Patricia Anne Otis Carlson Watson collection

Patricia Anne Otis, born May 13, 1929, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, was the youngest child of Isabelle Margaret Montillon and Arthur Frederic Otis. Known as “Pat,” she grew up with her older siblings, Arthur F. Jr. and Isabelle Mary. Tragically, her mother passed away when Pat was just three, and her brother died in military service in Japan on June 20, 1945.

Patricia joined DePauw's Pi Beta Phi and the International Relations Club. During her junior year, she studied abroad at Beaux-Arts in France. She graduated from DePauw in 1951 with a degree in art. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Cincinnati, drawn by its vibrant art scene.

She began receiving recognition for her pastel portraits after working with the photographer Harry Carlson. Her work led her to travel frequently between Florida’s Lauderdale Beach Hotel in the summers and Wisconsin’s Northernaire Resort in the winters, where she painted children’s portraits, primarily for grandparents.

On January 30, 1953, Patricia married Gilbert Curtis Carlson in her hometown, and she took the name Patricia Otis Carlson. The couple had two sons, Otis and John, and Patricia eventually settled in Long Beach, California, continuing her art while raising her children. After her divorcing Gilbert, she met Stephen T. Watson, a Coast Guard officer, and they married on June 16, 1973, in San Diego. She took Stephen’s last name, becoming Patricia Otis Watson. The couple moved to Tucson, Arizona, where Patricia lived until she passed away on September 14, 1979, at the age of fifty.

Sources:

“Arthur F Otis Jr in the U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1861-1985,” Ancestry, accessed December 2, 2024.

“Isabelle M. Otis in the Illinois, U.S., Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947,” Ancestry, accessed December 2, 2024.

Jancovich, Mark. “Vicous Womanhood’: Genre, The ‘Femme Fatale’ And Postwar America.” Revue Canadienne d’Études Cinématographiques / Canadian Journal of Film Studies 20, no. 1 (2011): 100–114. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24411857.

Mirage Yearbook, 1951, University Publications, DePauw University Archives and Special Collections.

“Mr. Gilbert Curtis Carlson Jr. in the U.S., Newspapers.com.

Marriage Index, 1800s-current,” Ancestry, accessed December 2, 2024.

Patricia Anne Otis Carlson Watson Scrapbook, 1951, MSD-1951-002, Archives of DePauw University and Indiana United Methodism.

“Patricia Anne Otis in the U.S., Newspaper.com Birth Index, 1800s-2003,” Ancestry, accessed December 2, 2024.

“Patricia Watson services are held,” Newspapers.com, accessed December 2, 2024. “Stephen T. Watson in the California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1960-1985,” Ancestry, accessed December 2, 2024.

The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter. Directed by Connie Field. Clarity Films, 1980. Accessed December 2, 2024.

This biographical note was created by Mirabelle Ullom and Sophi Lovell as part of the HIST278: Women's History from 1890-Present course during the fall 2024 semester. It was revised by Professor Sarah Rowley and the Coordinator of Archives and Special Collections Bethany Fiechter.