Lot 462: May Hallowell Loud (American, 1860-1916) Seated Woman in Pink Gown Signed and dated "May Hallowell Loud/1909" u.r., with a partial l...

May Hallowell Loud (American, 1860-1916)

Seated Woman in Pink Gown
Signed and dated "May Hallowell Loud/1909" u.r., with a partial label from
the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts/Philadelphia Water Color Club on the back of the frame.
Pastel on canvas, 36 x 27 in. (91.5 x 68.5 cm), framed (under glass).
Condition: Small tear u.r., nicks, tears, and wear along the tacking edges, canvas rippling, staining verso.

May Hallowell Loud was born in West Medford, Massachusetts, and studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and at the Academie Julian, Paris. She was a member of the Boston Watercolor Club, the Copley Society, and the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts. An active exhibitor in the late 1880s through 1910, Loud showed her work at the Paris Salon of 1886, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Boston Art Club, the National Academy of Design, and the Art Institute of Chicago. (1) May was married to Joseph Prince Loud, an architect trained at M.I.T. with a practice in Boston. (2) In an abstract from an unpublished diary kept by both May Hallowell Loud and her husband in 1910, the couple's address was listed as 82 Pinckney Street. The diary provides a glimpse into the daily life of the couple, including attendance at committees, clubs, and many cultural events in Boston. May, who was also known as Maria, described working in their home studio and sometimes mentioned specific projects, such as designing a poster for the Visiting Nurse Association or starting a new pastel portrait. She noted that a pastel was sent to an exhibit in Chicago on April 25, 1910. Both May and Joseph were interested in photography, and the diary refers to a darkroom as part of their home studio. (3)

1. Who Was Who in American Art, Peter Hastings Falk, Editor-in-Chief
2. Agnes Longstreth Taylor, The Longstreth Family Records (e-book)
3. Abstract of the Diary of J.P. and M.H. Loud, 1910, www.Worldcat.org OCLC No. 261233807,