Mary Mears

Mary Martha Mears (2 January 1870 - 23 November 1943) was an American fiction writer, screenwriter, and photographer. Her short stories appeared in Harper's, Forum, and McClure's. Mears published her first of four novels in 1896.

Early life Born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Mears was the daughter of Elizabeth Farnsworth Mears and John Hall Mears. Her mother was an early Wisconsin poet who published under the pen name Nellie Wildwood. Her sisters were sculptor Helen Farnsworth Mears and illustrator Louise Mears Fargo.

Mears and her sisters attended Oshkosh public schools. She was a graduate of the Oshkosh Normal school.

Mears wrote her first novel, Emma Lou: Her Book, between the ages of fourteen and seventeen and sold the novel to Henry Holt.

In 1907, Mears and her sister Helen were among the first Fellows at the MacDowell artists' residency. Mears would go on to complete four additional residencies at MacDowell. She worked out of Bark Studio, later renamed the Schelling studio in 1933 after composer Ernest Schelling. Mears photographed many of Helen's sculptures with a large format camera, creating many surviving records of her sister's work.

Mears was a frequent contributor to The Christian Science Monitor.

Short stories (selected)

"A realized romance" - Harper's (1897) "The marrying of Esther" - Harper's (1897) “Across the bridges” - Harper's (1900)

Plays

Wings and the Woman

Filmography

The Forbidden Thing (silent film) (1920)