Mary Ann Xantippe "Tip" Saunders (January 1, 1838 – December 4, 1922) was an American portrait painter and art teacher. She studied art under Cornelius Pering, and became friends with his daughter Cornelia Pering, also an artist. In New York, she studied under

Lemuel Wilmarth Lemuel Everett Wilmarth (November 11, 1835 – July 27, 1918) was an American painter. He was a founder of the Art Students League of New York and a member of the National Academy of Design. He was professor in charge of the schools of the Nation ...

and in the studio of

Joseph Oriel Eaton Joseph Oriel Eaton, an American portrait painting, painter of portraits and figure subjects, both in oil and in water-colours, was born in 1829. His most famous work is his portrait of Herman Melville, the author of Moby-Dick, Moby-Dick; or, T ...

. She and Cornelia Pering started the Pering and Saunders Art School in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, which they ran from the 1890s until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1856, Saunders graduated cum laude at Greenville Institute at

Harrodsburg, Kentucky Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census. Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the House of Burgesses after Boonesbo ...

. She was popular through her young adulthood. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, her betrothed was killed in action. After the Civil War, she studied art in earnest, both under Cornelius Pering and at the

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 ...

Academy of Design, focusing on

portrait painting Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

. She then returned to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, to teach art. Saunders was a cousin of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, and painted a famous portrait of him in 1873. Xantippe Saunders died on December 4, 1922, and is interred in

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...

in Louisville.

References

External links

* 1838 births 1922 deaths People from Kentucky Artists from Louisville, Kentucky Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery {{US-painter-1830s-stub