Matilda Lotz

Matilda Lotz (1858–1923) was an American painter. She was one of California's premiere female artists, as well as a prominent animal portraitist. Lotz was born and raised in the Lotz House, which became the site of an American Civil War Battle, and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Early life Matilda Lotz was born in Franklin, Tennessee, on November 29, 1858, to German parents. Her father, Johann Albert Lotz, was a master carpenter who designed and built the family home, where they lived with her mother, Margaretha and her brothers, Paul and Augustus. The Lotz family home became the site of the Battle of Franklin; Lotz, who was only six years old at the time, and her family were forced to hide in their neighbor's brick basement for hours as the battle raged on, as their wooden house would not have provided sufficient protection.

Lotz began an interest in art early in life, as a child she would draw farm and household animals in the dirt. When given the chance, she used coal from the fireplace and small scraps of paper to practice drawing. Reportedly, she also once tried drawing on a wall, but was disciplined for doing so.

Education The Lotz family left Franklin, and briefly migrated to Memphis, Tennessee before moving to San Jose, California. She continued her education in Paris in the 1880s with Felix-Joseph Barrias, and later Emile van Marcke. Lotz returned to Paris in the 1890s where she worked closely for several years with French artist Rosa Bonheur. During this time she was also invited to London by the Duke of Portland, where she was commissioned by British nobility for animal paintings, as well as to Tata, Hungary for animal portraiture.