fine art connoisseur 2018
May / June 2018

Fine Art Connoisseur
"Betsy Ashton: Portraying Immigrants' Stories"

May, 2018

"Portraits of Immigrants"
Thirteen / WNET-TV news video

Jun 2016

Ashton's portrait in a very prominent spot at the U.S. Embassy in London.

Nov 2014

Unveiling the portrait of Ambassador Lader, at the U.S. Embassy in London. Click image to see photos.

Sep 2014

Photographer Peter Krogh captured this scene in my studio in September, when a PBS video crew led by director Jon Hornbacher, seen here behind the cameraman, followed me around for two days. They were shooting a 60-second spot that will soon air on PBS stations nationwide. I have supported public television actively for many years. As a TV news reporter-turned-artist, I can speak with authority about the high quality of journalism and excellent coverage of the arts that PBS continually delivers. —Betsy Ashton

Mar 2013

Betsy was prominently featured in the March 2013 issue of Sirulian News, published by Sirulians, Inc., an organization of veteran journalists.

2012

In 2012, Betsy Ashton was commissioned to paint the official portrait of Philip Lader, former U.S. Ambassador to the Court of Saint James's, for the collection of the United States Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London.

Nov 10, 2011

Times Ledger, Queens, New York
"A Portraitist Behind the Lens"

Aug 2011

American Artist Studios
"Create a Space That You Won't Want to Leave"

“Angel” from Mexico

“Angel”

“Angel” is not her real name. We’re calling her that because she is undocumented and could be deported, although she’s never been arrested for anything and is known locally for good works. She came to the U.S. from Mexico on a tourist visa twenty years ago with her two boys, ages 4 and 6, to join their father, her husband, who had come a year before. Both parents, college graduates from Mexico City, had planned to stay no more than three years, but when they saw how much opportunity their sons would have in this country, they decided to stay on.

Living in what she called a “nasty building” at first, when her husband earned little washing dishes, she walked the boys to school to be safe. Teachers invited her in to an afterschool program for parents, and soon she was helping the teachers, tutoring her boys and others, and was elected V.P. of the P.T.A. Her husband’s new job in construction enabled them to move into a better apartment as Angel was learning why so few other mothers came in afterschool. They were embarassed because they were illiterate. So, she got basic books and taught them to read and write in Spanish, then hired more teachers, and has taught hundreds of immigrants critical language skills that give them and their families hope, new work, and greater opportunity.