May 22

Her artwork hangs in distinguished company.

Lucy May Stanton was born in Atlanta in 1875. She grew up across the street from the Wren’s Nest, Joel Chandler Harris’ home. Stanton majored in Greek and Latin at Southern Female College in LaGrange. Most of her formal art training came in Paris. Her work appeared in exhibitions in London and Paris, and she had a solo exhibit at Atlanta’s High Museum in 1927.

Stanton painted many of Georgia’s leading citizens, including Harris and Howell Cobb, whose portrait as speaker of the U.S. House hangs in the Speaker’s Lobby in Washington, D.C. She was part of the American miniature revival, using water color on ivory, and her unique style won national acclaim and many awards.

Stanton’s work hangs in New York’s Metropolitan Museum, Boston’s Museum of fine Arts, and Washington’s National Portrait Gallery; Emory also holds a large collection.

This innovative artist was born in Atlanta on May 22, 1875, Today in Georgia History.