Lola McDonald Sleeth Miller (October 24, 1860 – April 24, 1951) was an American painter and sculptor. There is much confusion surrounding Miller's early life. According to the information on her

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

application form, she was born Lola McDonald in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, to farmer Sterling Lynn McDonald and his wife Electa Summerlin; a birthplace of either

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, Missouri or Croton,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

has also been posited, as has a birthyear of 1864 or 1866. She married Francis Sleeth, and from 1892 to 1899 was resident in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where she studied with

Douglas Tilden Douglas Tilden (May 1, 1860 to August 5, 1935) was an American sculptor. He was deaf from a bout of scarlet fever at the age of four and attended the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley, California (now in Fremont, California). He ...

at the Mark Hopkins Art Institute. In Paris she studied with

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

and at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

, and in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with

Frederick MacMonnies Frederick William MacMonnies (September 28, 1863 – March 22, 1937) was the best known expatriate American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts school, as successful and lauded in France as he was in the United States. He was also a highly accomplishe ...

and

Emil Carlsen Soren Emil Carlsen (October 19, 1853 – January 2, 1932, New York City, U.S.) was an American Impressionist painter who emigrated to the United States from Denmark. He became known for his still lifes. Later in his career, Carlsen expanded his r ...

. She began working as an art teacher at the

National Cathedral School National Cathedral School (NCS) is an independent Episcopal private day school for girls in grades 4–12 located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by philanthropist and suffragist Phoe ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1901, remaining there for over thirty years. During her time in Washington she belonged to a number of local arts organizations; she exhibited with the

Society of Washington Artists The Society of Washington Artists was established in 1890 in Washington, D.C. The Society was organized by the ''Art Students League of Washington''. The Society's first exhibit was in 1891, held at the Woodward & Lothrop building. Within a few ...

for the first time in 1910, and was a charter member of the

Arts Club of Washington The Arts Club of Washington is a private club to promote the Arts in Washington, D.C. Founded by Bertha Noyes in May 1916, its first president was Henry Kirke Bush-Brown; Mathilde Mueden Leisenring was among its original members, as were Susa ...

and a member of the Washington Water Color Club. Sometime in the 1920s she first visited

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and after marrying inventor T. Spencer Miller in 1931 moved there permanently, living there until her death. At the time of her second marriage she was described as a "widow"; her second husband's name is sometimes given as Thomas. A scholarship was endowed in her honor after her death. Miller was active in a variety of formats during her career, producing landscapes, portraits, and still lifes in oil and watercolor as well as carving portrait busts in marble. Her most notable work is a bust of

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

currently owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution and frequently displayed at

Constitution Hall DAR Constitution Hall is a concert hall located at 1776 D Street NW, near the White House in Washington, D.C. It was built in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution to house its annual convention when membership delegations outgrew Memo ...

; it was used as the basis for a likeness of Washington on a 1938 postage stamp. Another work was formerly in the collection of the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...

. She is also represented in the collection of the Cathedral Foundation in Washington. Due to her residency in the state later in life she is sometimes classed with other California artists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Lola 1860 births 1951 deaths American women painters American women sculptors 19th-century American painters 19th-century American sculptors 19th-century American women artists 20th-century American painters 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American women artists People from Memphis, Missouri Painters from Missouri Sculptors from Missouri Painters from Washington, D.C. Académie Julian alumni