Maud Hunt Squire (January 30, 1873 – October 25, 1954) was an American painter and printmaker. She had a lifelong relationship with artist Ethel Mars, with whom she traveled and lived in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Early life and education

Squire was born on January 20, 1873, in

Milford, Ohio Milford is a city in Clermont and Hamilton counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Milford is the westernmost city in Appalachian Ohio, and located along the Little Miami River and its East Fork in the southwestern part of the state, it is a part of ...

to her mother and Alfred Squire, who was a violinist and musician. Alfred gave music lessons and owned a music store. Her mother gave lessons in drawing. Squire was a talented musician and artist and was gifted in other languages. Squire attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

and graduated in 1894. Squire studied at the

Art Academy of Cincinnati The Art Academy of Cincinnati is a private college of art and design in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded as the McMicken School of Design in 1869, and was a department of the University of Cincinnati, and later in 1887, became the Art Academy ...

from 1894 to 1898; her instructors were Lewis Henry Meakin and

Frank Duveneck Frank Duveneck (né Decker; October 9, 1848 – January 3, 1919) was an American figure and portrait painter. Early life Duveneck was born in Covington, Kentucky, the son of German immigrant Bernhard Decker. Decker died in a cholera epidemic whe ...

. The second in her class, she received the Alumnal Gold Medal for excellence in mathematics and Latin and the Sinton Gold Medal, which was awarded by the board.

Career

Squire gained notice for her color intaglio prints and her work in colored

pastel A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...

s, and was active as a book

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

beginning while she was still a student; much of her work in the field was published jointly with Mars. She became a member of the Société Salon d'Automne, the Société des Dessinateurs et d'Humoristes, and the

Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; ) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions. 1862 Established in 1862 by the painter a ...

, and exhibited work widely, including at the Pan Pacific International Exposition of 1915. A joint exhibit of works by Squire and Mars was held at the Mary Ryan Gallery in New York in 2000.

Personal life

She met Ethel Mars, with whom she would remain for the rest of her life, at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. The couple went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1903, remaining there until the outbreak of

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 ...

forced them to return to the United States in 1915. They went to

Provincetown Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Pr ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, both becoming active in the local art scene. Some years later they returned to France, living in

Vence Vence (; ) is a commune set in the hills of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France, north of Nice and Antibes on the Mediterranean coast. Ecclesiastical history The first known Bishop ...

for the rest of their lives while traveling throughout Europe. Squire and Mars were great friends of

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and ...

and

Alice B. Toklas Alice Babette Toklas (April 30, 1877 – March 7, 1967) was an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century, and the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein. Early life Alice B. Toklas was born in San F ...

while living in France, and the writer's poem "Miss Furr and Miss Skeene", believed to be the first such work to use the word "gay" to describe homosexuality, is meant to describe the couple. Edna Boies Hopkins was another friend of both Squire and Mars throughout their lives; she also attended the Art Academy and lived near them in Paris. The couple went into hiding in

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

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 ...

, but returned to their home, La Farigoule, afterwards. Squire died of heart failure there on October 25, 1954, and is buried with Mars, who survived her, in the town cemetery of

Saint-Paul-de-Vence Saint-Paul-de-Vence (, literally ''Saint-Paul of Vence''; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, Saint-Pau ...

Gallery

File:Children of Our Town, Wealth, 1902.tif, Children of Our Town, Wealth, 1902 File:Le panier de poissons, eau-forte en couleur, Maud Hunt Squire, MdepB.jpg, Le panier de poissons, eau-forte en couleur (1910), Maud Hunt Squire File:Maud Hunt Squire, Untitled (Pier with green and purple shack), ca. 1915.tif, Untitled (Pier with green and purple shack),Watercolor and graphite ca. 1915. File:Maud Hunt Squire, Clam Diggers, woodcut print, 1917.tif, Maud Hunt Squire, Clam Diggers, woodcut print, 1917

References

External links