Lydia May Ames (1863 – October 1, 1946) was an American painter from

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. She specialized in miniature oil paintings, and was among Cleveland's first female artists in addition to being its first impressionist painter.

Biography

Ames was born in Cleveland in 1863, in what was then Newburgh, to a livery service provider by the name of Ashley Ames. She had one sister, who became a librarian in Cleveland. Her painting career began around 1885. In 1900 she graduated from the

Cleveland School of Art The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio. History The college was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, at fir ...

with pictorial art as her major. Following her graduation, she continued to teach there for 27 years. She continued to study art at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

. Following retirement from teaching, she opened her own art studio and continued to give lessons. Her last work occurred approximately in 1940. Never married, she died in Cleveland on October 1, 1946.

Style

Noted as one of the earliest female artists from Cleveland, Ames' gained national recognition in the United States for her impressionistic oil paintings of landscapes. These landscapes were typically done as miniatures, the product smaller than a

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

in size. In addition to her oil miniatures she also painted murals. Most of her productive time was spent in Cleveland, although she took trips for sketching purposes to both New England and the Mediterranean. Ames is sometimes recognized as "Cleveland's first impressionist painter". Her favorite subject was Garfield Park in Cleveland, which was near her home on Miles Avenue. At one point in Ames career, she was the only woman member of the New York Art Club. Her teaching focused on anatomy and art history and development, the latter in which she became a noted expert.

Major exhibitions

*Louis M. Sealand Gallery, Cleveland, 1900 *Society of Independent Artists, New York, 1917 *Society of Independent Artists, New York, 1921 * Lindner Store, Cleveland, August 1925

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Lydia May 1863 births 1946 deaths American women painters Painters from Ohio Artists from Cleveland 19th-century American painters 19th-century American women artists 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists Cleveland School of Art alumni Rhode Island School of Design alumni