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Mary Welch
Study of Blue Boy

1928

About the Item

Oil painting of a study of "Blue Boy" standing with his hat in his left hand by Mary Welch (American, 1875-1967). Circa 1918. Signed "M. Welch" lower left and gifted circa "1955" on verso. Image: 6"L x 9"H. Mary Welch, born 10 years after the end of the Civil War, was a woman ahead of her time. She signed her paintings M. Welch, hoping that potential buyers wouldn't discover she was a woman. More often than not, when they learned her sex, art dealers lost interest. The Hutchinson artist never married, never had children. But when she died in 1967, she left an impressive body of paintings, many of them familiar Kansas landscapes. A collection of Welch's paintings now on display through September at the Hutchinson Art Center, 405 North Washington. The show is courtesy of former Hutchinson resident Linda Ging, who now lives in Santa Fe, N.M. All the paintings are for sale. Ging, a former student of Welch, inherited the paintings in the last years of Welch's life. "I took them into my care before she died," Ging said. The paintings reflect Welch's art training with Lindsborg artist Birger Sandzen and English artist Robert Wood. "She had a very academic, realistic style," Ging said. "She painted what she saw. She had a very good eye for color and her paintings reflected the kind of serenity and peace that she felt." The only girl in a family of boys, Welch was born in Iowa and moved to the Burton area with her family as a baby. She lived in Hutchinson for most of her life. Ging has undated news clippings showing Welch as an older woman, displaying her work at the former Acme Paint Store and the Baker Hotel in Hutchinson. she was 84 when Ging took painting lessons from her in 1960. Welch studied drawing and painting since she was a child. She graduated with a degree in painting from the University of Kansas in 1898, a time when few women dared to study beyond high school, "She was just an extraordinary woman in the things that she did" Ging said . From 1940 to 1942, Welch traveled along the California coast collecting sketches and paintings. She also painted on site in Kansas, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois. As Ging's painting teacher, Welch told her of the barriers she overcame to become an artist. She chose to sign her paintings M. Welch to get her foot in the door. Many of the letters she received from people in the profession were addressed to "'Mr. Welch" because they assumed she was a man, Ging said. Her aunts and uncles were scandalized by their niece drawing the human figure from plaster casts of body parts at KU.
  • Creator:
    Mary Welch (1875 - 1967, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1928
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 10 in (25.4 cm)Width: 7 in (17.78 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Soquel, CA
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: NS11stDibs: LU5421989153
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