Elizabeth Campbell Fisher Clay (1871–1959) was an American artist and painter. Clay studied art in Boston, New York, and Paris. After her marriage, she lived in

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax () is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre of the borough, and the headquarters of Calderdale Council. In the 15th cen ...

, England and exhibited in London, including two exhibitions at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

Early life

Elizabeth Campbell Fisher was born on April 2, 1871, in West Dedham, Massachusetts to Joseph and Mary Elizabeth Fisher. She attended

Dedham High School Dedham High School is a public high school in Dedham, Massachusetts, United States, and a part of the Dedham Public Schools district. The school was founded in 1851 by the oldest public school system in the country. It earned a silver medal from '' ...

. Her sister Hattie Smith Fisher was born in 1857. Joseph Lyman Fisher was born in 1861 and attended Highland Military Academy in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

Education

She was a student at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

, in the class of 1892. In the 1890s, she attended the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

. At the

New York School of Art Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

, she studied under

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...

and

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

, and studied in the Netherlands and Spain. She also studied with the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

. She and two artists from Boston were students of Robert Henri and they shared a studio on Quai Voltaire in Paris. Henri came to the studio to review their work twice each week.

Career

Clay had a solo exhibition at Rowland's Gallery in Boston in 1908. She also exhibited in Boston at the

Copley Society of Art The Copley Society of art is America's oldest non-profit art association. It was founded in 1879 by the first graduating class of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and continues to play an important role in promoting its member artists and th ...

, Boston Art Club, and City Club. In England, she exhibited in London for over 30 years, at the

in 1927 and 1928, and at the British Society of Women Artists, Yorkshire Union of Artists, and the

Royal Cambrian Academy of Art The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art (RCA) is a centre of excellence for art in Wales. Its main gallery is located in Conwy and it has over a hundred members. image:Plas Mawr.jpg, 240px, Plas Mawr, Conwy Early history During the 19th century there we ...

. Her work is in the collection of the

Telfair Museum of Art Telfair Museums, in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, was the first public art museum in the Southern United States. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair (1791–1875), a prominent local citizen, and operated by the Georgia Histo ...

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

Marriage and family

She married Howard Clay on April 20, 1909, in Dedham, Massachusetts. Howard was a councillor and the

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of Halifax, and served on the Halifax Education Committee. In 1910, she gave birth to Howard Fisher Clay and two years later Monica Mary was born. Monica was also an artist. They lived in Halifax, England, specifically Godley Halifax, by 1915. In June 1930, by which point she was a widow, Clay laid the stone for the Halifax High School for Girls. The official opening of the school was performed by

Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary; 25 April 1897 – 28 March 1965), was a member of the British royal family. She was the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, the sister of Kings Edward VIII ...

. Clay was a Unitarian, where she taught Sunday school, and was active in college settlements and boys' clubs. She opposed

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. Clay was in the ''Lady's Who's Who'' in 1938.

Death

Clay died in Philadelphia in 1959, aged 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Elizabeth Campbell Fisher 1871 births 1959 deaths Smith College alumni School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts alumni Art Students League of New York alumni American lithographers American etchers American women printmakers Artists from Dedham, Massachusetts Artists from Massachusetts Students of Robert Henri 20th-century American women artists 20th-century American printmakers Women etchers Dedham High School alumni Women lithographers 20th-century lithographers