Mary Curtis Richardson (9 April 1848 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

– 1 November 1931 in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

) was an impressionist painter and known as the "

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh), North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, whe ...

of the West". Her father, Lucien Curtis travelled by ship via Panama to the gold fields of California in 1849. The following year, Mary, her brother Joseph, her sister Leila, her mother Coelia and widowed grandmother Mary Day Perkins also went to California via the Isthmus of Panama to join her father in Sacramento, where he was the first town clerk. They soon moved on to Vallejo, then Petaluma, Oakland and finally San Francisco. Her maternal grandfather was Joseph Perkins, a professional engraver in New York. At age 18, Mary and her sister Leila went to New York City and studied at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

for two years. She returned to San Francisco and helped to set up the School of Design In 1869, she married Thomas Richardson who came to San Francisco from Canada and was in the lumber business. He died in 1913. Mary and her sister Leila established a wood engraving studio. Mary began exploring portrait painting, and friends encouraged her to seriously take up painting full-time. An impressionist, she is probably best known for her portrait paintings with a mother-and-child theme. One of her highly praised paintings, "The Sleeping Child" was eventually acquired by the Legion of Honor. Another child subject, "The Young Mother" won a silver medal at the

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...

(1915). Her other portrait work included that of

David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Universi ...

(first president of

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

), Susan Tolman (Mrs. Cyrus) Mills, (co-founder of

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

) and

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

language professor F. V. Paget. Richardson was a member of the Worcester Group in the 1890s, which met regularly for informal discussions and to socialize under the leadership of Reverend Joseph Worcester (also an amateur architect). Mary lived next door on Vallejo Street in Russian Hill. Included in this group were artists such as William Keith and Bruce Porter, architects

Willis Polk Willis Jefferson Polk (October 3, 1867 – September 10, 1924) was an American architect, best known for his work in San Francisco, California. For ten years, he was the West Coast representative of D.H. Burnham & Company. In 1915, Polk oversaw ...

Ernest Coxhead Ernest Albert Coxhead (1863–1933) was an English-born architect, active in the United States. He was trained in the offices of several English architects and attended the Royal Academy and the Architectural Association School of Architecture, b ...

John Galen Howard John Galen Howard (May 8, 1864 – July 18, 1931) was an American architect and educator who began his career in New York before moving to California. He was the principal architect at several firms in both states and employed Julia Morgan early ...

Charles Keeler Charles Augustus Keeler (October 7, 1871 – July 31, 1937) was an American author, poet, ornithologist and advocate for the arts, particularly architecture. Biography Early life Keeler was born on October 7, 1871, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He m ...

and writer

Gelett Burgess Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951) was an American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. He was an important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his ico ...

. Mary Curtis Richardson died 1 November 1931 at her

Russian Hill Russian Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It is named after one of San Francisco's 44 hills, and one of its original "Seven Hills". Location Russian Hill is directly to the north (and slightly downhill) from Nob Hill, to t ...

studio and home.

Works – partial list

*''Stephen Leach'' *''Woman in Green'' *''David Atkins'' *''Lloyd Tevis'' *''The Dunes, Carmel'' *''Child and Kitten'' *''Child Reading'' *''Children with Donkey'' *''Children Hand in Hand'' *''Studies of a Baby'' *''Chapel Bells of Camulos -Ramona's House'' *''Robert Daniel Byrne'' *''Sarah Esther Chase Bourn'' In the collection of the Filoli Historic Estate, Woodside, CA

References

*''Artists in California 1786–1940'', (2002) Edan Milton Hughes *''Artists of the American West'', Vol I, Doris Ostrander Dawdy *''Russian Hill Neighbors'', www.rhn.org *''San Francisco Chronicle'', 2 November 1931 (obit) *''California Art Research'', Vol V (1937), Work Projects Administration {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Mary Curtis 1848 births 1931 deaths 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters American Impressionist painters 19th-century American women painters 20th-century American women painters Painters from New York City Painters from California Artists from San Francisco Cooper Union alumni San Francisco Art Institute alumni