Sara Ward Conley (December 21, 1859 – May 6, 1944) was an American artist from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

Early life

Sara Ward Conley was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 21, 1859, the daughter of William Eldred Ward and Amanda Eliza Hudson Ward. She was educated at the Nashville school her father founded and ran, Ward Seminary, with further art studies in Paris and Rome.

Career

Ward painted society portraits in Nashville. She also taught art as director of Ward-Conley Studios. In 1896 she designed the large two-story Woman's Building at the

Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition The Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition was an exposition held in Nashville from May 1 – October 31, 1897 in what is now Centennial Park. A year late, it celebrated the 100th anniversary of Tennessee's entry into the union in 17 ...

, modeled on

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

's Nashville home, the Hermitage. She also chaired the Fine Arts Committee that chose art for display at the exposition. "Her plans for the Woman's Building were selected by the judges without a dissenting voice," according to a report at the time. She contributed illustrations to several issues of ''The Olympian'' magazine in 1903. In 1910, she loaned historical objects to the Appalachian Exposition. While staying at the

Battle Creek Sanitarium The Battle Creek Sanitarium was a world-renowned health resort in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. It started in 1866 on health principles advocated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and from 1876 to 1943 was managed by Dr. John H ...

for health reasons in 1913, she painted a mural and decorative panels in the institution's lobby and parlors. Her art was displayed at the Tennessee State Fair in 1920, and at the fifth annual exhibit of Tennessee artists in Nashville in 1924. Four of her paintings were included in the Spring Art Exhibit of the Centennial Club in 1925. She and her sister, Mrs. John DeWitt, hosted meetings of the Ward Seminary alumnae association, and both served as officers in the organization.

Personal life

Sara Ward married John Withrin Conley in 1882; her husband died in 1883. Their only child died as a young girl in 1886. Conley survived

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

in 1897 and "a severe surgical operation" in New York in 1900. She used a wheelchair for the rest of her life. She died in 1944, aged 84 years, in Nashville. Her portraits of

Willie Blount Willie Blount (April 18, 1768September 10, 1835) was an American politician who served as the third Governor of Tennessee from 1809 to 1815. Blount's efforts to raise funds and soldiers during the War of 1812 earned Tennessee the nickname, "Volu ...

and

William Blount William Blount (March 26, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American Founding Father, statesman, farmer and land speculator who signed the United States Constitution. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitutional Convention o ...

were displayed at

William Blount Mansion The Blount Mansion, also known as William Blount Mansion, located at 200 West Hill Avenue in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, was the home of the only territorial governor of the Southwest Territory, William Blount (1749–1800). Blount, a Fou ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

References

External links

"Charles Ready"
(1925) by Sara Ward Conley, at Tennessee Portrait Project, National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Tennessee. {{DEFAULTSORT:Conley, Sara Ward 1859 births 1944 deaths American women artists People from Nashville, Tennessee