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Mary Colman Wheeler as a young woman

Mary Colman Wheeler (May 15, 1846 – March 10, 1920) was the founder and first head of the Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island.

Early Life and education[edit]

She was born in Concord, Massachusetts, on May 15, 1846. She graduated from Concord High School in 1864[1] and Abbot Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in 1866.[1]

Career[edit]

In 1866, she started teaching mathematics and Latin at Concord High School and moved to Providence in 1868 to teach mathematics at a Miss Shaw's, a finishing school.[2] In the 1870s, she traveled to Germany, Italy and France to study art, while staying in Concord and teaching intermittently in Providence[1]. She returned to Providence in 1882 to teach painting to women. [3] In 1889, she founded the Wheeler School.

In 1887, Wheeler started a practice of taking groups of students to France during the summer to learn the French language and study painting and art history.[2] She and the young women who accompanied her leased a property next to Claude Monet in Giverny, and became dinner companions of the Monet family.[3]

Death[edit]

Wheeler died on March 10, 1920 after falling on an icy street.[3] She is buried at Author's Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Williams, Blanche E. Wheeler (2000) [1934]. Mary C. Wheeler: Leader in Art and Education. Providence, R.I.: Wheeler School. pp. 46, 54, 57.
  2. ^ a b http://www.wheelerschool.org/podium/default.aspx?t=6648
  3. ^ a b c "Mary C. Wheeler". Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.
  4. ^ http://www.wheelerschool.org/podium/default.aspx?t=112097&rc=0