashion illustrations.
She married Gil Murtagh, a New York University graduate, in 1950 at Saint Mary of the Lake church in Lakewood. They honeymooned in Bermuda. He was an architect and the couple lived in Norwalk, Connecticut. The Murtaugh family grew to include five children.
Betty Murtagh used a bedroom for her studio. She illustrated several children’s books, including one with her neighbor, Virginia Hartmann, entitled I Can Do Anything. It was published in 1963 and was even read on the children’s television show Romper Room. She also created more than 75 Christmas card designs.
After the family moved to Hinsdale, Illinois, in 1974, she began exploring and experimenting with printmaking and created more than 100 large and colorful serigraphs.
She moved to Utica, New York, after the death of her husband in 2001. Her first art show was curated by Dr. Becky Shaw, a British artist. The show took place at the Munson Museum of Art in Utica. An exhibit at Utica College and at Syracuse University followed. A collection of her work remains at the Resource Center for Independent Living in Syracuse.
She died on May 20, 2008, at the age of 83. Some of her work can be seen on her facebook page.
