Mary L. Lightfoot (1889–1970) was an American painter and printmaker. Lightfoot was born in

Ravenna, Texas Ravenna is a city in Fannin County, Texas, United States. The population was 209 at the 2010 census. Geography Ravenna is located in northwestern Fannin County at (33.671759, –96.241773). It is northwest of Bonham, the county seat, northe ...

. She summered in Europe and in

Taos, New Mexico Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Nuevo México Governor Fernando Cha ...

during her career. Late in life Lightfoot moved to

Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River Co ...

, remaining there for fifteen years until her death. She was buried in Paris; her death certificate gives her year of birth as 1888.

Education

Lightfoot received a baccalaureate from the College of Industrial Arts in Denton. After studies at the

North Texas State Teachers College The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

, she received a master of arts degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Lightfoot taught in the public school system of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

until her retirement. She summered in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and in

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos, Missouri, a city in Cole County, Missouri, United States * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colo ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

during her career. Late in life she moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Texas, remaining there for fifteen years until her death. She was buried in Paris; her death certificate gives her year of birth as 1888.

Career/Organization

Lightfoot was an art teacher at the Dallas Independent School District. In 1940, she was one of eight women who founded the Printmakers Guild, later called Texas Printmakers, to challenge the male-dominated Lone Star Printmakers; the others were Lucile Land Lacy, Stella LaMond, Bertha Landers, Verda Ligon, Blanche McVeigh, Coreen May Spellman, and Lura Ann Taylor. Lightfoot exhibited widely in Texas during her career. Their group was created as a result from being denied membership in the male established Lone Star Printmakers. There was a total of fifty members and participants and not until 1961 did two men join. Most members were either public school teachers or university professors.

Honors/Awards

Lightfoot was awarded the Junior League Purchase Prize, "Fourth Annual Texas Print Exhibition", Dallas Museum of Art, 1965.

Affiliations

Lightfoot was the President of the Dallas Print Society in 1943.

References

1889 births 1970 deaths American women painters American women printmakers 20th-century American painters 20th-century American printmakers 20th-century American women artists Texas Woman's University alumni University of North Texas alumni Columbia University alumni People from Fannin County, Texas {{US-painter-1880s-stub