Mary Elizabeth Nottingham Day (November 29, 1907 – ) was a painter under the professional name Elizabeth Nottingham. She was primarily known for her work depicting the landscape of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. With her husband, painter Horace Day, she co-directed the art department of

Mary Baldwin College Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia. It was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary. Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College for Women, a resid ...

in Staunton, Virginia from 1941 to 1956.

Life and career

Mary Elizabeth Nottingham was born on November 29, 1907, in Salisbury, North Carolina, and grew up in Culpeper, Virginia, a place she often depicted in her later work. She graduated from

Randolph-Macon Woman's College Randolph College is a private liberal arts and sciences college in Lynchburg, Virginia. Founded in 1891 as Randolph-Macon Woman's College, it was renamed on July 1, 2007, when it became coeducational. The college offers 32 majors; 42 minors; � ...

in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1928. Nottingham attended the Art Students League of New York for three years, studying under

George Bridgman George Brant Bridgman (November 5, 1864 – December 16, 1943) was a Canadian-American painter, writer, and teacher in the fields of anatomy and figure drawing. Bridgman taught anatomy for artists at the Art Students League of New York for some ...

Kenneth Hayes Miller Kenneth Hayes Miller (March 11, 1876 – January 1, 1952) was an American painter, printmaker, and teacher. Career Born in Oneida, New York, he studied at the Art Students League of New York with Kenyon Cox, Henry Siddons Mowbray and with Willi ...

Kimon Nicolaïdes Kimon Nicolaїdes (1891–1938) was an American art teacher, author and artist. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Army in France as a camouflage artist. He was of Greek descent. __NOTOC__ Early life Nicolaïdes was born in Washington, ...

, and

John Sloan John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight. He is best known ...

. She studied in Europe thanks to a Tiffany Foundation Fellowship (1930) and an Edward McDowell Traveling Fellowship (1931). In 1933, she returned to Virginia. 1934 was an important year for Nottingham's art career. She had her first one-woman show at the Richmond Academy of Arts. Her painting ''Culpeper Street,'' a watercolor depiction of Davis street in Culpeper, was purchased by

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

for display in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. Nottingham was hired by the

Public Works of Art Project The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a New Deal program designed to employ artists that operated from 1933 to 1934. The program was headed by Edward Bruce, under the United States Treasury Department with funding from the Civil Works Admin ...

to create two historical panels for

John Handley High School John Handley High School is an endowed public high school located in the city of Winchester, Virginia. It is a part of Winchester Public Schools. It was founded by a grant from Judge John Handley, hence the school mascot, the Judges. Construct ...

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

and 28 watercolor landscapes of Virginia. She became director of the

Federal Art Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administrati ...

galleries at

Big Stone Gap, Virginia Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census. History The community was formerly kno ...

and Lynchburg, Virginia in 1936. She later served as assistant state art supervisor for the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

in Virginia. She married painter Horace Day in 1941 and they became co-directors of the art department at Mary Baldwin College, a responsibility they shared until her death in 1956. She was president of the Virginia Art Alliance and served on the Virginia State Art Commission from 1950 to 1956. Mary Elizabeth Nottingham Day died on April 2, 1956, at Kings' Daughter's Hospital in Staunton, Virginia. In 2016, the Library of Virginia added her name to their list of Virginia Women in History. In 2018 the Virginia Capitol Foundation announced that Nottingham's name would be included on the

Virginia Women's Monument The Virginia Women's Monument is a state memorial in Richmond, Virginia commemorating the contributions of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United ...

's glass Wall of Honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nottingham, Elizabeth Created via preloaddraft 1907 births 1956 deaths Painters from Virginia Works Progress Administration in Virginia 20th-century American women artists Painters from North Carolina People from Salisbury, North Carolina 20th-century American painters American women painters