Mary Lee Tate

Early life and education Mary Lee Tate was born on September 16, 1893, in Maysville, Kentucky into an African American family, her parents were Anna (née Ramey) and Harry Tate. Some sources have her date of birth as 1890.

She attended the University of Cincinnati, and graduated with a BA degree in 1911; she continued her studies at the Cincinnati Art Academy (now Art Academy of Cincinnati), and at the University of Chicago. The entire family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio by 1920. She and another teacher at the Douglas School were sued by a student in 1918, for allegations of a physical assault. In the 1930s, Tate taught art classes at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Junior High School (also known as the Harriet Beecher Stowe School, or the Stowe School) in Cincinnati. Her notable works include Summer; Twilight; A Mountain Trail; In the Canyon; and Morning Mist. The driver that hit Tate's car was convicted after the incident of second degree manslaughter, and by May 1940, the driver was on probation.

She has work that is part of the Thomas J. Watson Library, the main research library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her profile was included in the books Negro Artists: an Illustrated Review of their Achievements, by the Harmon Foundation (1991 reprint edition); and Afro-American Artists. A Bio-bibliographical Directory (1973), authored and edited by Theresa Dickson Cederholm.