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
*
*
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
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