Mary Fife Laning was an American painter and wife of artist

Edward Laning Edward Laning (1906–1981) was an American painter. Career Background Laning was born in 1906 in Petersburg, Illinois. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago (1923–1924) and the University of Chicago, (1925–1927). He also studied at t ...

Career

Mary Elizabeth Fife was born in 1898 or 1900 in Canton, Ohio. In 1923, she earned a B.A. from the

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. In 1925–1927, she did postgraduate work at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

. In 1928, she studied at the Academie Russe in Paris. From 1930 to 1935, she studied at the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 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 ...

under

Kenneth Hayes Miller Kenneth Hayes Miller (March 11, 1876 – January 1, 1952) was an American painter, printmaker, and teacher. Career Born in Oneida, New York, he studied at the Art Students League of New York with Kenyon Cox, Henry Siddons Mowbray and with Willia ...

. There she met her husband, Edward Laning, whom she married in 1933. The Lanings became part of the Miller circle with Reginald Marsh and

Isabel Bishop Isabel Bishop (March 3, 1902 – February 19, 1988) was an American painter and graphic artist. Bishop studied under Kenneth Hayes Miller at the Art Students League of New York, where she would later become an instructor. She was most notable f ...

. The Lanings lived most of their lives in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. In the 1940s, as a member of the

National Association of Women Artists The National Association of Women Artists, Inc. (NAWA) is a United States organization, founded in 1889 to gain recognition for professional women fine artists in an era when that field was strongly male-oriented. It sponsors exhibitions, awards ...

, Laning taught (with her husband) at the

Kansas City Art Institute The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. It has approxi ...

. She survived her husband by a decade, dying in 1991.

Works

Fife's work has exhibited at the Butler Art Institute, Ohio, the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, and the

Whitney Museum The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude ...

of American Art. Paintings include: * ''Girl with Open Blouse'' (1925) * ''Place in the Sun'' (1934) * ''Forbidden Love'' (1935) * ''The Lovers (1st Stoop)'' (1935) * ''Klein's Dressing Room'' (1930s) * ''Rocky Shore Newport RI'' (undated) * ''Untitled'' (1946) Painting of Mary and her sisters in Greece. Exhibitions included: * Between Heaven and Hell * Union Square in the 1930s * New York Intaglio Figure, 1917 to 1954

References

External sources

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Missouri Remembers Artists Portal
Year of birth uncertain 1991 deaths Art Students League of New York alumni 20th-century American painters Painters from Ohio American women painters Carnegie Mellon University alumni Cooper Union alumni Kansas City Art Institute faculty 20th-century American women artists Treasury Relief Art Project artists National Association of Women Artists members {{US-painter-1890s-stub