Corinne Lawton Mackall
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Corinne Lawton Mackall Melchers (February 27, 1880 – April 7, 1955) was an American painter,
humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...
, and gardener. She was the wife of painter
Gari Melchers Julius Garibaldi (Gari) Melchers (August 11, 1860 – November 30, 1932) was an American artist. He was one of the leading American proponents of naturalism. He won a 1932 Gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Biography The ...
and maintained their Belmont estate after his death. As a gardener and
rosarian Some Garden rose, rose growers are known for their particular contributions to the field. These include: A *David C.H. Austin (1926–2018), British breeder of English-style roses including the Rosa 'Wife of Bath', 'Wife of Bath' B *Barbier ...
, Melchers was an early supporter of the Historic Garden Week and was heavily involved with the restoration of the grounds of the Kenmore plantation. She led humanitarian efforts during World War I and World War II. Melchers initiated the creation of the Stafford County Health Association and the hiring of the first Stafford County nurse. Melchers helped establish the
Mary Washington Hospital Mary Washington Hospital is a 451-bed, full-service hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It is one of seven level II trauma centers in Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern ...
and the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the supp ...
. She served on the
Virginia Commission for the Arts The Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA), is the state agency that supports the arts through funding from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Commission was created in 1968, is governed by 9 Commissioners a ...
.


Early life and education

Corinne Lawton Mackall was born into a prominent
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
family on February 27, 1880. Her father, Leonard Covington Mackall, was a sugar industry businessperson, her mother, Louise Lawton, was the daughter of
Alexander Lawton Alexander Robert Lawton (November 4, 1818 – July 2, 1896) was a Confederate lawyer, politician, diplomat, and brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Early life Lawton was born in the Beaufort Dis ...
, a lawyer and confederate veteran who served as the Quartermaster-General, and her brother was historian
Leonard Mackall Leonard Leopold Mackall (January 29, 1879 – May 19, 1937) was an American historian. He was an eminent biographer. Early life Mackall was born in 1879 in Baltimore, Maryland, to Leonard Covington Mackall and Louisa Frederika Lawton. His fat ...
. Mackall's father died in a
horse and buggy A buggy refers to a lightweight four-wheeled carriage drawn by a single horse, though occasionally by two. Amish buggies are still regularly in use on the roadways of America. The word "buggy" has become a generic term for "carriage" in Americ ...
accident in 1890. Her mother raised Mackall and her two brothers. Her maternal grandfather was
pardoned A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
for his role in the
Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...
and was appointed ambassador to the Austrian court of
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
. Mackall's family traveled to Europe frequently to visit her grandparents. Mackall attended a boarding school in Connecticut. By 1902, Mackall opened a studio on North Charles Street and enrolled in courses at the Maryland Institute Practical School for the Mechanic Arts. During her schooling, she travelled to Europe with her mother and younger brother. In April 1902, while aboard the S.S. Aller, she met painter
Gari Melchers Julius Garibaldi (Gari) Melchers (August 11, 1860 – November 30, 1932) was an American artist. He was one of the leading American proponents of naturalism. He won a 1932 Gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Biography The ...
who encouraged her to study at his
art colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission ...
, , in
Egmond aan Zee Egmond aan Zee () is a village on the North Sea coast in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, North Holland, Bergen, about 9 km west of Alkmaar. Egmond aan Zee was a separate municipali ...
. She later studied at the
Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...
in the fall of 1902.


Career


Art

After a quick courtship, Mackall and Melchers married on December 31, 1902, and exchanged vows at an
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church in
Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
on April 14, 1903. The couple lived in Egmond aan Zee until 1909. They moved to
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
from 1909 to 1915 for her husband's teaching position at the Weimar Academy. In 1915, the couple returned to the United States in 1915 due to
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. After a short time in Detroit and New York City, they settled in
Falmouth, Virginia Falmouth is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stafford County, Virginia, Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Situated on the north bank of the Rappahannock River at the falls, the community is north of and opposite the city of Fredericksb ...
, where they restored the Belmont Estate, later known as the Gari Melchers Home & Studio. Their home featured their paintings along with works of their friends and family including Melchers' cousin . Melchers and her husband established The Artist's Fellowship, a nonprofit organization in New York City and the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the supp ...
. In 1933, after the death of her husband, she took his place on the
Virginia Commission for the Arts The Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA), is the state agency that supports the arts through funding from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Commission was created in 1968, is governed by 9 Commissioners a ...
until 1941.


Gardening

Melchers was a gardener and
rosarian Some Garden rose, rose growers are known for their particular contributions to the field. These include: A *David C.H. Austin (1926–2018), British breeder of English-style roses including the Rosa 'Wife of Bath', 'Wife of Bath' B *Barbier ...
. She was involved with the Garden Club of Virginia and an early supporter of Historic Garden Week. Melchers hosted her first public garden tour in 1933. She was a founding member of the Rappahannock Valley Garden club and heavily involved in the restoration of the gardens at the Kenmore plantation.


Humanitarianism

Melchers was recognized as a
humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...
and frequently corresponded with her friends in Europe during the World War I. She sent food, money, and clothing. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Melchers fundraised for
war bond War bonds (sometimes referred to as victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are Security (finance)#Debt, debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an un ...
s and chaired the women's division of the local War Finance Committee. She was also chief of civilian mobilization for
Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is approximately south of Washington, D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest-growing and highest-income counties in ...
. Melchers volunteered at
Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southe ...
and entertained
American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...
personnel and military patients on base. She initiated the creation of the Stafford County Health Association and led the hiring of the first Stafford County nurse. She created a healthcare programs for poorer individuals who could not afford eyeglasses or inoculations. Melchers helped establish the
Mary Washington Hospital Mary Washington Hospital is a 451-bed, full-service hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It is one of seven level II trauma centers in Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern ...
.


Personal life

Melchers was a member of the
United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, a ...
. She died on April 7, 1955. Her ashes were mixed with her husbands and added to a repository in the wall of his art studio on their Belmont estate. Melchers had no children and she bequeathed her estate to the Commonwealth of Virginia.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melchers, Corinne 1880 births 1955 deaths 20th-century American women painters 20th-century American painters Artists from Baltimore Painters from Maryland Painters from Virginia Activists from Maryland Activists from Virginia American gardeners Rose breeders American women founders Women horticulturists and gardeners People from Falmouth, Virginia Members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy 19th-century American women artists