WOMAN IN ART
The first accomplishment of mural painting by woman, as noted in chapter fourteen, were the tympanums in the Womans' Building at the Columbian Fair. "Primitive Woman," by Mary MacMonnies, and "Modern Woman," by Mary Cassatt. Other murals were not seen till some years later.
Ella Conde Lamb is a rapid thinker and producer in her art, which has been along the line of mural decoration and designs for church windows, et cetera, in which she has been very successful.
The secret of such work is not different from other successful work—it is preparation, a thorough training. It was the method of the early masters. Nearly all the youths who were art-struck in the Renaissance period began as apprentices—"bound out," as they expressed it, for a term of years, till the actual workmanship and knowledge of the scriptures had been acquired. We were reminded of the power and plentitude of such preparation when Mrs. Lamb said that she had eight years of constant study, for she feels that the vital point for a woman, no less than for a man, is a thorough training for her trade. Such being her case, results came easily and success followed quickly.
Mrs. Lamb realizes the advance in art methods and schools, as she said, "I feel that present-day students have far more opportunities than we did back in the eighties, and take less advantage of them."
Concerning mural painting, she said, truly, yet perhaps discouragingly to youthful ambition, "It is hard work."
"Being a little woman I enjoyed covering large spaces! And after my marriage to an artist-architect, mural work was the natural outcome of my husband's need of what I could do in carrying out details of his comprehensive designs for glass mosaics or mural painting, so that inspiration and opportunity came hand in hand. It was not easy. All mural work demands many preliminary sketches, studies from models, detail drawings and color sketches, and research work, as well as physical endurance, nerve force, and determination to carry through to the final large cartoon or painting."
Mrs. Lamb was born in New York, and early became a pupil of William M. Chase, later painting with C. Y. Turner in New York. In Paris it was Collin and Courtois, both being of great help. Then a trip to Italy to study the old mosaics of the early masters of decoration. The congenial companionship in art work and home life have lightened labor and advanced the art of these wedded artists.
Strolling with a friend through the highland part of Ithaca, several sum-
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