Mary Amanda LEWIS
1872 - 1953
Mary Amanda Lewis was born in San Francisco, CA on September 19, 1872, the daughter of Cornelia Edgerton and Franklin Jay Lewis. Raised in an atmosphere of culture, Mary's parents were fine musicians. As a child she studied art and music with her father and in the 1890s studied painting with William Franklin Jackson at Sacramento's Crocker Art Gallery. She was among William M. Chase's summer students in Carmel in 1914. Coming from a long line of musicians, she was also an accomplished cellist and performed for five years at the Del Monte Hotel in Monterey. She died in Sacramento on September 25, 1953 having spent most of her life there. Her landscapes were inspired by Lake Tahoe, Monterey, and the Sacramento area. An Impressionist, her works show the influence of Chase. Exhibited: Del Monte Art Gallery, 1910, 1912; Sacramento Hotel, 1911 (with her father); Sacramento Art League, 1912; Golden Gate Park Museum, 1915; San Francisco Art Ass'n, 1916, 1917; Kingsley Art Club, Crocker Art Gallery, 1930-47. Works held: Crocker Museum (Sacramento); Society of California Pioneers.