Mary Foote

Mary Foote, Portrait of Mrs. Wilfred Worcester, oil on canvas, 50.5 x 30 inches,

Mary Foote (November 25, 1872 – January 28, 1968) was an American painter and producer of notes of Carl Jung's seminars. As an artist, she lived and worked in New York's Washington Square, Paris and Peking. From 1928 to the 1950s she lived in Zürich and created and published notes of Carl Jung's seminars until World War II. She returned to the United States in the 1950s and spent her later years in Connecticut, where she died.

Early life Mary Foote was the daughter of Charles Spencer Foote and Hannah Hubbard Foote. She was born in Guilford, Connecticut, as was her younger sister, Margaret Foote Hawley, who also became an artist After the girls were orphaned, Margaret was raised by her aunt, Harriet Foote Hawley and her husband in Washington, D.C. Mary was taken in by an aunt who lived in Hartford, Connecticut after she became an orphan at the age of 13. For a period of time Mary Foote lived in the Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) household and was friends with Susy Clemens.

Mary Foote was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the great-great-granddaughter of General Andrew Ward (1727-1799) and Diana Hubbard Ward. Ward, who was born and died in Guilford, Connecticut, was commended for his bravery by George Washington. Foote's grandparents were George Augustus Foote and Eliza Spencer and her great-grandparents were Eli Foote and Diana Ward.

Career

Art Beginning in 1890, she studied art at Yale School of Art. In 1894, the Alice Kimball English Prize, which was established to support summer travel, was awarded to Foote. The William Wirt Winchester Prize, which funded two years of study in Europe, was awarded to Foote in 1897; It was considered the "largest prize of its kind" in the United States at that time. Foote travelled to Paris, France and studied with John Singer Sargent. She also made a portrait painting of MacMonnies. Her friends included art patron Mabel Dodge, dancer Isadora Duncan, author Henry James, writer Gertrude Stein,

Her work was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, along with the works of Robert Henri, Cecilia Beaux, Edmund Tarbell and other noted artists. At the Armory Show in 1913, she exhibited Old Lady.

Foote lived and worked in Peking, China from December 1926 into early 1927.

During the 1920s, she shared her studio and had a relationship with Frederick MacMonnies. She went into a deep depression after it ended. She sought treatment from Smith Ely Jelliffe, and in 1927, closed down her studio.

In the 1930s, Foote had a secret liaison with Harvard-educated German businessman and Nazi, Ernst Hanfstaengl. She returned to Connecticut shortly before her death; her obituary listed her as having been Jung's "secretary."

Later years and death In the 1950s, Foote returned to Connecticut. She died among friends on January 28, 1968, and is buried in the Foote-Ward Cemetery in Guilford, Connecticut. Portrait of Mrs. Wilfred Worcester, oil on canvas,