Girl Playing the Harpsichord

Mary Fairchild MacMonnies Low, born in 1858 in New Haven, Connecticut, was a distinguished American painter renowned for her landscapes, genre paintings, and portraits. Her artistic journey began at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, where her talent earned her a three-year scholarship. Further honing her skills in Paris at the Académie Julian and under the tutelage of Carolus Duran, she established her own studio at 11 Impasse du Maine, a site now part of the Musée Bourdelle. Her personal life saw her marry Frederick MacMonnies in 1888, with whom she later divorced in 1909, before marrying Will H. Low the same year. Low's artistic legacy was significantly marked by her contribution to the Woman's Building at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, where she painted 'Primitive Women,' a mural that was celebrated as more successful than Mary Cassatt's 'Modern Woman' in the same venue. Her works were also showcased at the Palace of Fine Arts during the exposition. Low's accolades include gold medals at exhibitions in Rouen, France, in 1903 and 1911, Dresden in 1902, and Marseille in 1905, alongside the Julia Shaw prize from the Society of American Artists in 1902. Her association with the National Academy of Design further cemented her status in the art world. Notable paintings such as 'Gathering Apples,' 'Gathering Flowers,' and 'Five O'Clock Tea' reflect her versatile talent and are housed in prestigious institutions like the St. Louis Art Museum and the Terra Foundation for American Art.